Looking Back

It's hard to believe, but it has been over a month since I had to say goodbye and leave the Philippines. There were so many ways that I was so impressed by the people that I met and I feel that I need to take the time to reflect on the things that I have learned through my International Field Experience.

Hospitality
If there is one thing that defines the Philippines in my mind, it is the ultimate sense of hospitality that each and every Filipino demonstrates at every turn. Never in my life have I felt so welcome as I did when visiting the Philippines. As we entered each classroom, the students would rise and greet us in unison with "Good morning, visitors!" (And they didn't do this just for us -- this was the standard practice whenever anyone would stop by a classroom.) What a great way to make a visitor feel welcome! The other way that Filipinos show hospitality is through the food! Wherever we went, we were served all kinds of treats, from elaborate lunch "snacks" (full meals, of course!) to sweets. Often we were sent home with leftovers! I hope that I have learned the lesson that hospitality makes a difference.

Resilience
Many people in the Philippines are facing challenges that we just don't have here in the United States. One of these is poverty. Another is lack of access to schools -- many students have to walk long distances to attend school. A third challenge is lack of running water, electricity, and technology. However, these challenges, while daunting, do not hold the Filipino people back. The people that I met were constantly rising above these potential problems and coming out the other side stronger.

Community
Here in the United States, we have a very individual mindset. In the Philippines, it is the opposite. Individual achievement is good, but it is recognized as reflecting on the community as a whole, not just on one person. People work together and help one another in a much more active way than we see here in the United States. In the week before school starts, the whole community comes together to clean and paint the school to make sure that it is ready for the students. In the mornings before class begins, students can be seen cleaning their classroom and school because they take ownership and pride in it.

These lessons have been important for me. As I come back to the new school year here at home, I hope to bring these messages with me to my own students.

Saying Goodbye

I want to share the wonderful farewell program that I was able to be a part of on Monday. Many, many teachers, students, administration, and other guests came to say goodbye. There were speeches, songs, dances, and celebrations. It's hard to believe that it was already time to leave. I have learned so much from my time at Batangas National High School and I will never be able to forget this experience.

Here's a picture I took of myself with half of the audience:

We also performed a traditional Filipino folk dance called Alitaptap (The Firefly). It was a lot of fun and very difficult for us!

Thank you to Batangas National High School for hosting me!

BNHS Science

In Batangas National High School, being in the "Science" classes means that you are in the Honors sections - the best and brightest that BNHS has to offer. Today we spent most of the day visiting with classes in the Science building. This was truly a great day! These students were so inquisitive and eager to learn about the USA, asking us deep and meaningful questions about our country.

One Grade 10 class presented us their award-winning research projects and I was impressed! All of their projects were about something that would benefit the Philippines environmentally and/or economically. These students truly are the future leaders of this country! Their research projects were on: (1) using cacao (a local plant) as fish food, (2) creating biofuel out of local weeds, (3) creating a machine to create burnable bricks (to replace charcoal) out of local scrap materials, and (4) an internet-based watering system. WOW!

The Internet won't let me post pictures right now, but I'll try to update soon! We are heading off on an island adventure tomorrow to Isla Verde!

I finally got to teach!

At the beginning of the week, I spent a lot of time traveling around to different schools and administrative offices meeting with new people and interviewing them about the education system in the Philippines. It was incredibly interesting hearing what the different people had to say, especially because each of them represented a unique niche of the system.

However, there was one important thing missing from that: THE STUDENTS!

Finally, yesterday and today, Ms. Estes and I got a chance to really observe in some classes and meet some students. It was so nice to get a chance to talk with the young people of the Philippines and to find out that they're a lot like students in the United States!

We have visited quite a few math classes, and when we got the chance to teach in a few advanced sections, Ms. Estes decided to try to get the students to do American math. What did that mean? Math about hamburgers, of course! (And it also meant students doing group work and explaining their answers, which we hadn't seen much of in Filipino math classes so far.)

That's Ms. Estes, my partner, explaining the directions.

Yesterday I also substituted for a Grade 8 math class. Here I am with the class known as "Generosity." All of the sections have names, and in 8th grade they are virtues.

We also got the chance to observe several English classes and to speak extensively with the teachers about their reading program. They are making some exciting changes and we look forward to continuing to work with them in the future!

The students brought their own poster-sized paper to class!

In Social Studies class, we gave presentations about the U.S., Michigan, and California. We gave each student a sticky note and had them write a question for us to answer. Surprisingly, we got a huge variety of questions! Students here in Batangas National High School seem incredibly inquisitive and genuinely interested in learning about us. We did our best to represent the U.S.A!

I was also able to see school lunch for the first time today and I snapped a picture to share with you!

I also had the opportunity to observe some extracurricular activities the last two days. Here are some examples of Filipino sports teams (but don't forget that school just started this week, so they're not completely organized yet!).

Some Boy Scouts wandered by... They told us that in the Philippines Boy Scouts are boys AND girls.

Archery practice

Volleyball practice

There is so much I could keep writing about, but I'll have to save it for tomorrow!

