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Christian Values Education at
St. Mary's School, Sagada
by Dennis Faustino
Dear Parents,
Guardians, and Alumni:
Concerns coming from
alumni have been relayed to me regarding the status of Christian
education in St. Mary’s School. Hence, I have written the following
statement of philosophy and outlined plans for implementation to better
acquaint our community at large.
Christian Values Education at St. Mary’s
School
Is St. Mary’s
School still an Episcopalian School?
Very much so. In
fact, I would venture to say that our school is more Episcopalian than
it has been in the past decades. Let us go back to the past ten years
and review the state of Christian education at the school. The
curriculum that was established by the American missionaries, for
whatever reason, has been neglected, disregarded, or corrupted. The
school, in trying to survive, had adopted the public school curriculum
and used the same resources to implement it. The only difference
between the curriculum of Sagada National High School and that of St.
Mary’s before its incorporation was an additional class period called
“Christian Ed.” Included in this course was the mandatory school mass
and vespers. However, even the public school has its own counterpart
called “Values.”
The subject
“Christian Education” was taught at St. Mary’s usually by a deacon or a
chaplain, or sometimes the resident parish priest. Considering the
transient nature and scarcity of deacons, deacon interns, or
seminarians, (which is still a problem today), the subject was never
effectively taught. The course curriculum basically covered church
history, but very little was done towards the development of student
character and values. There was no correlation between what was studied
and what was practiced. The result: gross student misbehavior, low
attendance and participation in church services and activities, and the
loss of identity or affiliation to the Church. In short, our students
graduated from our school not knowing what it means to be an
Episcopalian, or worse yet, what it means to be a Christian.
A second problem
regarding the delivery of effective Christian education in many
institutions is who teaches it. From my observations and analysis, most
of our Christian educators at St. Mary’s have not been trained as
teachers. Though theologically knowledgeable (i.e. seminary trained),
these people are not trained in pedagogy (methodologies, teaching
strategies, making up lesson plans, and assessment). Thus they resort
to 50-minute lectures daily, the content of which is totally forgotten
after the unit test is administered. This problem of proper chaplaincy
training was shared by other Episcopalian schools during our SPRINT
meeting last August. Secondly, because the school has hired a Christian
educator, the rest of the faculty adopted a “stand-offish” attitude,
with comments like “that is not my concern” or “that is the
responsibility of the Christian Ed teacher” whenever there is a
behavioral problem among students, or a lack of interest in student
participation of Church activities. It is tantamount to saying that the
English teacher is considered solely responsible for teaching proper
speaking, reading and writing, or that the principal is solely
responsible for dealing with student behavior.
Finally, there is a
question on assessment. How can one truly say that, by receiving a 92
in Christian education on the report card, a student is truly
Christian? Or worse yet, how can one say that a student with a B+ in
the report card is more Christian than one who gets a C. On one hand,
academic assessment is based on measurable student
achievement—e.g. passing a written or oral test. On the other hand,
individual character development is very difficult, if not impossible,
to objectively gauge or measure in terms of grades, particularly since
teachers are not in the homes of students to assess their behavior and
attitudes twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
What have we done
to address these concerns?
First of all, this
year we eliminated Christian education as a formal subject.
This, however, does not mean that we do not teach Christian values or
character development. Church history has been integrated both in
Social Studies (e.g. the Age of Reformation in World History and the
American Evangelization of the Cordilleras in Philippine History.)
Instead of lecturing on values and character development, we have
integrated Christian education into all the subjects—English, Math,
Science, Social Studies, Filipino, Music, Art, and Physical
Education—taught by the entire faculty who have agreed to accept the
responsibility of molding young minds holistically--academically,
emotionally, and spiritually. In effect, every teacher at St. Mary’s
becomes a Christian educator. The diversity in the beliefs and
practices of our team of teachers (two are Roman Catholic, one is
Mormon, and the rest are Episcopalians) adds a richer flavor to the
instructional environment in which Christian values are discussed,
debated on, and inculcated. Ecumenism and commonality of beliefs are
pointed out and highlighted—we are all, in fact, Christian. Moreover,
we have adopted the homeroom concept—a time during the school day when
we introduce, discuss, and implement a thematic values curriculum.
Finally, we have struck a closer relationship with the Church itself.
