Creative teaching

Two months ago, the Poveda Learning Center held its LEAP festival. Second graders paraded in shirts and/or carried items in all sorts of "big" sizes. Fifth graders showed their interpretations of a basic "Bob" character and came up with "Povedan Bob", "Mrs Bob", and even "Fairy Bob Mother".

The festival is unique to Poveda’s LEAP (Learning Equivalence and Alternative Program) Center, which provides a supplementary program for grade school students who have completed their requirements for the trimester ahead of time.

This year, LEAP is piloting a non-traditional educational approach called "Animate Your World" to teach such concepts as problem-solving, self-expression and other experiences in life and learning.

Originating and initially implemented in the United States, "Animate Your World" is an imaginative new program based on a series of public service announcements called "Inspirations", which are aired on Cartoon Network.

"This program is engineered to develop creative thought and idea generation, something we see as strengths of Filipinos and truly believe in encouraging in Cartoon Network," said Ian Diamond, senior vice-president and general manager of Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, Inc.

The Philippines is one of only two Asian countries–India is the other one– implementing "Animate Your World." This is largely because Filipino kids send in the most colorful, creative and unique letters to Cartoon Network when they write to say hello, make requests or join contests,

Modules

"The creation of ‘Animate Your World’ involved serious research by experts in the field. Cartoon Network commissioned the Youth Media International Ltd., a US-based group of educators, to come up with the activities," said Diamond.

Each of the seven "inspirations" in the program focuses on different but interrelated concepts of creativity such as trying to conquer its enemy–negative thinking–or viewing everyday items in a fresh, unique way. Each "inspiration" has two activities that incorporate challenger and curriculum spin suggestions that can be applied to the regular curriculum.

Surprisingly, none of Cartoon Network’s characters such as The Powerpuff Girls or Johnny Bravo are featured in the modules provided by Cartoon Network for free.

"The series communicates the importance of being creative and of learning, the same way the school is interested in producing life-long learners. It is also a good media education tool to teach the students about processing information," said LEAP coordinator Frances Mijares.

Giving it away

With the successful pilot in Poveda, Cartoon Network is now offering the program to other local schools, with or without a LEAP Center.

"We realized just how much we could do to get the children’s attention. Being in their homes means we are part of their lives. It’s a big responsibility but it’s something Cartoon Network has always been ready to take on," said Diamond.

In the process, Cartoon Network will be developing brighter, more confident children.