Breeding innovative teachers for next-generation learners

With wholistic learning rapidly evolving the country’s educational landscape, it is crucial for it to be supported by teachers who can impart classroom instruction that works for 21st century Filipino learners.

With its commitment to help educators provide quality higher learning routes that go beyond traditional classroom practice, Rex Book Store, Inc., in partnership with St. Paul University Manila, developed the Teacher Certificate Program (TCPCDDS). As a special training program designed for senior high school teachers, the TCP-CDDS aims to introduce concepts and procedures relevant to designing and supervising classroom instruction and in-depth mastery of content per subject area or discipline.

The 2017 batch of TCP-CDDS (composed of 442 senior high school teachers representing 230 private schools from all over the country) has recently graduated. The participants were given their shared-earned certificates during the culmination of their four-day Demofest, which was held at St. Paul Manila.

The training program was conducted from August, 2016 to May, 2017, and engaged 12 groups (Dagupan-Cabanatuan, Naga, NCR 1, NCR 2, CDO, Mindoro, Cebu, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Aklan, Zambales, and Bohol) in intensive curriculum development and instructional teaching training. The schedule has been made student-friendly to help schools comply with DepEd’s requirement for certification. The program was open to participating schools with a duly signed Memorandum of Agreement with REX Book Store Inc. and St. Paul University Manila. Optimized, purposeful teaching To keep up with the learning styles of this generation, educators must have academic mastery, most especially the vision and leadership skills, in order to influence the success of their students. Teachers need to depart from old ways and become bold advocates of innovative teaching, which is crucial for students’ learning and future careers.

In his speech, Rex Book Store’s chief operating officer, Don Timothy Buhain, congratulated the teachers for their accomplishments. He also reiterated that to instill the needed reforms, the “seeds” of change must be planted now, in the classroom.

“Books alone won’t make the child better. It’s an ecosystem of things — the books, the assessment, the intervention, but most importantly, you, the teachers. At the end of the day, you are the ones who will inspire the students to become better. Rex Book Store sees you as partners in reaching our highest aspirations for our Filipino youth; the program Para sa Bata, which aims to provide excellent professional development programs for our teachers, would not be successful without you at the helm,” he said.

Modern teaching advocates During the ceremonies, group leaders — Mark Daniel Cruz (Columban College of Olongapo City), Andy Boncayao (Mt. Carmel High School-General Nakar, Quezon), Mary Joy Duhay Lungsod (Lyceum of Iligan Foundation), Allan Capunfuerza (Dominican College of Tarlac), and Nesie Fe Binatero (Bohol Wisdom School) — who represented the five major subject areas shared their training experiences.

Cruz, a Social Studies teacher, said that TCP has prepared them to become highly effective teachers who will meet the learning needs of their senior high school students. “Education is a lifelong process of learning. All of us are gathered here to learn and experience something new and something that we can apply in real-life classroom situations. It is important for us to update ourselves in the different strategies and methodologies that we can use to make each day full of lifelong learning experiences,” he shared.

English teacher Binatero said that by helping enhance their proficiencies, the SHS-TCP helped them become more “responsive” educators. “More than the certificate, the Para sa Bata program has greatly influenced us to be the kind of educators that this world should have, the ones who go beyond academics and grades because we hone the spiritual, human value, talents, and deep wisdom of each child.”

For Capunfuerza, the TCP underscored the immense role of teachers in imparting wholistic lifelong learning and why they need to become the kind of teacher who makes a real and lasting impact in the lives of his or her students. “In behalf of the Math group, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to the people behind the TCP. Please continue supporting and helping us teachers in developing our teaching and learning strategies and gaining academic requirements needed for our professional growth. Both St. Paul Manila and REX are truly partners in the field of education towards attaining academic excellence,” he added.