With the Rector at our side as the School Chaplain, student
participation in church activities (not only Mass and vespers) has
increased and become more relevant.
Allow me to give you
examples of what we have achieved in the First Quarter this year.
On developing a
closer relationship with the Church:
We devote a period a
week to Vespers and Hymn practice. The faculty and the students choose
the hymns to be learned, practice, and sung during the school mass—using
contemporary tunes to which our young people relate, while occasionally
utilizing one or two traditional hymns from the 1982 Hymnal. The
students also enjoy using guitar, bass guitar, drums, gongs and other
native instruments to accompany the hymns, producing a creative sound
that they like. All homerooms are rotationally assigned to read the
Epistle and intercessions during mass, the practice of which is done
during English class. We have also started a school-based Youth
Ministry wherein our students teach or support teachers in Sunday School
for younger children. Since the Board of Trustees has adopted a 25-hour
community service graduation requirement per year for all SMS students,
plans are on the way for community outreach programs in the distant
barrios like Balugan, Bagnin, and others, during which our students
would help clean surroundings and give catechetical instruction to young
children of the Church’s mission stations.
On developing
universal values and character development:
The integration of
teaching Christian values into the core curriculum has had major
positive effects on restoring discipline and order in student behavior.
Moreover, it has contributed to a school environment in which proper
relationships among students and teachers thrive. How did we do this?
By adopting themes on universal values that are relevant, practicable,
and understood by our children.
For example, the
first two weeks of school were devoted to the concept of Respect.
During these two weeks, the concept was emphasized in every aspect of
learning—in the classroom, on campus, or off campus. The many synonyms
relating to RESPECT was undertaken in English classes. The common
manifestations of RESPECT that pertain to Filipinos (the lowland custom
of saying “po”, the western way of saying “Good Morning” to people
students meet, common courtesies like using the subjunctive “Would you
please pass the rice.” and the use of words “Please,” “Thank you” and
“Welcome!” and even the Igorot way of greeting by saying “umeyam?” were
dramatized and discussed in Social Studies and Filipino classes.
Respect towards each other in sharing resources in Science and Art was
pointed out and discussed by teachers. Even the proper use of the
toilet (respect for the next person who might the toilet) was brought
out in an instructional and applicable manner. Meanwhile, Father Jerry
Sagayo and guest Mass celebrants like Padi Achawon were quick to join in
the bandwagon by citing Biblical passages on respect—respect for God,
respect for elders, respect for each other, and respect for
oneself--during their homilies. At the end, everyone including teachers
was tasked to submit a reaction/reflection paper to the Principal, and
this provided me with an opportunity to correct their use of the English
language.
Currently, we have
spent a whole month on the concept of Responsibility—what it means, and
how students know when they have been successful at practicing it.
Students were tasked to interview their parents for 10 specific
responsibilities at home. The responsibilities are then written and
encoded in English and Computer classes, to produce a “CONTRACT” which
the students and parents sign, and noted by the Principal. After a
period of time, parents will be asked to fill out an evaluation form on
their children’s performance according to terms of the contract. These
evaluations are attached to the report cards, but they have nothing to
do with the children’s academic standing. The exercise is meant not
only to instill a sense of responsibility (the contract serves as a
visual reminder), but it also encourages parental monitoring, and gives
a practical glimpse of future professional endeavors whereby contracts
are a reality.
After
RESPONSIBILITY, we hope to tackle Integrity (which includes honesty and
honor), Loyalty, Compassion, and Service.
As I have
illustrated, these are examples of how we teach Christian Education at
St. Mary’s. We integrate it, discuss it on a non-academic level, apply
it, and whenever possible, acknowledge student achievement or progress.
Last Sunday, at the request of our Rector, I conducted a seminar with
volunteer Christian educators from our parish, (composed of retired
teachers, young adults, and SMS students) on the methodologies of
effective Christian education utilizing the same thematic approach. I
hope and believe that soon, the entire Sagada Christian education team
will be following the St. Mary’s School model.
How do we
know we are effective? Ask the children, the
parents, and the teachers. Student attendance at Church activities has
increased; students have been happier, more respectful, and more
responsible. Parents are getting more involved, both in school, and
because of their children, in church as well.
Are we
there yet? We still have a long way to go,
but I feel we are on the right track!
Dennis Faustino
August 29, 2005
Sagada, Mountain Province
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