Public high school teacher Jaclyn Cecile “Jackie” Velasco-Chavez sent an ecstatic note a few days ago informing me that the Tabok National High School’s library scored 59 out of 60 points in the recent evaluation conducted by representatives of the Department of Education.
This is a cause for celebration especially for a school, which just started their library two years ago with a few books and the determination of a teacher to build a reading culture in a school with more than 900 students.
Teacher Jackie was my schoolmate at UP Cebu. After graduating with a degree in Mass Communication, Jackie landed a job at the Governor’s Office. We met several times during her stint there. I was a reporter; she was one of the office’s official media personnel. She always had a camera with her.
She later on realized that she is carved out for a career in teaching, a profession that her twin sister, Jean, pursued ahead of her.
When Jackie asked me in 2016 to help her out in enlivening the school’s library, I had no qualms about extending whatever assistance I can render to her and the children. I just asked her to do one thing: organize a book club.
In less than a year, the book club was created. The school library started with book donations from the Philippine Business for Social Progress. Later, Jackie and some teachers approached Cebu City Public Library Chief Rosario “Ruth” Chua and asked for books that they can add to their collection.
I have been a frequent visitor of the school since then. The eager faces of the students were enough inspiration to encourage me to come back. I begged them to adopt me as a guest teacher. I guess they did not have any choice so they gave in.
Five of the students, who are members of the Book Club, participated in Storython, a five-hour storytelling and arts marathon held last November, which is also a National Reading Month. They performed the book “Bruhahahahaha… Bruhihihihihi” which was written by Ma. Corazon Remigio.
The book was written from the perspective of a little girl who thought that her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Magalit, is a witch. The story teaches the lesson of respect for the elderly.
I came back in December, with my three children in tow, to witness the culmination activity of their English Month. They had a storytelling contest and a “Parade of Gods and Goddesses” from Greek Mythology.
I enjoyed the stories and the costumes as much as my children. I was judging the contests with a big smile plastered on my face. The twins, Nick and Toni, who were standing to my left and right sides, gave courtside reports about each character’s performance.
Our next goal is to have the school’s artists to illustrate the stories written by children from public and private elementary schools. The stories were products of the yearlong Story Hours project held at the J Centre Mall. Story Hours is a joint initiative of Basadours, Cebu Daily News and J Centre Mall. We held monthly storytelling and story writing sessions from September 2016 to September 2017. On February 24, we will have our culmination program, which also falls on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the Basadours.
The Tabok high school students will join other professional illustrators in the endeavor to give colors and faces to the stories written by children. Their artworks will be exhibited at the mall side-by-side with professional artists. It is my hope that the students will learn valuable lessons and seek inspiration from professional artists. They will work on the illustrations next week. I hope to invite an artist to give the students a couple of tips on illustrating stories before they go about their work.
The illustrators’ workshop will happen in the school library.
Teacher Jackie constantly updates me about the school library development. We will hopefully launch an initiative which had a working title, “Books for Tabok,” which calls on the public to donate books to the school.
This campaign will also encourage responsible donation because we will not allow people to just dump their old textbooks to Tabok. The school has wish list of book based on DepEd guidelines and the students’ needs. We hope to raise awareness that when we donate books, we also keep in mind the end users.
As a teacher-librarian, Jackie is restless in brainstorming with me ways to make the library an interactive and encouraging venue for learning. She does all these on top of her teaching load and her responsibilities as a wife and as a first-time mother.
The story of Tabok high school is not a rags to riches story. I did not bore you with details on how poor the students are or how sorry the state of the classrooms is. Why? Because the truth is, infrastructure wise, this school is way better than other public schools I have been to.
But Tabok’s story is worth sharing because it is a narrative of how teachers and students gathered and worked together to carry out activities relevant to each person’s development and the school’s improvement.
Tabok made me fulfill one of my lifelong dreams: to teach children in a school.
I yet have to fulfill my dream of being a licensed teacher. I am still working on that aspect. For now, I am proud to be an adopted teacher of this school.
I am mighty proud to be part of the wonderful story that continues to unfold at Tabok National High School.
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