Teach For Philippines flips week around for public school classes

MANILA, Philippines – Fledgling non-profit organization Teach for Philippines recently conducted a week of several enrichment programs for students from high-need public schools. The programs, named the Teach For Philippines Week Flipped, were executed in the form of trips to college campuses, museums and corporate offices in Metro Manila. The purpose was to inspire the students into thinking about what they might want to be when they grow up.

The weeklong event launched for the first time last January 27 and took classes under the organization’s Fellows (teachers recruited to teach in public schools in particular need of resources) to places such as the DHL Global Forwarding offices, the Meralco Museum and Fully Booked. Apart from learning the ins and outs of the professional spaces they were visiting, students also got to experience things like riding a vintage tranvia and a special storytelling session.

Teach For Philippines launched in 2012, born out of veteran functional literacy organisation Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation and global education reform initiative Teach For All. Characterized by a strong belief in the transformative power of education, the organisation focuses on the resource gaps currently plaguing our public education system. Recent graduates and young professionals are recruited as Fellows and go on to teach in high-need public schools for two years.

In a system hyper-focused on rigorous studying, Week Flipped was a chance for students to have a learning experience in a world outside of school without disrupting the regular school day—classes whose lessons were scheduled in the morning went on trips in the afternoon, and vice-versa. Other places such as the Senate Museum, Coca-Cola FEMSA plant and the HSBC Office were open to the students with guided tours and people like Sen. Bam Aquino available to speak to them.

The participation of the organization’s partners is so far proving a winning formula for Teach For the Philippines, and works in line with Teach For Philippines’ mission and vision. DHL, for example, has had employees participating in Teach For Philippines’ Read-Along programs last November, while HSBC staff volunteers helped to improve school facilities in the Renovate to Educate program. 

“Given the strong correlation between a country’s development and its investment in education, we strive to build the foundations for a stronger economy,” the organization said in a statement. “Social change is a consensus amongst many different organizations, cultures, and orientations. Creating impact through social change means working with others, inside and outside our organization.”