Changing the future…that’s what it was about when we conceptualized TEACH for Tomorrow (Teaching Educators and ChildrenHow), an outreach learning program. At the heart of TEACH for Tomorrow is the desire to reach out to children who have already given up on themselves, change their experiences, and allow them to build stronger foundations for a better future. It aims to equip these kids, while als
o training their teachers, so that they too can sustain and continually support the growing confidence and love for learning that these children are developing. TEACH for Tomorrow takes into account each child’s holistic development and in still in them deep rooted values that are anchored on paying it forward. We started with one public school in the Philippines. We touched base with 50 non-reading third graders and showed them how fun it is to actually read. We helped them face their fears and allowed them to discover how manageable the lessons really were. We followed up this activity with Teacher Training Sessions that would equip the teachers with new strategies that will help them address their children’s needs better. We culminated our pilot out reach with relevant donations that will ensure the continuity of what we started. Our pilot outreach ended with hugs, a couple of tears and heart felt thank you’d. Our day ended with the kids and teachers equally empowered and excited. I recently spoke to the head of the school. She expressed how much the children’s attitudes have changed drastically. She went on to share anecdotes of how the children have been pouring over the books we donated. She ended by asking for more opportunities to learn. “You see,” she said, “we never learned these in college.”
Hearing those words, who would ever want to stop helping out? There are more schools to go, more children to teach, more teachers to train. There are so many experiences these children can benefit from. There are so many bodies of truth and knowledge that teachers can use to help address their students’ needs better. Sadly, they do not have the luxury of time, resources, and manpower. So that’s where we’re putting ourselves at. With whatever limited resources we have, we commit to teaching kids, even if it means our weekends sacrificed. With whatever limited resources we have, we commit to sharing with the teachers, so they too can enjoy teaching again. With only ourselves and a handful of supporters, we commit to preparing materials, cutting and laminating them carefully, sorting and organizing them for immediate use, so all these children will have the full advantage of experiential education, not just traditional means. We have quite a feat ahead of us, but we’re not daunted. In fact, we find ourselves very excited. We’re more than up for the challenge, because we believe that every child we encounter is one future made better. We believe that every teacher we train is anexponential number of children with better tomorrows. TEACH for Tomorrowis a commitment in changing futures, changing lives and making a difference, one child, one educator at a time.
