Since the ’60s, the education department of colleges and universities have practically lost their enrollments. Today, education graduates are rare so that any college degree holders are accepted in teaching positions but they are required to take additional 18 professional units in Education. In addition, best performing schools require teachers to undergo battery of tests. This consists of IQ, teaching aptitude and maturity tests. In general, Filipino teachers could pass the first two tests, but fail the maturity test.
When applicant teachers answer vacancies in either a public elementary school or high school, she has to present her PRC (Professional Regulation Commission) certificate of registration/license, PBET (Philippine Board Exams for Teachers) / LET (License Exams for Teachers) rating, CSC (Civil Service Commission) Form 212, copy of baccalaureate transcript of records, as well as service records, if applicable. She should be a bonafide resident of the barangay, municipality, city or province for at least six months. New teachers without experience are ranked "Teacher I" for either elementary or high school teaching position. "Teacher II" requires one-year experience, while "Teacher III" two years experience.
"Head Teacher I" must have additional 12 units for a Masters degree in Education and should have one year as Teacher-in-Charge or three years teaching experience. "Head Teacher II" requires the same academic qualifications but with one year as "Head Teacher I" or four years teaching experience, as well as four hours relevant training. "Head Teacher III" must have additional 18 units Masters degree in Education and one year as "Head Teacher II" or two years as "Head Teacher I" or five years teaching experience, with 8 hours of relevant training. "Head Teacher IV" would need the same academic qualifications, training requirements and teaching experience but with one year as "Head Teacher III" or two years as "Head Teacher II".
The basic salary for newly-hired "Teacher I" is P9,939 with PERA (allowance) of P500 and ADCOM (additional compensation) of P1,500, totaling to about P12,000 per month. They also receive additional benefits such as year-end bonus — P9,939; cash gift — P5,000; clothing allowance — P4,000; and, PIB (productivity bonus) — P2,000 or a total of nearly P20,000.
The Division Sub-Committee, composed of the Public Schools District Supervisor or Principal with four school heads as members, evaluates the applicants based on their academic background, LET/PBET rating and teaching experience. Then, they interview and observe demonstration teaching of applicants. After consolidating the ratings, they submit the initial list of qualified applicants to the Division Selection Committee.
The Division Selection Committee is chaired by the Assistant Schools Division Superintendent with two Education Supervisor I, president of the PESPA division chapter (for elementary level), president of the PAPSSA division chapter (for the secondary level) and president of the Teachers’ Association division level as members. Upon receipt of the initial rank lists of qualified applicants, they administer the English Proficiency Test to them. They consolidate the individual ratings and prepare the final rank list for inclusion in the RQAs to be submitted to the Schools Division Superintendent who furnishes the Regional Office and Local Government Units copies of these for hiring the locally-funded teachers.
Thus, this whole procedure is a "collective responsibility" of the whole division.
For each province, there is one Schools Division Superintendent (SDS), who implements division education development plans, as well as plan and manage the effective and efficient performance of all personnel, physical and fiscal resources of the division, including professional staff development. In Angeles, SDS Dr. Antonietta Tiotuico takes care of hiring, placing and evaluating all division supervisors and schools district supervisors, as well as all employees in the division, both teaching and non-teaching personnel, including school heads, except for the assistant division superintendents.
There are 39 elementary public schools and 5 public high schools in Angeles city, Pampanga while there are 443 public elementary and 70 public secondary schools elsewhere in Pampanga. However, the SDS has disciplinary authority only over the non-teaching personnel under him. The Regional Director continues to exercise disciplinary authority over the teaching personnel. SHOULDN’T DISCIPLINE BE A CONSENSUS EVALUATION OF BOTH THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR AND DIVISION SUPERINTENDENT?
I was quite disturbed and frustrated. How can I cram one whole year proficiency Montessori course into a day, like my colleagues did? What I did was demonstrate the major Montessori Math decimal golden beads numeration and operation, the movable alphabet and geometric tracing, the puzzle map of the world, plus the botany and zoology cards. I also made sure that the participants would watch a class of eight Montessori Pagsasarili preschoolers work on these materials very early in the morning for five days just before the workshop started.
I know that I was trying to do the impossible. BUT LO and BEHOLD, I learned later that each supervisor went back to their various districts and "echoed" our training course for only ONE DAY to dozens of new preschool teachers.
Under Angeles Superintendent Tiotuico are several Education Supervisors I (ESI), for each learning area (Language, Math, Science, MAPE — Music, Arts, & Physical Education, etc.), who train principals and handle seminars. There are two kinds of teacher training done. The first is the "echo-echo" training organized by the Regional Director who gives training to the ESIs, who in turn echoes these to 50 teachers in the division, and this is re-echoed to the rest of the school teachers. The second training given during summer is proposed by the ESI in subject areas like Math, Science and Language which need to be enhanced.
The functions of a principal such as Angeles Elementary School Principal Carolina Patarata include "instructional supervision" wherein she prepares instructional supervisory plan based on the objective, needs, strategies, "training of teachers, as well as evaluation scheme". She also implements this supervisory plan, "conducts regular classroom observation, as well as discuss priorities and needs of teachers". The focus of the Principal is to plan and organize measures for the success of the curriculum.
Her administrative duty is to identify the priority needs of school facilities and procure school equipment needed by the pupils and teachers. Actually, this is what occupies her practically the whole day so she has no time training and monitoring the teachers.
To pursue the challenge, I set up the EFA-DAKAR pilot project in the Angeles Elementary School in Pulung Bulu, Angeles, Pampanga in 2001. Using the affordable Montessori Pagsasarili system, it has successfully provided this alternative system for the preschool and elementary school with its corresponding re-training of public school teachers. In 2008, it would graduate the first Pulung Bulu EFA DAKAR elementary school graduates. The goal is to complete the integrated preschool, grade school to professional high school program within the UN Millennium Goal 2001-2015. The first professional high school graduation will be in 2012 when they can be employable.
The first MOA was signed with then Region 3 Director Dr. Vilma Labrador, but this has been revised in 2005 with Region 3 Director Dr. Dinah Mindo to include the preschool level. Starting in school year 2001-2002 with only 262 students from preschool to Grade 3 and 8 teachers, today the student population has increased to 583 from preschool to Grade 6 and 14 teachers.
Monitoring and evaluation of the pilot project is done by the OB Montessori Angeles branch. Three Montessori head teachers monitor the preschool, grade school and intermediate classes weekly with written reports sent to me. Meantime, I try to visit the school every two months.
The EFA DAKAR teachers are required to write a self-evaluation every week, inclusive of the difficulties or ease in teaching all subjects whether in preschool, Grades I-III or Grades IV-VI. These are submitted to the Greenhills headquarters.
Together with these "new children", we discovered the miracle of the "new teachers" who patiently re-train and enthusiastically guide each child to use the various lessons and apparata of the Cosmic Curriculum while religiously writing personal evaluation of themselves and their competence.
Yes, there has been again the long line of public school parents enrolling their children at the EFA DAKAR pilot Pulung Bulu Elementary School of Angeles — and willing to pay their contribution to support a full time janitor, test papers, work sheets, housekeeping supplies, potable water, repairs and repainting of school furniture plus monthly honorarium of each teacher.
(For more information or reaction, please e-mail at exec@obmontessori.edu.ph or pssoliven@yahoo.com)