Teach for the Philippines: Teacher training through an exchange mentoring program

Left: A teacher-fellow sits with a class of students from the Boracay European International School. Right: Seated 3rd and 4th from left, respectively: Jerome Intia, Teach for the Philippines’ Director for Marketing and Events, Mathew Watkins, Boracay European International School’s principal together with DHL Express Philippines sponsors, Teach for the Philippines fellows, and Boracay European International School teachers.

MANILA, Philippines – “One who dares to teach must never cease to learn,” American librarian John Cotton Dana, once said. In order to learn, one must continuously expose himself to various things and experiences. Trying out new things not only entails learning, but also broadens one’s perspective.

Teachers, like other professionals, always benefit from continuous learning that helps them become even better teachers. This is what nonprofit organization Teach for the Philippines continues to convey to its teacher-fellows.

As part of its teacher training, Teach for the Philippines recently participated in an exchange mentoring program with the Boracay European International School, where Teach for the Philippines teacher-fellows taught students on Boracay.

Several Teach for the Philippines teacher-fellows who participated in the immersion were Delfin Villafuerte, Ja Dueñas, and Noelle Pabiton, who taught 1st, 4th, 6th, and 7th graders of the Boracay European International School, for the activity, respectively.

Pabiton teaches at the Commonwealth Elementary School, the Quezon City elementary school with the largest student population. She was overwhelmed with the experience of teaching fewer students in a class.

“It’s all about creating that sense of possibility within the kids, giving them that sense of opportunity, so that they can have happiness, success, and significance,” said Pabiton.

Teach for the Philippines was keen on exposing its teacher-fellows to a different teaching experience through the exchange program. They are used to teaching large numbers of Metro Manila public school students, as opposed to Boracay European International School’s head count of 15 students per class.

Boracay European International School teachers observed the Teach for the Philippines fellows during the immersion activity. They were impressed with how well the teacher fellows interacted and taught the classes assigned to them.

“Seeing the Teach for the Philippines fellows teach was truly enjoyable, it seemed like they have been teaching all their lives,” said Mathew Watkins, Boracay European International School principal. “Our students were really attentive on the lectures of their new teachers and they responded really well with their style of teaching.”

DHL Express Philippines, the world’s leading express provider, and a proud partner of Teach for the Philippines, sponsored the mentoring exchange program between Teach for the Philippines and Boracay European International School.

DHL Express Philippines chose Boracay European International School as the ideal school for the immersion activity. The company saw the partnership as an opportunity to promote educational equity in the Philippines.

“The quality of education given to all students must be the same, regardless of their financial and social background,” said Hope Atienza, DHL Express Philippines, Head of Marketing. “We strongly believe that a developed and progressive country comprises competent and knowledgeable citizens, which can only be achieved through quality education.”