more issues on Philippine education

the second part of mike luz's article came out of the inquirer today. this time, it discusses in detail the concerns on teachers' salaries. while it is true that elite private schools are able to provide a relatively competitive wage scheme for teachers, smaller private schools are the opposite. something i have experienced myself when i was still a jesuit volunteer in bukidnon. my partner and i were assigned in a small Catholic school there.

i received a salary ofP3,200.00 a month. at that time, i thought of that amount as "wow! saya." because my previous assignment in mindoro was just P1,500.00. after a while though, i began to realize it was okay for me because i was only taking care of myself in a far-flung town where the money i earn just goes to my snacks and coke. but how about other teachers who have families to take care of? i chanced upon the payroll one time and saw that the principal of the school was only receiving P5,600. dang. for the headache of running a school of 2,000 students. my. and even those who are single teachers could barely make ends meet as they would often share what they earn with their families.

no wonder there are a lot of teachers who'd rather work as domestic helpers abroad.

the third part of the series will come out tomorrow. i'm pretty excited about what mike luz has to say about parent education. for the last four years that i have been with assisi, i've come to realize how important it is to involve the parents in the education of their children. parents, especially those in poorer communities, tend to put all the responsibility of their child's welfare in the hands of the school. a fact, that we urban-raised people, know is untrue. parents play a crucial role in the development of their children. study habits and discipline in learning often reflect how a child does in life as well.

i think i'm starting to have a bigger crush on mike luz already. hehe! but it is just wonderful to see the things i've been mulling over work be put on paper. whenever i suggest something for the program i can say, "mike luz said in this article he wrote that..." nyehehe!