First Days of School

It's funny that while I'm on the other wide of the world experiencing the first days of school at the schools in Batangas, Philippines, my students are finishing up the school year. While I am sad that I don't get to experience the final school days with the students I've come to know so well, I am excited that I got to see what the beginning of the school year is like for Filipino students! (Hint: It's VERY different from the start of school in Michigan!)

At Batangas National High School there are 6,000 students. That's right: SIX THOUSAND! That's a lot of students to get to the right classes at the right time, so instead of having the kids move around, the teachers do the moving. Otherwise, there's no way anyone would make it to class on time!

From the beginning of the school day, my partner teacher and I were welcomed by the students and staff of BNHS. They had prepared a welcome program for us, which included speeches by the principal, the president of the PTA, our host teacher and US! As an intermission, the incredibly talented teachers sang and danced for us. To everyone's surprise, the local news crew showed up and interviewed us. We made the news later that evening!

Fast forward to 11:15 to see my part!

In the background of these amazing dancers, you can see all of the people gathered at our welcome assembly! We didn't get to sit in the audience, we sat up on the stage!

The students who carried my bags around for me :)

The wonderful PTA of BNHS! What a supportive group of parents!
Also, isn't my flower garland gorgeous? It smelled like heaven!

I love the DepEd vision statement and how they always include the word "love." I learned from one of the other TGC fellows that the Philippine constitution is the only one in the world that includes the word "love."

Ms. Ebora teaching her advisory math class. She told her students to open their minds and their hearts to math and learning will be easy. I love this Filipino way of thinking! They are such a warm and genuine people!

I've already met so many amazing people. I can't wait to see what the next days will bring!

Adventures in Batangas!

I arrived in Batangas on Friday and have been going nonstop ever since! Our host teacher has done so much to make our time here special. She is wonderful and I feel so lucky to have her! I am learning TONS about the Philippines and every bit makes me want to learn more!

On Sunday, June 12, it was the Philippine independence day, so there were flags everywhere!

Everywhere you look in Batangas (and in the Philippines in general, it seems!), there are people selling all kinds of things. Here are beautiful flower arrangements being sold near the basilica.

See this woman tying the bows? They were preparing for two weddings that day. What a beautiful place to get married! We were able to crash one of the weddings and there were approximately 20 bridesmaids!

My host took us to her university, the University of Batangas for a tour. She seems to know so many people and was introducing us in all of the different offices. They're preparing to use some of the classrooms for Senior High School (grade 11), so they're updating with large TVs.

Maybe we should get uniforms at our school? They're very common here, even for teachers!

For lunch, I accomplished my goal of trying Jollibee, the Filipino fast food that seems to be everywhere. I had fried chicken and spaghetti with hot dogs! It was surprisingly delicious!

On Sunday we traveled to a town called Taal and went to a basilica built by the Spanish in 1516. It is incredibly beautiful.

In Taal, I got to ride on my first tricycle! It's like the Filipino version of a taxi. A motorcycle is hooked up to a little sidecar for the passengers to ride in.

We went to a GREAT museum about the woman who sewed the first Philippines flag, Marcela Marino de Agoncillo. In the museum they have a great tech lab where students can come to do research. Our tour guide, Mark, studied history in college and told me that he was doing his "dream job" in working at the museum. And he was awesome at it! He knew every detail inside and out.

Around every corner is another amazing view. This is from the bell tower of the basilica.

In the afternoon, we went to Tagaytay, a place where you can see the Taal volcano. This volcano is awesome because it's a little volcano in the middle of a lake in the crater of a big volcano. Fortunately, we got to see it and take some pictures before it started to rain because when it rains, it pours in the Philippines!

I can't wait to see what other adventures I will find here in Batangas!

Batangas!

Today I traveled about 2 hours south of Manila to my host city, Batangas City. It is located in the southern part of the northern region of Luzon. On this map, it is #25.

I spent the day unpacking, shopping, and doing a little walking around the city with my host teacher and partner teacher. Both are amazing teachers that I can learn a lot from! Here is a picture of us at dinner this evening:

Ms. Estes (from California), Ms. Ebora (my Filipino host), and me!

So far it seems like Batangas is very different from Manila, although it is still a city. Tomorrow we are taking a tour, so I will write more about the differences then!

Manila Schools

I got to visit my first two schools today! A high school and an elementary school, both here in Manila. This way I will be able to compare schools here with schools in Batangas City. I just found out that I'm leaving two hours earlier tomorrow than I had planned, so this post will be mostly pictures!

My first school: a high school in Manila.

A high school classroom. The desks are packed in because
classes can be as large as 60 students!

Science lab

Models of the solar system. 

I wish I had a map this large in my classroom!

Some members of the "Supreme Student Government" and I

Justin - the recently elected President of the Student Government.
His campaign slogan was "A voice for all students."

The library, where students come to check out their textbooks!

The Catholic Club had a display in the school library.

The nurse's office. Justin says this is where you can find the best
actors in the school!

The elementary school band greeted us!

The elementary school library -- much more colorful than the high school!

Elementary school courtyard

This school is lucky enough to have technology for every student.

The parents built a "Math Park" for students in the courtyard.