Good day my fellow Steemians. To narrate today is my wonderful experience during the seminar attended last Tuesday, July 12, 2022. The activity was in line of being an educator, but it was just voluntary since the school year ended last 24th this month. Amazingly, we were introduced that it was not mandatory to any of the subjects offered in a regular school in my country, but they just merely volunteers from Geneva, Switzerland with the hope that there can be upliftment among learners and teachers to know everybody's rights and how to execute them with full respect. To my fellow teachers and fellow parents as well, if you can hear about #Colega, Colega Manuals, then I will advise you not to miss the opportunity, so far the seminar was superb for me talking of numerous trainings I had attended. Even our school head requested me to re-echo to my fellow teachers what we had learned during the session.
The first 2 white foreigners were the main facilitators whom according to them they were a family of educators and we can already imagined when they gather together where topics are just rotating on how to improve the teaching and learning process with their advocacy of having thirteen hundred students in their school who can stay in a gym full of silence as they were able to impose their culture of discipline. Alas! To hear it, then I can compare that it is impossible in a Philippine setting to the same number of students.
The lady foreigner in the person of mam Karen Kaye introduced as the only classroom rule she had to say, "Give me five." Just to simply raise the right hand with fingers on their corresponding meaning:
1. Eyes to look at me;
2. Ears to listen unto me;
3. Mouth closed;
4. Feet on the floor and
5. Face on me.
That when we became noisy when we react with the given situation in her lecture, she simply posed and said, "Give me five." The discipline was so effective and I can't wait to apply it to my students for the next school year.
She started by asking of how many are the rights of the children based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights authored by Eleanor Roosevelt on December 10, 1948. Nobody got the correct answer until somebody searched using the internet and we all knew that there are thirty...a group of educators we never knew, hmmnn.
She introduced the title of their program as Colega which means companions, collegues to work together for a better purpose in molding the lives of young learners and even the teacher as well to transform to become cool and no harsh words to utter to any student when they already know what are their rights.
Speakers also taught us the best practices inside a classroom, the ten commandments of a successful teacher and the six components of a lesson. The best thing was when they brought us to their website GO.HRE.org wherein learning materials were exemplary. They gave us two sets of lesson plan hard copy downloaded from the website including the materials like pictures, activity sheets, etc. Everything that a teacher needs was on the packages. If you are a teacher, please browse the website and I tell you there is none in here I found how everything was prepared to ease the burden of a teacher.
We were composed of 10 districts, the given lessons would be the possible topic for a return demonstration teaching. We all worked collaboratively especially they said that the demonstrators were only the 3 districts of having no ample time. It would be done by draw, so we diligently work to have the best output possible, however when our group was called to pick a roll of paper of having a number from 1 to 3, we can be one to present, otherwise if it is blank it was not our turn. Though we were already prepared, still we didn't want to be picked so we prayed with my friend to have a blank paper and God answered our prayers. Do you believe that there can be miracles in prayers? You must, because our God has the Supreme power who sees the needs of those who obeyed Him.
The picture above was the first demonstrator from district 1 hosted by a male teacher.
This is also a male teacher demonstrator after the only lady demonstrator.
This is my colleague mam Jessica Baguio whom I got from her Fb post some of the pictures and our school head, we were about to part ways after the fruitful seminar.
Knowing that they travelled from a far in their own expense, and even the Philippine Colega representative who is also a volunteer to support their advocacy which can be a big impact to the Department of Education. Providing us an air-conditioned venue conducive to learning, sumptuous snacks and lunch, free learning materials, free website to download leaning materials, can Philippine Educative System can mimic the way they did? The burden of teachers to spend more time in lesson planning, can the department create a website for the teachers to only download them? Can we not be deprived of our family time spent in doing research just to have a variety of leaning materials to be brought in the classroom? Can we have enough printers in school so that teachers won't extend printing of modules in their home using their personal resources. Hope this maybe resolved by our new DepEd secretary. More on wishes, hope to be heard. Once again, this is @felicitas to say thank you, know your rights and use the knowledge with respect to your fellowmen.