PORTFOLIO

What’s On & Expat Newspaper Oct2-Oct 8,2005
Feature


Changing the Future in 12 Hours
By Loraine Balita

What if you could shape the future with just 12 hours of your free time? Sound impossible?For the volunteers of the Caltex Mentor Program: Drive to Literacy, 12 hours can "graduate" from something like a weekend out-of-town trip to an actual bid to help solve the country's illiteracy problem.
The program encourages ordinary people, Caltex employees and others from various schools and organizations, to volunteer 12 hours of their free time, 3 hours per Saturday for four consecutive weeks, to tutor young children from disadvantaged backgrounds in grades 1-3. "Anybody and everybody can join," says Caltex Communications Officer Cherry Ramos, as long as you are willing to spend some of your personal time helping a child learn how to read and comprehend.

On August 20, the program, now in its third year, with 82 mentors in all, went back to its roots in Pandacan, Manila, where it was first launched in November 2002.

"I'm a firm believer that you are put in this life, not just to look after yourself, but to try and help other people around you," explained Caltex Senior Specialist Mitch Martin, who tutored students Rosa Amor Formanes and Ken Aubrey dela Torre from J. Zamora Elementary School -evidence that not only locals but expatriates saw the program as an opportunity to make a difference. This native of New Zealand even brought in his wife, (Rebecca) and kids (Sam and Emma), to volunteer as mentors.

"It's really hard, because I don't speak Tagalog!" said Martin. "If a child doesn't understand or comprehend, I've gotta learn Tagalog words, the who, what, when, and why, to try and get a point across," he added. Language difference and even his kiwi accent did not prove to be much of a hindrance, and his efforts at learning basic Tagalog words paid off, as Ken dela Torre became one of the most improved.

Anybody can read, but comprehending is different. "Kids can read a lot," he said, but "to get a child to read and understand gives them opportunity." Martin believes the goal of helping the students have "the comprehension" is achievable. But it all depends, not just on the mentors, but on the teachers and parents as well. In the Caltex Mentor Program, the first session includes parents, who are taught how to teach their kids.

The Problem
What problems are programs like the Caltex Mentor Program addressing? In the National Statistics Office labor force survey, unemployment in April rose 8.3 percent to 2.91 million, using the International Labor Organization concept of joblessness. Why are nearly 3 million Filipinos jobless? Why do only 4 out of 10 university graduates actually find a job within a year of their graduation?

The Philippines is churning out graduates who are not properly educated or trained. The Philippines is turning out functional illiterates.
Simple literacy is the ability to read and write; functional literacy denotes a deeper understanding of what has been merely read (Hence Mr. Martin's emphasis on "the comprehension" in his tutoring). It also includes knowledge about simple arithmetic calculations, such as calculating comparative prices in the market, and other minimal skills needed to carry out functions in life and interact with others in society. Various factors have been preventing us from producing functional literates, as opposed to simple literates: overcrowded classrooms, poor facilities, overworked teachers (with a teacher-student ratio of 1:48) and pre-modern learning materials, to name a few, are frequently cited. The Department of Education, which is able to devote only P7,700 ($138) per pupil per year in its annual budget, has asked that the education budget be increased, but with the government roiled by political crises, an increase that could make a difference appears unlikely.

The Solution
The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation.-Bertrand Russell

While many in this country are content to watch this crisis unfold without getting involved in a solution, Caltex and other private sector groups have decided that illiteracy, simple and functional, is a problem that they can cooperate to do something about: relieving some of the enormous burden on teachers in the Philippine educational system and helping them teach their students to read and comprehend.

"They're [the teachers] the unsung heroes," says Caltex Senior Specialist Martin. "The first school I went to, there were 50 kids in a class. Back in New Zealand the maximum class size (number of students) is 30. Imagine one teacher to teach 50 children, that's incredible!" While others resort to fault finding amid problems such as illiteracy, Martin further explains how anybody can help. "You can do something," he urges. "Sometimes you think the problem is too big, but really you need to focus on what you can do." A true labor of love, it could be called, and Martin couldn't agree more. Since his experience with volunteer tutoring, he considers teaching not a job but a calling.

As for Sam (17) and Emma (14) Martin, still students themselves, mentoring was fun but it also made them realize what their teachers go through. "I had no idea how hard it was," Emma explained. "I give them [teachers] much more respect now."

The educational system has already "lost" too many of today's young people to lives of lesser challenge and fulfillment. Now, with companies like Caltex helping to prepare their way, the youth of today have a better chance to ascend to greater achievement and new leadership roles.