Archive for November, 2011

Luistro commends ‘Dangal ng Bayan’ teachers

(PRESS RELEASE)

As the father of all basic education teachers in the country, Education Secretary Armin Luistro is very proud of the recognition given to two public school teachers who are among this year’s Dangal ng Bayan awardees.

Public school teachers Lorna Pulalon and Edgar Madlaing, joined by eight other government officials and employees, received the 2011 Dangal ng Bayan Awards (Outstanding Public Officials and Employees) given by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) during the awarding ceremony in Malacañang Palace on Wednesday. 

“On behalf of the entire DepEd family, I salute Teacher Lorna and Teacher Edgar for giving inspiration to their fellow teachers and for upholding the nobility of purpose and profession that all teachers should stand for,” said Luistro.

Pulalon, 27, was a grade 2 school teacher in Talisayan Elementary School, Zamboanga City who was stabbed and killed by a former convict as she used her own body to cover and protect her young pupils from the assailant. She had just been transferred to Talisayan Elementary School when the incident happened but the courageous act she displayed has proven that teachers’ love and care for their little soldiers will come naturally regardless of how long they have been with their students.

A posthumous award was conferred by the Office of the President to Pulalon which her parents received.

Meanwhile, Madlaing, who has been teaching for more than ten years now, is a leader in his own ways. Aside from his teaching functions at Benguet National High School in the Cordillera Administrative Region, he is also the Citizenship Advancement Training (CAT) Commandant of his school and uses this position to effectively mobilize his co-teachers and students to lead the community in rescue operations during calamities.

“The exceptional contributions of both Pulalon and Madlaing remind us that teaching is a very challenging job that not everyone can do, because not everyone can multitask like teachers do; not everyone can love and care for the children and the community like Teacher Lorna and Teacher Edgar have shown,” added Luistro.

Dangal ng Bayan is the highest award bestowed to a government official or employee who has shown extraordinary excellence, professionalism, and integrity in public service.

Luistro calls on all teachers to continue to find joy in touching the hearts and minds of the youth as we all work together in saving the Filipino children from illiteracy.

“I wish we could clone teachers like Pulalon and Madlaing and replicate their inspiring qualities so that Filipinos will regard all our teachers as “dangal ng bayan,” Luistro noted.

Hearing-impaired children get DepEd help

(PRESS RELEASE)

A student who performs poorly in school may not necessarily be a slow learner but somebody who has a hearing problem and thus needs prompt government intervention.

November 10 to 15 is the national observance of Deaf Awareness Week.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said parents and teachers should be able to detect early on symptoms of deafness in order to map out timely intervention.

“The ultimate goal of DepEd’s special education program is the integration of learners with special needs into the regular school system and eventually into the community” Luistro said.

He also added that hearing impairment is not only about not being able to hear but encompasses emotional problems in socialization and learning difficulty.

He explained that the education of the hearing impaired should be tailored to their special needs and be directed towards the development of their maximum potential to enable them to enjoy a meaningful and productive life.

The week-long focus on deaf awareness is in coordination with the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Colleges of Education (Special Education),   Rehabilitation Sciences (Speech Language Pathology) and Tourism and Hospitality Management (Community Services).

The deaf awareness week also aims to enhance significant public awareness on the prevention, early detection, intervention, rehabilitation and education of people with hearing impairment.

DepEd launches search for the most efficient alternative learning system implementor

(PRESS RELEASE)

The search is on for the most efficient provincial and city divisions of the Department of Education that implements the alternative learning system (ALS) for out-of-school youth and adults.

Based on DepEd Memo 245, series 2011, Education Secretary Armin Luistro said the search aims to recognize division offices for their efficient use of resources and exemplary performance in the promotion of literacy in the country.

“ALS is a very laudable program of the department which must be implemented with optimum efficiency so that we can reach as many learners as possible,” added Luistro.

Contenders to the award will be judged based on human resources management which carrries 25%; learner management 25%; program implementation management, 25%; material resource management, 10%; financial management, 10%; and  stakeholder and community management 5%. 

