-The Philippines
I was thrilled to run into an educational professional from the Philippines. Her name is Nestoria Wright. She is one of the few Minot Air Force Base Health Educators and Individual Tobacco Cessation Counseling representatives working on base. Our school age program previously participated in National “Kick Butts Day” a Campaign held for children learning and becoming aware of harmful uses of smoking, using tobacco and the effects on the human body as well as diseases cause by the drugs and prolonging living a long healthy life. Mrs. Wright along with some fellow Airman set up booths that encourage children to understand what smoking does to our bodies. One particular booth was a breathing simulation of comparing healthy lungs to a smoking lung. The Teens were able to demonstrate with a simulated contraption of pumping air into the lungs threw a tube and release the air also threw the tube. The lungs were not human lungs but pig lungs. The children were amazed as they watched how full the healthy lungs breathed and how little the darkened deformed lungs breathed. It was during this booth that Mrs. Wright was standing by and we exchanged information.
Earlier last year I ran into her as she was teaching classes at the School Age Program for adults wanting to quit smoking and mentioned her experience of teaching first grade students in the Philippines, Receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Teaching Education, received her Masters Degree and is currently working on her dissertation for PhD for Walden University. I finally met with her yesterday to discuss issues related to excellence and equity.
During our meeting she spoke very passionately about her job and her experience teaching first graders in the Philippines. I will share a brief description of our session as she shared with me a great amount of information. I would rather go into detail about what she shared during our entire interview however, I’m pressed for time.
First, I thanked her for meeting with me and discussed a little bit of her educational background. I found she received her Bachelor’s Degree at 19 years old and was immediately hired to teach at a private school. She mentioned her family was able to pay for her education and taught at a wealthy school. I asked her if she noticed any issues related to quality teachers or a quality education program as well as excellence in teaching children. She began to explain how as a teacher discrimination in the classroom as well as internally should be minimized. Focusing on a child’s “strengths and weaknesses using assessment tools should be a balanced,” (N. Wright Personal Communication 2012) She mentioned the importance of “setting judgment’s aside and be flexible,” “If you’re a teacher and you do not have a bundle of patients or our passionate about teaching then you’re in the wrong job.” (N. Wright Personal Communication 2012) Bottom line she says “teachers must have cultural competence, must be fair, have honesty and respect family values and beliefs”
The issue she runs into the most that personally affects her is children getting vaccinated, she described her experience even in the present of encouraging parents to vaccinate their children so the spread of diseases don’t “jeopardize the health of other children” (N. Wright Personal Communication 2012) She helps parents understand the importance of vaccination for children’s health but also respects their decision to not have their children vaccinated on the other hand should their child get sick, she asks that the child be removed from attending classes until the child is better.
N. Wright also discusses the importance of school readiness and compared her teaching experience at the private school in the Philippines to her internship at the public school. Her emotions changed from excitement to sadness concerning children attending public schools having not enough funding and hardly any support. She describes children unable to afford school lunch and how she would always try and buy children bread to eat from the government school lunch trucks.
The picture to is a plate full of white rice, fried pork tips called lechon pronounced (le chone instead of saying gone add the sound of ch at the begining) and a type of sauce for the meat.
She hopes that the education budget system will improve and changes are made. She continues to say “It makes me sad to know that public schools don’t have any supports. I know some children have to work at a farm just to help the family survive, and if there is no food kids don’t have good health so they can’t function in school, life is hard but what can I say but no education no progress”. (N. Wright Personal Communication 2012)
Lastly, she discusses how people living in her country know that education is the key to survive and if they want “greener pastures” people take their education from the Philippines and strive for a better life in the United States. For example her brother is a Dr. in the Philippines and she says the average medical Dr. only makes 50,000 pesos a month which is only equivalent to about $1,200 dollars a month to live on. Educators and teachers only receive 15,000 pesos a month which is about $300.00 dollars a month for a teacher that has a Bachelor’s degree. I was amazed. She continues to work hard at her profession and whenever she has a chance she sends money for her nieces and nephews still living in the Philippines to pay for their private school.
At the end of the meeting I wish I had recorded our conversation so that I could reflect more on her knowledge and wisdom a bit more. I enjoyed our conversation and was definitely enlightened. Some of her experience helped me realize some of my mom’s personal experience to still work and send money every year for my cousins to attend school. I concluded that for excellence and quality begins with the child and their health. Their health and survival comes first before education. If they are able to continue their education then they are fortunate.
Link
http://pinoyoverseasjobs.com/20-filipinomapeh-high-school-pre-school-teachers-for-qatar/
http://todayilearned.co.uk/2011/04/20/what-kids-of-the-world-eat-at-school/
1 comment:
Ms. Jay,
Wow, what teachers goes through in the Phillipines for such little money. So it sounds that the public schools in the Phillipines receive little funding? And if a child does not have money for food they don't eat lunch for the day? With the little amount of money that the teachers receive as salary, it doesn't seem as though they could support their students need for food either. Thanks for sharing all of the information from the Phillipines, I look forward to hearing more about their education system.
Amanda
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