Our recent After School Program (ASP) aimed to keep our scholars engaged with their lessons during the school break, ensuring they continue to learn and stay on track. Additionally, our ASP mentors had the opportunity to teach subjects they are passionate about, allowing them to engage with their interests while helping other scholars in their communities.
Here’s a testimony from Gian Mae Gatche, a Grade 11 ASP mentor from Bulacan:
“Ang nararamdaman ko po bago magturo ay excitement ang experience na ito sapagkat dati ako ang tinuturuan, pero ngayon ako na ang magtuturo sa mga bata. Kaya masaya po ako at naalala ang panahong ako’y tinuruan din sapagkat ramdam ko kung gaano kahirap ang hindi masabayan ang mga kaklase na mabilis ng makapagbasa.
Sa aking obserbasyon napagtanto ko po na ganito pala ang narasan ng mga ate’s na nagtuturo sa akin dito sa ASP. Kailangan pala ng mahabang pasensya upang matutu ang mga bata dahil mayroon ibang scholar na ayaw makinig.
Pero ganun pa man nagpasalamat ako sa Project Pearls sapagkat dahil sa programang ito ay nagkaroon ako ng chance maibalik ang mga natutunan ko noon.”
(“What I feel before teaching is excitement about this experience because I used to be the one being taught, but now I am the one teaching the children. It makes me happy and reminds me of the time when I was also being taught because I understand how difficult it is to keep up with classmates who can read quickly.
From my observations, I realized that this is what the older mentors who taught me in ASP experienced. It requires a lot of patience to teach the children because there are some scholars who do not want to listen.
Despite this, I am grateful to Project Pearls because this program has given me the chance to give back and share what I have learned in the past.”)
