NOW A Center of Training in the fields of Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health (MAPEH), the College of Education has been asked by the Department of Education (DepEd) to train 73 public high school teachers from 10 city and provincial school divisions in Southern Tagalog, under a new certificate program.
As a Center of Training in the multi-disciplinary program, the college is tasked to equip non-MAPEH teachers with the fundamental skills and competencies in teaching the subject.
“For a college to be designated by DepEd as a Center of Training, it should be known for providing quality education that can offer good training for future teachers,” Asst. Prof. Fylene Uy, coordinator of the certificate program, told the Varsitarian.
Participating teachers from the cities of Antipolo, Batangas, Lipa, Calamba, Tanauan, Sta. Rosa, and Laguna, Cavite, Quezon, and Rizal provinces were formally introduced to the program through an orientation attended by Education Dean Clotilde Arcangel and Conservatory of Music Dean Raul Sunico last April 14 at the Albertus Magnus Auditorium.
“We were actually expecting 110 teachers. However, DepEd told us that some of them were not informed immediately by their principals, leaving only 73,” said Uy.
The teachers, handpicked by DepEd, are required to take 24 units, 12.5 units of which were offered during the summer term from April 14 to May 16. The remaining 11.5 units are to be completed in the summer of 2009.
“We released a regional memorandum for all the divisions in Region IV-A. Each division were asked to make a list of teachers who will undergo the program,” Pacita Lungcay, MAPEH Regional Coordinator for DepEd Region IV-A, told the Varsitarian.
The program includes performances, hands-on training, and demonstrations designed to make secondary public school teachers efficient in teaching MAPEH.
“Although these teachers do not specialize in MAPEH but have been teaching the subject for many years, the task of handling them in class has been very challenging,” said Asst. Prof. Cynthia de Torres of the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA), who taught Health Education to the high school teachers.
To cap the summer term, a culminating activity was held last May 17 where several teachers performed interpretative, folk, ballroom, and modern dances to showcase what they learned in their “Rhythm and Dance” course.
Joseph Labuguen, one of the participating high school teachers from Cavite, said his experience in studying at the College of Fine Arts and Design (CFAD) under the certificate program was an avenue for learning and honing his skills both as an art student and mentor.
“As an art teacher and enthusiast, to be able to set foot inside the fine arts building is a very unforgettable experience,” Labuguen said.
Grouped according to their respective divisions, the teachers had to attend one-hour sessions for 27 meetings from Mondays to Fridays.
The faculty members from Music, CFAD, and IPEA who handled the courses were Asst. Prof. Jerome Porto (Physical Fitness and Drug Education, Mental Health and Environmental Education), Asst. Prof. Raymond Anselmo (Rhythm and Dance), Asst. Prof. Dolores Andres (Fundamentals of Music), Ms. Teresa Montes (Applied Music in Piano and Guitar and Philippine and Asian Music), Asst. Prof. Fernando Torres (Philippine and Asian Visual Arts) and Mr. Anthony Zamora (Introduction to Visual Arts).
