Teach for the Philippines holds exchange program

MANILA, Philippines - Teachers, like other professionals, 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 (BEIS).

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 BEIS.

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 BEIS’s head count of 15 students per class.

BEIS teachers observed the Teach for the Philippines fellows during the immersion activity and 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, BEIS principal. “Our students were really attentive to 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 BEIS. 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.”