Teachers laud first Tboli SHS TSHS seen to promote global competence and cultural preservation

Tweet

Teachers of the recently-launched TSHS at Lake Sebu, South Cotabato said that this program will surely promote global competitiveness without compromising the cultural preservation of the indigenous peoples in the long run.

The teachers perceived the program as a beneficial tool to boost the livelihood status of the Tbloli community since the TSHS offers technical-vocational tracks that are in line with the culture of the Tboli people. 

“Ang diwa ng kultura namin ay naisasalin at ang kaalaman ay made-develop pa kung kaya’t ilang henerasyon man ang magdaan, ang kultura namin ay buhay pa rin. Ang kaalaman at ang kasanayan ay nagmula mismo sa kanila [mag-aaral na Tboli] upang matuto na silang makihalubilo sa mundo,” said Benji Manuel, a Tboli teacher at Tboli Senior High School (TSHS).

This project of the Department of Education (DepEd), in collaboration with Ateneo de Davao, aims to produce graduates who are equipped with entrepreneurial and management skills and are capable of managing and improving their own resources and coming up with sustainable livelihood and opportunities for the Tboli community.

Manuel said that through the program, he now sees the teachers of TSHS as carriers of the plan of the Tboli elders.

“Sa tulong nito, nakikita namin ang aming sarili bilang tagapagdala ng plano ng elders ng pamayanan ng Tboli na dalhin ang indigenous knowledge, cultural and intellectual heritage sa loob ng classroom,” Manuel added.

Ateneo de Davao President Father Joel S. Tabora, SJ said that the Tboli SHS is “the most sophisticated, anthropological, pedagogical project in the country relative to Senior High School”.

"Davao entered into this program--to be able to help the K to 12 create a program that will not make the students foreigners to their own culture, but will make them imbibe the values and the cultural traditions of the tribe even in a global age, even in an age when the Tboli also want to be able to be world-class, to be able to enjoy the advantages of globalization and modernization. The Tboli, it has to be clear, also want first and foremost to preserve their own cultural traditions and their cultural identities. This is the reason why Ateneo de Davao has been really priveleged to be part of this program," Tabora said.

Through the help of Ateneo de Davao, the program commenced through a research wherein they consulted the Tboli community if they would want a program that is appropriate not only to their culture but also to the standards of DepEd. After the research, the Tboli community gave positive feedback, which means that they are willing to have the program being proposed to them.

TSHS will be initially lodged at Lake Sebu National High School and will be catering to approximately 45 students upon the first implementation of Grade 11 this coming school year 2015-2016.

"We are developing ourselves and we are achieving our goals and aspirations but we should not forget our culture. That is our intention," Manuel said.

DepEd launches the first Tboli Senior High School

Tweet

Lake Sebu, South Cotabato—After extensive consultations and planning with the indigenous peoples’ community, local government, and education partners, the Department of Education (DepEd) established the first Tboli Senior High School.

Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro FSC said, “This is the first of its kind. We endeavored to make sure that the curriculum as well as its [senior high school] offerings are in line with Indigenous Peoples culture and language. Ang eskwelahan dapat ang link between culture and development.”

He said, “Ito po ang kauna-unahang Senior High School na sinikap ng DepEd—kasama ang Ateneo de Davao—na kunsultahin at pakinggan ang mga hinaing at mga pangarap ng ating mga katutubo.”

He emphasized the need of the education system to be inclusive and centered on the needs and context of the learners, saying, “We are a nation in search of who we are. Until we are able to return to the roots of our indigenous peoples, we will never be able to find our soul.”

“If we are serious about being learner-centered, we should also be serious about being culturally sensitive,” Luistro added.

Luistro also dedicated the launching of the Tboli Senior High School to the late Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan awardee Lang Dulay, saying that “we need to understand and to nurture of our culture so that the works of Lang Dulay will not be lost with her and that we can pass on her dreams and arts to the next generation.”

Tboli Senior High School (TSHS), which will be initially lodged at Lake Sebu National High School with approximately 45 students for its early implementation of Grade 11 in SY 2015-2016, will be offering technical-vocational track, focusing on Sustainable Community Resources Management with two options: Agriculture and Ecotourism.

Active engagement of the indigenous community

Datu Benito Blonto, chair of the Municipal Tribal Council of Lake Sebu, said that proper consultations and coordination with the parents and students in the Tboli community, Lake Sebu NHS, and other education stakeholders have been crucial in creating the program.

Through consultations with Tboli elders, teachers, parents, students, and other education stakeholders, TSHS came up with its aspirations for its students that seek to uphold, preserve, and promote the Tboli cultural identity through an inclusive, participative, environmentally-friendly, and quality culture-based education.

Blonto said the program will be beneficial to the students, adding, “Pagkatapos nila sa K to 12, makakapasok sila sa employment dahil may skills and qualifications na sila. Sa pamamagitan ng programang ito, ide-develop natin ang skills ng mga estudyante base sa kultura. Sasanayin sila sa ecotourism at paggamit ng resources na mayroon sa lugar.”

The program intends to create graduates who are capable of developing and managing their own resources, creating sustainable livelihood and opportunities for the Tboli community, where the school is situated. Through the program, graduates will be equipped with entrepreneurial and management skills to prepare them for small-scale business ventures or communal cooperative management.

The development of the TSHS is an initiative being undertaken by DepEd in partnership with Ateneo de Davao University, particularly in the areas of curriculum development, teacher training and mentoring, and research.