A TOTAL of 18,650 nonreaders and poor readers from different public elementary schools in Valenzuela City are set to attend classes about “how to read and how to read correctly” this summer.
The city government’s Public Information Office (PIO) said the students who belong to the Grade 2 to 6 levels would be taught by at least 648 volunteer teachers taking up various tertiary programs at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela (PLV).
The PIO said the 648 volunteer teachers called “big brothers” or “big sisters” will teach 213 nonreaders; 3,725 frustrated readers; and 14,712 instructional readers.
These students who belong to Grade 2 to Grade 6 levels came from different public elementary schools of Valenzuela City.
The PIO noted the volunteer teachers are very much prepared to teach the nonreaders and poor readers on how to read and how to read properly because they have undergone training from the Partners from Synergeia Foundation (PSF) on how to properly teach the “nonreaders, frustrated readers and instructional readers” to become readers.
During the March 24 workshop conducted by the PSF on “phonemic awareness, story comprehension, storytelling and how to effectively teach” the nonreaders and poor- reader students, PSF President and COO Dr. Milwida Guevara said a sound in reading a word is very important because “a sound makes a difference.”
These phonemic awareness, story comprehension, storytelling and how to effectively teach approaches are the latest improvement in the reading ability of the nonreaders and poor-reader project of the administration of Mayor Rexlon T. Gatchalian.
Teaching the grade schoolers to read and improve their reading abilities is actually one of the components of the 360 Degrees Education program of the Gatchalian administration.
The 360 Degrees education program that started in 2014, aims to “revolutionize the public-education system in Valenzuela,” the PIO said. The PIO noted the 360 Degrees Education investment program “has been recognized locally and internationally for its holistic, systemic, comprehensive and student-centered approach in giving Valenzuelano children the best education possible.”
In 2015 the Department of the Interior and Local Government awarded the 360 Degrees education with Haling Pook award for its best practice in addressing some problems in the education sector.
The program is a big help since poor reading among grade schoolers is one of the big problems of the Department of Education in all parts of the country.
After they undergoing training from Dr. Guevara, a veteran educator from the University of the Philippines, the PIO said the volunteer teachers will use a module entitled “Big Brothers, Big Sisters Reading 360°” as their guide in doing their assignment this summer.
The module contains topics like phonemic awareness; spelling; comprehension, spelling, communication skills and creative thinking using story reading; some questions to develop higher order thinking skills; steps in reading 360°; and rhymes and poems to enjoy.
One of the volunteers, Aaron Claire Villamor, a third-year Marketing Management student, said, “I am excited for this training’s outcome. I know as a big brother, I could really help the grade schoolers who are having difficulties in reading.”
Another volunteer, Thomascine Agatha Meneses who is pursuing an education program at the PLV, said the module given them would be effective. “Before, we were given a journal [as a guide in teaching the nonreaders and poor readers]. Now we have our own daily guide [which is better]; thus, we would become effective teacher aides.”
