A teacher’s responsibility continues even after the bell stops ringing. This is particularly true for Mary Grace Juaban, the principal of Tuburan Village Elementary School, who found herself teaching not only her students, but also the residents of Baon, San Isidro in Davao Oriental, where the school is located.
An unlikely leader
Ma’am Grace originally had no intention of working as a principal. However, a throat problem made her unable to continue serving as a teacher. While other people might see this health problem as a detriment, it only made Ma’am Grace change track on how she can best serve in the academic community.
“Hindi na ako puwede magturo kasi nagka-problema ako sa throat ko. Naisip ko tuloy na baka time ko na mag-handle ng school (I could not teach because I had problems with my throat. That is when I thought that maybe it was time for me to handle a school).”
While she was given the option to teach in a big school that comes with complete facilities, she instead chose to teach in a small school in San Isidro, because she could relate with the residents. She felt that she could identify with the barangay, which was predominantly Muslim, similar to the community in Cotabato where she grew up.
Eye opener
Ma’am Grace was assigned in Tuburan Village Elementary School. Even though the school was established in 1997, there were no school buildings to speak of. Classes were held at the evacuation center for Grades 1 and 2 and at the local training center for Grades 3 and 4. Students had to conduct their classes under the trees if either facility needed to be used. Even Ma’am Grace had to hold her office under a tree.
The situation was aggravated with only two faculty members. Teachers were afraid of being assigned in the school because of the high crime rate in the area, caused in part by the lack of electricity in Baon. As Ma’am Grace noted, a lot of those who went home late got mugged.
Negative perceptions of teachers toward Muslims, who comprise the majority of the population in the area, only heightened their fear of working in the community. “Ang mga teachers dati takot dito ma-assign kasi halos 100% Muslims (Teachers
were scared of being assigned here because the population was almost 100% Muslim),” Ma’am Grace shared. “After one year, two years, nag-si-seek sila ng transfer (They would seek transfer after one or two years).”
Children would also skip school. As Mayor Edgar Flor Saulon shared, “Dati, ‘pag nagtuturo ang teacher at pag-talikod niya, wala na ang mga bata, tumutulong na sa paghila ng isda kasi makakakuha sila ng libre [na isda]. Pagbalik ng bata, wala ng damit, nakahubad na kasi basang-basa (In the past, as soon as the teacher turns her back, the children would immediately run to the shore to help the fishermen pull their nets, since they can get free fish in return. When they get back to their classes, they are already shirtless, because their clothes have become wet).”
Ma’am Grace later on learned that the students did not do this to escape from their classes, but because their families are poor. In her house-to-house visits, she was shocked to find some children eating paper and plastic because they had nothing else to eat.
It was not just in school that Ma’am Grace experienced problems. Parents opposed changes that she wanted to make, even the cutting of the grass in campus. There were even families who believed that schooling was unnecessary. “Ang belief nila, mas mabigat ang madrasa [Muslim schooling that teaches the Quran to students] kesa sa ‘English’ education (They believe that madrasa is better than English education),” Ma’am Grace said, explaining that they use the latter term to refer to regular schooling.
Pushing on
Despite these setbacks, Ma’am Grace refused to give up.
The first thing she did was to lobby for the construction of a school building. A congressman provided for the funds for the construction of a school building. Even so, it was not enough to accommodate the needs of her students. The Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development helped resolve this problem. KALAHI-CIDSS involves the presentation of project proposals for the construction of community projects that the residents themselves identify as their priority needs.
Ma’am Grace spearheaded in proposing the construction of a two-classroom school building, going house-to-house to get the parents to support the project and presenting scenarios to the people who attended the Municipal Inter-Barangay Forum (MIBF) on the consequences of lack of education.
Her efforts were almost in vain, because the proposed project was not prioritized. Thankfully, one of the prioritized barangays had excess funds, and the community generously donated the money to fund the construction of the school building.
But the funds were still not enough to finance the project. Ma’am Grace found herself taking the lead once again in generating funds for the construction of the school building. She approached board members, the municipal mayor, and even the people in her own poblacion of Bato-Bato in order to get the resources to push through with the project.
This time, she did not work alone in the project. KALAHI-CIDSS emphasizes the importance of participation and cooperation, and this is what the people exhibited during the process. The land where the school now stands was provided by the local government unit. The parents of the students helped in the construction of the school building while members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), long seen as the enemy by many of the Muslims in the community, painted the building.
Values formation
Ma’am Grace knew that the construction of the school building was only the first step in educating the people. Knowing that an attitude change of the community was needed in order to maximize the potential of the school, she focused on teaching values formation, not just to the students but to their families as well.
She convinced the parents to realize the importance of traditional schooling. “Sinasabi ko na mas mabuti na equal iyong madrasa at iyong English education [I told them that madrasa and English education should be equal].” To emphasize this point, she told them, “The only way to escape from poverty is through education.” Their experience in working together through KALAHI-CIDSS made the parents more receptive to her ideas, and they became more willing to send their children to school.
She also focused on improving the health of the residents of Tuburan Village. As a fishing community, the people had a diet rich in seafood, but not a lot of vegetables. Ma’am Grace offered a reward system for students whose homes have vegetable patches. The more enterprising families even sold some of the vegetables they planted, and this supplemented their income.
When she noticed that a lot of families were not particular about cleanliness, she offered another reward system if students picked trash lying about. The children eventually brought this habit to their homes, resulting in the parents becoming more concerned about cleaning their homes and surroundings.
The entry of other programs and institutions also greatly helped the community in moving forward. The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), another anti-poverty program of DSWD, is now providing cash grants to families to meet their health and education needs. A non-government organization also provided slippers and bags for the students.
Moving forward
It might surprise a lot of people that the changes effected by Ma’am Grace happened in roughly two years, since she became the principal of Tuburan Village Elementary School in 2010.
Those are actually bright steps. The next item on her agenda is for the students of Tuburan Village Elementary School to excel academically. Her school ranking first in the area in the National Achievement Test and second in an interdivision contest in 2011 are ever brighter steps toward this end. (DSWD KC-NPMO/Melanie L. Sison)
