Photos et lettres des Philippines, de France et d'ailleurs

That day the son of my friend Charlie was graduating from high school after difficult studies but that's another story in which parents do not always completely play the role allotted to them. Unfortunately it happens to us all us at one time or another in the education of our children.

(The students hearing mass. As usual the girls will run off with most of the prizes)

(Joël the graduate)

(The presentation of Diploma. Joël was also awarded as the most obedient student)

(The joy and the pride of the parents)

The Philippine education system bequeathed by the Americans after the country's independence in 1946 was one of the pioneers in the region or even in Europe until the 60s.
Since it has not or little changed with a population that has doubled in thirty years.
Classes in public schools may have up to 80 students and beyond.
The instruction is in Filipino language but English is also taught as it becomes the official language in College.
Although school is compulsory many children do not attend for reasons of extreme poverty or even because they speak and understand only their own dialect.
In recent years, regional languages ​​are allowed in elementary school until children have mastered the Filipino. Still the poverty is there.
Saturday, April 9th ​​I had an appointment with a local high school teacher for the English tutoring during the summer holidays of our house keeper's three children as we had noticed that their eldest daughter's English taught in public school was inadequate during the College entrance exam as she was obliged to take extra units to get through the English level required.
This teacher told me she had classes of 48 students but it was much better compared to the 70 before.
So for parents who can afford it they send their kids in private schools, some of which are very good.
It will also soon be the end of the Philippines exception where it takes only 10 years for a child to reach College, 6 years in Elementary and 4 years in High School whereas it is 12 years almost everyplace the world. The additional two years will also be used to prepare young people for entry in College based on their abilities and desires. Today there is no prior orientation and that is the result at the entrance examination to University that decides of it.
If I take the example of Joel the son of my friends, although weak in math, his father wants to make him a mechanical engineer. Fortunately he is obliged to make three choices, engineering, business administration and medical lab. Finally, all of that is still not very coherent.
Recently the Philippines have participated among 25 other countries in an assessment of the school level and they finished second last to Bangladesh.
It is time that changed because one of the main resources of the Philippines comes from the fruit of all its overseas workers skill level.