A joint responsibility of various agencies.pdf

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extracted text: A Joint Responsibility of Various Agencies By Jose M. Ramos THE school is easily the exclusive agency charged with the giving of education to the masses, on first non-meticulous impulse or on drastic hypothesis. This idea can not be overemphasized as the school truly reflects the unbounded task of transforming the youth from tinwarranted ignorance and social incompetence into educated and socially able citizens acceptable to the current social order. Anachronism as it may seem, the one time general comment: "lyan ba ang turo ng guro mo?" (ls that what your teacher teaches you?), bears impact on the whole system. A typical example of this inCident follows: After class hours, one morning while the pupils were leisurely pacing homeward, two of the naughty boys quarreled in front of a big house. The squabble. resulted to a fist fight. Thereupon the owner of the house, precisely the head of the family, peered through the window and shouted at the top of his voice: "Hoy, mga luko, iyan ba ang tcro sa inyo ng inyong guro sa paaralan ?" (Hey, fools, is that what your teacher teaches you in school?) Needless for me to finish this unsavory story. The point is clear that with all the undoings of school children the brunt of responsibiliyt lies always on the school without considering- other elements working on the ·growth and development of the tots. I will not dare to defend the school. For this might appear that I am taking side .with a biased mind. I will only try to present some irrefutable facts and let my readers draw their wise conclusion. A child stays at school at not more than seven and a half hours each scho9l day for barely ten months every year. For sbd;_een and a half hours out of the twenty-four every day, whree does the child stay? The answer is definite: At home. Considering the length of time a child stays at home with his parents, is it not strange to pass the buck to the school with whatever mischiefs the child conducts himself? Now, the question ari::ies. Can the influence of the school outweight the influence of the home practices considering the span of period the child is within the OCTOBER, 1957 protective custody of the parents? Certainly, under ordinary conditions ancl under normal run of life, the home must be more in a position to educate or uneducate the child. The home therefore, is an agency which must help the school in the promotion of education for the common good. If this is trne and the truth is not irreconcilable, then the home is another agency where lies the responsibilit~· of transforming the useless child into a useful one. This argument belies the remark: "lyan ba ang turn sa inyo ng inyong mga guro sa paaralan ?" A twist of truth in a hazy mind may justify the boomerang: "lyan ba ang turo sa inyo ng inyong mga magulang?" (ls that what your parents teach you?). But let us not consider it in this haughty perspective. Let it be channeled to one Of cooperation and proper understanding that the home and the school are inseparable factors on whose folds rests the development of_ the child in terms of characters, habits, cultural and civic efficiencies, and ennobling spirits aside from the fundamental knowledge and competencies. Our search for lgiht does not end there. For, life is a constant and continuing business as long as it exists. For the child the home and the school are not the be-all and the end-all of everything: There are many more elements that are bound to influence the total make-up and behavior of this child. Take for example the church. The faith of the child is one factor that militates his actions. He does things in accordance with what he thinks \\'ise and right. His thinking is largely guided by his faith; faith in the human laws, faith in the Divine Providence, faith in his church and its teachings. Thus a child brought up in the realm of piety shall never falter in his attempt to do what is good and proper. While a child brought up and reared devoid of sniritual coumiel shall, by his beastly instinct, g<J out of humanly approved conduct and become a social nuisance and a menace to peace and order. The church therefore, plays a very important role in the up-bringing of the child toward manhood of cha1·acter and- virtues. Now, let us consider the child's environment. Child's action and behavior are largely patterned from the conduct of his associates. The old and wise adage: "Tell me who your companions are and I will tell you who you are" holds water in this particular case. Parents should therefore aspire to place their children in an environment, where the prospective companions of their children would be those with noble virtues. If this is not possible; the choice of associates fo1· the children may be seriously considered. Exposing a child to ~11 kinds of temptation will enable that child to fall to it without knowing it. And could the child be blamed? Unfortunately not. One could imagine the unfortunate predicament of a barrio where there were all kinds of vices, to say the least: mahjong, monte, cuajo, cockfighting, cara y cruz, etc. The young people in that barrio studied PAGE 49 in school alright but did anyone of them finish any course? Nor did anyone of them prosper in lifo'? To be sure, a great many of them turned out to be gamblers and very few of them professed even a humble calling. The barrio populace thereafter lived in abject poverty and want. The concomitant evils followed; illiteracy, dishonesty, immorality, indolence, etc. Having profiitted from their sad experi~nre tlie people in this barrio woke up to their misery. Aml having learned lessons from their de$picable past redirected their course of action. They tried to do away with their vicious practices and brought up their children in an atmosphere conducive to approved ways of life. Results: The barrio is now progressing. It can boast of educated youths; men and women, \Vho constitute the cream of the citizenry. At present, there are no more gambling dens; no cockpit, no nothing. .Instead, there are all sorts of appropriate devices for spending profitable leisures. Thus, environment affects favorably the norms of conduct and approved decorum of the youth: Schools Win Support Adults From in the Community Edward G. Olsen R ELATJONSHIPS between the school and the adults in any community are important in determining educational policy and program. Problems that confront educators and lay people everywhere include these -what people think about their schools, -how school purposes actually relate to cultural traditions and expectations, -the extent to which formal education really meets community needs, and -the basic role of the school in a soe-iety now shaken by vast and unprecedented changes which are both technological and institutional in character. '-' Reprinted from The Nation's School, July, 1956 issue. PAGE 50 With the advent of the modern trends of education many more agencies are added to the list of factors affecting the general welfare of the public. There are for instance: The Social Welfare Administration, Agricultcral Extension, Rural Health Unit, etc., etc. These agencies, needless to tell, help one way or another in the implementation of education in its true sense. The functions being performed by these agencies in the promotion of the common welfare are only too glaring to merit enumeration. The point iR: Is the school solely and exclusively responsible for the promotion of education? As proved by the discussion under consideration the duty of educating the masses is not a monopoly of the school. It is a 'joint responsibility of various agencies charged with the task of extricating the people from the morass where the~' were damped once upon a time. So long as the school, the home, the church, the environment, and other minor agencies cooperate wholeheartedly in the total war for the betterment of our youth, so long will they succeed in their attempts to build a strong, healthy nation \vith good and upright citizens. Here are some operating principles for teachers and administrators as they work with their communities. Ile friendly Maintain a warm, welcoming school atmosphere. Always be hospitable to Iay people, however demanding they may be. If you want respect from community adults they must have confidence in you, and that requires you to be the kind of person who deserves their· trust. You won't get it just because you are an educator. You must earn it as a friendly, down-to-earth human being who only happens to be a teacher. Parents' dream for children Remember always that parents want their children to be better off than they are. The great dream of individual advancement is basic in our culture and is shared by virtually all Americans. To be sure, parents do not want their children to be 'schooled away' from themselves. Usfog technologi~al terms, we might say that most parents want their children to be unadjusted to the parental life level, but not maladjusted to themselves. The risks of alienation will be minimized if you keep your community needs and develop it through joint child and adult sharing in planning. Ile realistic Begin with real problems that are right at hand. For best results these will be problems which are of THE PHILIPPINE EDUCATOR
Date: 1957
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