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Paaralang Pantao The people's school)
How it call began:
The People's School means different things for those who became part of its organization and establishment in 1989. The
school evolved into many different forms. But no matter how one defines it and sans the forms it took, the People's School
was established with only one objective: that it serves as an important vehicle in providing LEARNING EXPERIENCES for children
and youth from Area B, Group III of Barangay Payatas, Quezon City.
Barangay Payatas is situated in the northern portion of Quezon City. It is one of the biggest barangays in the Second
District, and is divided into two areas, A and B. Area B has long been serving as the dumping site of Metro Manila's garbage.
The People's School is located about a hundred meters away from the main dumpsite. Interestingly, this was previously known
as 'smoky valley' but now, not for long it soon became another 'smoky mountain.' A number of dump trucks pass through the
road where the School is located. In fact, it is already a common site to see children riding on these trucks to scour the
garbage from the metropolis.
The Early Initiatives
The People's School began as a small project of a women's organization in the barangay - the Dumpsite Neighborhood Organization
(DNO). Its main objective was to provide opportunities for children from the area to have a recreation for at least once
a week. Through the collaboration of the DNO and the then Institute for the Protection of Children (IPC), a chance to work
with other groups has began, including the Salinsining Foundation for Children's Culture and Arts. The partnership between
the DNO and the then Salinsining, initiated a project. It wasn't called a school at that time but rather a simple area visit
held every week by the workers of Salinsining who are mostly practicing artists and educators. These visits were spent in
launching various creative activities which included role-plays, songs, games, puppet shows, health skits, and many more.
No Window
The Salinsining staff came to the place where planned activities were to be held and saw a 'makeshift structure' which
was built by a former partner of the DNO, the Center for Housing and Ecology and Development (CHHED). The initial purpose
of the said structure was to serve as venue for a livelihood project on basket making (or basket weaving) as initiated by
Sr. Annie Abion. The unfinished structure measured 90 square meters. It had a roof, walls, but no ceiling. It was (almost)
bare. It had neither windows nor doors to complete it. The flooring was of the bare soil making the whole pace muddy when
it rained. Nevertheless, the weekly activities held at the place were already a source of joy for the DNO, Salinsining, and
most especially, the children. Soon everyone concerned with the project realized that it was not only a source of temporary
pleasure for the children. The experiences proved that 'real learning' took place.
The Learning Experiences
Through this, an idea was made to establish even a small structure for the activities of the children. The DNO's leadership
has decided to begin this by coming up with a day care center where smaller children can play while their parents and elder
siblings earn a living in what they call their 'office' - the dumpsite. The President of DNO, Mrs. Letty Reyes, a seemingly
untiring woman was the first person to serve as DNO Care Teacher for the center. With the aid of Salinsining, the centre
was eventually completed. Of course, the first to be built were the walls, windows, and doors. The lessons, materials, and
other teaching aids for the centre were later innovated through the assistance of the President's Social Fund under the supervision
of the Presidential Management Staff of then President Corazon C. Aquino.
Of Changing Names and other developments
As swift as the changing of name by Salinsining into the Children's Laboratory for Drama in Education - Foundation were
the changes made in the school. One of these was the provision by the Quezon City Local Government of a new name for the
DNO. They were later called the Zamboanga Day Care Center, after the street where it is located. Through the changing of
its name, other forms of assistance were also facilitated, especially the donations of Congressmen to various day care centers
in their districts, including Barangay Payatas. The provision of electricity in 1993 through a donation from a Singaporean
family paved the way for the leadership of DNO to realize that there are still a lot of things to be undertaken. What followed
was the coming of Japanese volunteers to the area, which resulted in the completion of the center. And not for long, the
structure became more stable, safe. Now the school, err the Center had electricity and water where once stood a 'makeshift
building' with no windows.
As the days passed, the para teachers observed the notable increase in the number of children who came to the Zamboanga
Day Care Center. They had different needs. And since they were mostly working as scavengers, many of them did not go to
school and even stopped schooling. Some of them however, were new residents of Barangay Payatas and from their own provinces,
were not able to continue school after stopping for quite some time. With this in mind, a special program was initiated for
their benefit. Tutorial classes were given to elementary graders who were attending schools far from the dumpsite. Assistance
was also given to some children who wanted to take the Philippine Educational Placement Test to help them go back to formal
school. Meanwhile, there were some who "just desire" to acquire the three basic skills of reading, writing, and
arithmetic. Thus, with the number of children and youth coming in, the project implementers decided to name the center as
the "People's School."
Available at children's lab library:
ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION: A LIBERATING EXPERIENCE
THE PAARALANG PANTAO TEACHERS' MANUAL
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