Pen Moro: Moro Education

Showing posts with label Moro Education. Show all posts

Supporting education, pushing Ghazzalian philosophy

We need a developmental organization dedicated to the epistemology of Moro/Muslim education in the country. An organization envisioned as a portal for education research and resources to support the development of the Ghazzalian education, i.e. reconciliation, synthesis and integration of various intellectual schools of thought, within and outside Islam, towards an Islamic system of education closer to the proscription of the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

Breath of education

In Islam, education is the following:

TA'ALLUM, i.e. learning new ideas;
TARBIYAH, i.e. skills training;
TA'DIB, i.e. values transformation and attitudinal change.

It is not which of the three, it is all three, together, that defines what the scope of education is about.

4As of Education Reform

Being surrounded by 21,000+ strong workforce, I am tempted to succumb to the mistaken belief that we are here or the system operates for them.

The truth is, public education system or any education system for that matter exists for the children - at the core of teaching and learning. They are the primary reason in policies, processes and personnel recruitment and promotion.

Teachers and managers are secondary actors. They exist for the children and not vice versa. It is then unfortunate that many ills permeating the education bureaucracy pertains to conduct of teachers and managers. As we are overwhelmed by the nuances of dealing with teacher's and manager's' issues and problems, we have less and less time for the reason why education exists.

As UNICEF rightly advocated, it is time to bring back the child to the center of attention. We are investing P8 billion pesos annually not just to pay for personnel salaries or fund travels of education managers. This annual investment rightly belongs to the children.

Time to bring back the child's perspective into the consciousness of education planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Time to change and evolve organizational culture to its right child-centric mantra - the core foci of education reforms are the 4A's -

(1) Access - Are the children able to access learning facility? If not, we doing we doing to address absence or poor access to education?

(2) Attendance - Are the children going to school or learning center regularly? If not, we doing we doing to retain them in school or promote their well-being?

(3) Achievement - Are the children learning according to learning standards? If not, we doing we doing to promote their developmental and personal competence?

(4) Accomplishment - Are they able to complete basic schooling? If not, what are we doing to insure it?

Catching up with the past

I have since move on from Madrasah education. I felt that what I have contributed is enough for a person, though in hindsight I should have done more. Not a feeling of frustration but one of yearning...

Still, my heart yearns for it. So I'm keeping in touch with those I have work it. Unfortunately, the program is moving turtle slow these days. When I left, we were waiting for the first batch of elementary graduates. Many regions have since churn out three (3) batches. When's the secondary going to start?

We may have been intoxicated by initial success and beginning to feel comfortable with the status quo. The initial "trailblazing" mind ossified? I hope not. After years in operation, have we not perfected its administrative loopholes that is now the main culprit in delays?

Time to grow. Learning from past and present mistakes and taking stock of these lessons are part of growing up. It used to be that "stagnation" was alien to us. We were moving forward by leaps and bounds. Forward we should.

In closing, I'd like to put a thought into writing. How I appreciate so much the work of regional and division coordinators. Many are full-fledged supervisors and our program is just an additional task they can simply refused but did not. Unlike other programs where the motivation was largely monetary from the MOOE or M&E funds or honorarium, here there is none.

What I have seen and salute them for is simply their commitment to make a difference, their determination to contribute positively, where they find satisfaction in seeing Muslim kids learning their language and culture, not anymore castigated for being a Moro or Muslim, but nurtured to be one.

On this Muslim new year, I wish them all a blessed year ahead - personal health, positive family relations, and satisfaction in seeing others fulfilled their dreams.

ALIVE we shall remain, to serve and to be self-less ...

Learning through the University of Life

We are now entering the 3rd week of the Zamboanga siege. Schools outside so-called ground zero (Mariki, Rio Hondo, Sta Barbara, Campo Muslim, Sta Catalina and Kasanyangan) have opened today. Schools in some areas in Lamitan were disrupted. Certain areas in Maguindanao are also disrupted. Conflict here and there. If our concept of learning is based on the premise of the four-wall classroom, then our kids have just lost about ten (10) contact learning days.

Fortunately, learning is not limited to school. Unfortunately, few people realized this is so true. Learning does not stop once you leave school or outside school. Learning continues even outside the school premises. In this context, the parents and the community at large are also teachers of our children. This is one perspective about lifelong learning.

In areas where disaster, natural or man-made is frequent, parents as "primary teachers" should be ready to bridge the learning of their children in schools or provide stimuli that will allow them to understand "the university of life", build their set of "life skills" and deepen their set of values.