The search is open to all divisions nationwide categorized into city and provincial divisions which implement ALS programs and projects. There will be first, second and third prize winners in each category to be chosen from the top five semi-finalists that will emerge from the nationwide search.

The deadline for the submission of entries is February 15, 2012 and the awarding ceremonies will be on April 2012.

Inquiries about the search and nomination may be directed to the Office of the Director IV, Bureau of Alternative Learning System, DepEd, 3^rd Floor Mabini Bldg., DepEd Complex, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City, with telephone number (02) 635-4694.

DepEd launches Christmas décor-making contest with health and environmental theme

(PRESS RELEASE)

How do you celebrate the yuletide season while awakening the environmental and oral health consciousness of young people?

The Department of Education is launching a contest for all public elementary schools nationwide for the creation of a gigantic Christmas-inspired décor using recycled toothpaste sachet. 

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said the contest is a novel way of promoting oral health awareness among public school students while instilling in them the importance of recycling waste materials in protecting the environment.

“We are actually hitting three targets here: the promotion of oral health care, environment consciousness and a creative way of enjoying the holiday season,” said the education chief.

The gigantic Christmas décor should measure at least eight feet in height, six feet in width and six feet in length.

The project is in partnership with a toothpaste manufacturing company that promotes oral health in public schools through daily tooth brushing.

An earlier study revealed that problems in oral health are one of the reasons of absenteeism in public schools. Through DepEd’s oral health awareness program, school children are taught ways to improve oral hygiene.

17 regional winners will be named on November 29. From the pool of regional winners, three national winners will be selected on December 9, 2011.

Inquiries about the program may be directed to Dr. Thelma Aljibe of DepEd at telephone number 635-9964.

DepEd declares November as Reading Month

In its thrust to promote the love for reading, the Department of Education declares November 2011 as National Reading Month which will culminate with the “Araw ng Pagbasa” on November 25, 2011.

Education Secretary Armin Luisto said the move is in support of the ten-point education agenda of the Aquino Administration and the promotion of Every Child a Reader Program (ECARP).

“We are coming up with more creative ways of developing the love for reading among our young because this is an important portal to the world of learning,” added Luistro.

The education department has listed down a series of activities to celebrate the month as stipulated in DepEd Order 244.

During the National Reading Month, DepEd enjoins schools to conduct Read-A-Thon to foster a reading culture among pupils and launch a search for the best individual and team readers from students in public schools.

Also being promoted is the Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) project, a 15- to 20-minute daily activity devoted to reading a book or any reading materials available in the school. There is also the Shared Reading project (Big Brother or Sister / Kaklase Ko, Sagot Ko), an activity wherein older students or independent readers teach pupils who are at the frustration reading or non-reading level.

Luistro also proposes as one of the activities the Intensified Remedial Reading where teachers or class advisers give remedial lessons to children in the frustration reading level.

Meanwhile, the Five Words A Week (FWAW) / A Paragraph A Day (APAD)  encourages pupils to learn and master one word a day for five days a week and to read aloud one or two short paragraphs a day before classes start to develop the students’ oral communication skills. DepEd also suggests the holding of a Reading Camp where children are provided a venue where their talents in communication arts can be highlighted through competitions.

To highlight the Reading Month, Luistro directed all regional, division and school level officials to lead the nationwide synchronized reading program every first Monday of November from 9:00 to 10:00 in the morning.

In a related development, DepEd will conduct the nationwide Araw ng Pagbasa on November 25 to coincide with the week of the celebration of the birth anniversary of the late Senator Benigno ‘Ninoy” Aquino on November 27. The event also commemorates the 20th year of the signing of RA 7165 by former President Corazon Aquino which created the Literacy Coordinating Council on November 25, 1991.

“By giving importance to the Araw ng Pagbasa, we are promoting reading and literacy among our learners even as we motivate them to learn from the lives and works of eminent Filipinos,” explained Luistro.

In pursuit of this, school officials are encouraged to conduct reading and literacy activities in honor of Ninoy Aquino. Schools are likewise asked to partner with non-government organizations and the private sector to foster cooperation in the community.