Centex School

This past week/week and a half I had the opportunity to volunteer at a primary school called Centex, Center of Excellence in Public Education. It's part of a two-school project funded by Ayala Foundation, the corporate social responsibility sector of Ayala Corporation. Ayala Corporation is the most elite business in the Philippines and practically owns the country's entire business district, Makati City. There are two Centex schools: one in a rough neighborhood of Manila and another in the province of Batangas, which was the school I made the 2 hour drive to.

I woke up at 530 AM in order to be at the meeting spot in Makati City by 630 because of stupid traffic. ("SO traffic!" has become one of my favorite adopted Filipino phrases.) From there, the driver would pick me up along with another teacher and we would swing by three other locations to pick up three more teachers. Together the six of us would drive allll the way to Batangas and needless today, had enough hours to get in some solid bonding time.

The four teachers are all women and have an extremely close team since they work together so often. I think it's important I note that they're not your regular teachers. They are employed through Ayala Foundation rather than the Department of Education. Some days they're teaching at the two different schools, sometimes they're making home visits to interview applicants (I'll explain), or they might be in the office working with the rest of the Centex staff. They teach subjects like music and self-esteem and play an instrumental part in maintaining the values that Ayala Foundation hopes to instill in their schools.

What separates Centex from the rest of the crowd is that attendance fees do not exist and families must demonstrate financial need in order for their children to attend. Applications are filed, homes are visited, and interviews are conducted. There is a limited amount of space in the schools so it is imperative that each student is chosen carefully. Uniforms and meals are provided and sometimes even transportation is as well for kids that live far away from school.

The same way that Ayala Foundation welcomed my participation with open arms, so did the staff at Centex Batangas. Their warmth and kindness amazed me. I was introduced to each class and every teacher, given the option to participate anywhere I desired, and was met with genuine listeners (teachers and students alike) every time I spoke. I should also add that the volunteer parents working at Centex as a way of giving back to the school prepared both breakfast & lunch feasts for us every time we came!

I had the opportunity to observe a few of their "Integrated English Language Arts" classes (always interested in picking up on new techniques), teach a few of those classes, read stories to the kids, and work with a group of students practicing for their mini-musical about the magic of books (YAY!). Everyone there referred to me as "Teacher Rachael" and the students always stood up from their seats when answering my questions.

"IELA" class with the kindergartners.

On my last day there, one student came up to me and said, "Teacher. Your skin is so nice and white!" I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. I marked this as the first moment someone complimented my "white" skin. She clearly had no clue as to why I found her statement so amusing so I told her: "Well thank you, but I can't wait to be as tan as you are!" She smiled at me before beaming at the girl sitting beside her.

I'm so grateful for the chance to see the work that Centex does and am so thankful for everything the teachers at Batangas & the Centex team did to help me make the most of my experience there. And who knows? Maybe someday I'll can take up the offer to return to Centex Batangas- but next time do it as a teacher...