In a conflict situation, parents should be able to respond to their children's queries: "why are they fighting?", "what are they fighting for?", "can they not talk?", etc. Some kids would react in a way that is reflective of what they have seen on television, read on the internet or newspaper, or hear from adults and their peers. As they start to ask questions, they start to form their own opinion. How do we respond if their novice opinion is consistent or consistent with us?

What do we do if they cheer on helicopters passing overhead or hide between our legs? How do we guide them in a situation where even we adults are puzzled ourselves? Are we going to talk for the moment or talk about the future repercussion of our opinion?

These are responsibilities of parents and care givers in between school during a conflict regime. Remember in this situation, the world is the school, our daily life is the university, what and how we teach them will build the foundation of our children's life skills. It is up to us if we want to plant the seeds of hate and division? Or build the seeds of love, compassion and living together.

Value of values

قيمة الإصلاح هو إصلاح قيمنا.
(Qayyimat al-islaha huwa islaaha qayyimana')

The value of the reform is the reform of our values.

Scarcity or efficiency?

Before we can say that scarcity is the problem, we have to acknowledge that we have efficiently utilized to the max what we already have.

When we have shortage in one school and overflow in another of teachers, facilities and similar resource inputs, this is a question of efficiency not scarcity.

If we have no double shifts in the utilization of school building, less multi-grade classes, more duplication of kindergarten centers and more teachers doing non-teaching jobs, this is a question of efficiency not scarcity.

If we based our shortage on ghost, padded and fautly data, this is a question of efficiency not scarcity.

Mis-diagnosis

A doctor makes his diagnosis based on observable signs and expressed symptoms, a battery of laboratory and medical tests, and in some cases, peer review.

How about an education manager then? What can be had from 'tampered', 'doctored', 'ghost' and or 'adulterated' school data and subjective propositions?

Who is the problem

If you have been leading an education bureaucracy for a decade and there is no improving trend in the student performance and the quality of education delivery, perhaps it's time to ask one critical question: Am I not the problem?

Beyond the status quo

We can't change the quality of our education by defending the status quo. We can't expect different result from doing the same thing again and again.

Online education resources

Moro education?

Moro Education (MoroEd) exposes and expounds on what defines the education of the Moro people in the Southern Philippines, either government-run or privately-operated, secular or sectarian, full-week or week-day, from kindergarten to higher education.

This is in no way an exhaustive one as this is a one-person attempt to contribute to the on-going discussion as to what is really Moro education and current government and non-government initiatives, traditional and secular, integration and holism, toward this end.

One way to look at it, and in the context of the status quo, is to view Moro education as a sub-system on the Philippines' national education system. We will also look at Moro education in the context of its Islamic and cultural heritage; through the lens of fragility and education in emergencies (EiE); through a futures studies lens.

Similar to all other education systems in the world, the Moro education is also confronted with common issues of access, quality and equity; education finance, resourcing and sustainability; information and communication technology and other challenges of the 21st century education.

Better world or better kids?

There is no blaming of parents wanting a better world for their children, who doesn't? Now having a kid myself I am beginning to understand the hardwork and determination of parents to make life better for their kids. However, coupled with this good thought for our kids is a lingering question - is it better world or better kids that we need? This is not a play of words. As we begin to embrace environmentalism in our daily lives we are awaken to the dire state of the earth, we begin to ponder on the fundamentals.

Initially, we embrace the idea of leaving a better world for our kids. A world where they can be safe, healthy and grow. At the current rate of environmental destruction and the slow pace of pro-earth actions, is better world possible. At this point, we need to remember that climate change and other environmental concerns are largely brought about and hasten by human destructive actions.

Which lead us to the second and more strategic idea, instead of leaving a better world, we leave behind better kids. Better kids in the sense of having a mindset that recognizes the fragility and finiteness of the natural world, whose daily actions is driven by a strong sense of stewardship and not of utilitarianism, and whose hearts are driven by an inclusive desire to leave the world better than they have inherited. We say too much about leaving a better world to our kids, but not about better kids to take care of this world that we forget what really matters - better world or better kids? I think, this is the challenge of the future for today.

______________

PCL Cotabato Chapter President Bruce Matabalao goes for Better kids." We can only do so much at this point and we will soon leave. Our kids will have more time and hopefully, greater concern and pro-active moves to save what's left of them in the environment."

A fellow nurse Tin Sangkula goes for both, "a better world and a better kid. Indeed we are in a struggle to preserve our mother nature for the next generation to be able to see and enjoy nature's bounty. What good will it bring if we have better kids and yet the place they live is like hell? Would this not eventually make them worse kid instead? On the other hand if we have a better world but our kids are not, who would take the effort and the courage to continue on making the world better? Hence, both are vital that need to be given full attention. Truly a challenge for everyone to consider!"