For cousins Jamboy and Joddel, who live atop the mountain ranges of Ifugao, a tram anchored on steel cables provides the most efficient route to reach their school.
They have no protection while soaring through the air. When they reach school, they face another challenge: English, a language they barely understand. Lessons are then translated into Filipino or their local dialect, Tuwali. They are in Grade 6 and they hope to graduate this year.
This Sunday, January 21, “The Atom Araullo Specials” features the stories of young children as they face danger in their everyday journey to school, and a host of other challenges that impact their ability to learn and have a chance at a better life.
In Pangasinan, a makeshift raft made of bamboo stems is the only means of transportation that brings students to school, and is captained by Grade 9 student Embo. He helps the students cross the river, but harder work awaits in the public school he attends.
It is quite known that some students graduate from the elementary level without being able to read or even have some understanding of reading materials. Embo’s school addresses this problem by implementing the “buddy-buddy system.”
A student unable to read or comprehend written materials is paired with a more capable student. Embo is in the latter category and his buddy is Daniel. Together, with extra guidance from Embo, they learn at a somewhat equal pace.
In a remote island in Quezon, a Grade 6 student shows she doesn’t need a license to teach to fulfill her advocacy. Jedilyn is a volunteer teacher in this small community. Because materials such as books are scarce, she can only use torn, old books to teach kids as young as five years old how to read and write.
The stories of Jamboy and Joddel, Embo, and Jedilyn shine a light on learning poverty — or being unable to read and understand a simple text — in the Philippines. According to a 2023 World Bank report, the Philippines is among the eight nations that registered a learning poverty rate higher than two-thirds, or 67 percent, despite the return of in-person classes in schools beginning in November 2022. This puts the Philippines in a critical position as it needs to catch up to a 5-year learning backlog, three of which were during the pandemic.
Yet some children are able to use the hurdles against them as a stepping stone, and, admirably, even become part of the solution in their own little ways.
Watch “The Atom Araullo Specials: Tawid-Aral” this Sunday, January 21, 2024, 3:13 P.M. on GMA.
