This week, I met up with Walter Wong from Teach for the Philippines. They were inviting me to be a Pioneer Fellow in their education program. Might sound fancy shmancy but really, they were inviting me to be a teacher.
Teach for the Philippines is a non-government organization whose primary advocacy is the education of grade school students studying in the public school system. Here’s something from their site:
The organization is a branch of the prestigious Teach for All movement all over the world, and it just started in August 2012. As with all things new and young, they’re full of hope, initiative, and energy – which can only mean great things for the kids of the country.
Honestly, I don’t know if teaching is for me because it’s a known fact proven time and time again: I’m terrible with children. But, even with my handicap, I’ve gotta say that the NGO is inspiring enough for me to make me want to get over my fear of children.
Walter and I talked about the technicalities of the program, the trainings they would provide, the pay, the benefits of being a Pioneer Fellow (and it seems like there are a lot), etc etc – but the best part of our talk was when we talked about the why.
Teach for the Philippines believes that young Filipino kids have so much potential. The only problem is that the resources we have aren’t enough to nurture their potential, or their belief in themselves. Walter has met children who say things like, “Oh, I’m dumb. I couldn’t possibly understand this lesson” – exactly what none of us want to hear from a 5 year-old. They believe the first step is to give a child confidence, give them someone to look up to, make them believe in themselves again, and then teach them all the things they need to know. And I believe that too. It isn’t too late.
If you’re even remotely interested, visit the site. Or better yet, apply! Online application is until January 21, 2013. If you have any more questions, you can email walter.wong@teachforthephilippines.org 🙂