School days for the most part are the same in the
Philippines as they are elsewhere in the world. Kids arrive to school and head
to their assigned classes as normal. There may be a morning activity they
attend prior to their classes, such as a flag raising ceremony, skits performed
by different classes or any announcements the principal may want to make.
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| Michael the school guard monitors kids entering and leaving during breaks. |
The differences I have found in the schools between the
States and in the Philippines are the breaks they have for snacks and lunch. As
a kid growing up, when attending school we did everything together as a class.
At break time the bell would ring and we would all go outside to play. If not
one of our teachers, there would at least be a teacher on the grounds to
monitor the kids playing. After our short break outside, we would then be lined
up to go back inside for class.
This also was true for lunch breaks. We all went to the
cafeteria as a group. School lunches were provided either by paying for your
lunch or subsidized. We would get our trays and milk and sit at a table to eat
together. Once we were finished lunch, we were allowed a few minutes play time
if I remember correctly before being marched back to the class room. This of
course changed over the years as I got older and we had a little more freedom
with our lunch breaks.
With that being said, I was quite shocked when placing our
kids in school here in the Philippines. At break time, the teachers just
release the kids to go out of the room. Some play and some eat snacks. But
there is no teacher guidance during this time. The teachers themselves seem to
use this time as a break. It is the same
during the lunch break. This is usually a little longer break around at least
an hour if not more. The kids come running out the doors and then what?
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| Busy moms in the waiting area |
This is where the parents or guardians (nannies) come into
play. At a lot of Filipino schools you will see a gathering of women (and some
men) gathered at the front entrances to the schools. Many times there are
actual waiting areas for these individuals to spend the hours during class
waiting on the children to be released. They are there so that during break
times and lunch times they can take care of the children in their care and make
sure they eat, play, use the restroom (CR in Philippines) and get cleaned back
up before going to their next class. The parents and nannies many times build a
bond while waiting on the kids, so I guess this is not that bad an idea. I
found this to be an inconvenience, as in the States a parent would not need to spend the day at school in this manner.
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| Watching videos during lunch |
We do not have time to travel back to our house during these
breaks, so we take our kids to a local eatery called Ala Eh’s which is just
around the corner from the school most days. It is a nice restaurant that provides the
kids with school priced lunches. These are special meals that are cheaper than
regular restaurants and usually will cost 25-50 peso per meal depending on what
you get. This is a nice place that has covered seating and is also open air. This
gives it a cool atmosphere even on a hot summer day! The kids enjoy the food
and they like having a large table to place their computer on so they can watch
their favorite YouTubers while eating!
After lunch we return them back to the school to clean up before
the afternoon classes begin. There they meet up with their friends and plan the
rest of their day. Moms and Dads can then relax until the next bell sounds for
the afternoon break! It will be a few more years of this until all our children
get to an age that they can have a little more freedom during these periods to
do more of what they would like to do. Maybe just hanging around the school
with their best friends!
Please watch the video below of our experience eating at Ala
Eh’s and then getting the kids back to school.
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