I was called a NUISANCE INQUIRER.
I was called a LIAR.
And the person who called me as such is a pastor.
He is a pastor who makes a business out of education.
He hires teachers who don't even have Bachelor's degree.
He hires teachers who could not even speak in straight English, and if they do, they commit so many grammatical errors.
His teachers' salaries are lower than the minimum wage.
He orders his teachers to photocopy an entire book on Language and demands students to pay for them. He claimed he asked permission from the author or publisher abroad but I won't believe that there is an author/publisher who would allow a school principal from this country to photocopy his entire book year after year, thereby not gaining any payment/royalty from such publication. I believe that photocopying books for students' use every year is a clear infringement of the copyright law. So who is the liar?
I bet, it isn't me.
He called me a nuisance inquirer after I went to his school, inquiring about how my son's grades were arrived at. I also asked for a clarification regarding the teacher's comment on my son's report card. Then I asked why my son rarely (twice in half a year now) brought home assignments and he never brought his books home, except when they had their second quarter exam.
I obliged myself to go to the school and see the teacher and the principal because I wondered why the teacher said in my son's report card: I HOPE HE WILL DO BETTER NEXT TIME. This comment made my husband think. What else will our son improve on? He got merits for recitation and he got 100% in all his quarterly exams and quizzes. My son's grades improved -- definitely. But we didn't think about grades. We thought about HOW else my son could improve his class performance and so I went to see his teacher and the principal.
I saw the breakdown of the grades. My son got perfect scores for quarterly exams (we knew that because test papers were returned). He also got 100% on quizzes ( we also saw that, but only for spelling and Math)-- we didn't see any quiz in other subjects like Filipino, Civics, etc. Then, I was surprised to see that my son got a grade of 70% on BEHAVIOUR on all subjects. Then he got 75% on recitation and assigment.
So I asked the teacher, "How did my son get 75% on assignments when I don't remember him bringing home any assignment? He didn't even bring his books home."
And the teacher said that the students usually do their assignments in school. That reply made me raise my eyebrow. If those were done in school, then they must be called seatworks.
I also felt bad with the grade of 70% for my son's behavior. My son does not do any harm to his classmates; he does not say bad words; he does not shout at anyone; he is not a bad boy. But I told the teacher that I admit that my son is really talkative. But I think being talkative, as far as five-year-olds are concerned, is not the kind of attitude that deserves 70%.
I was called a LIAR.
And the person who called me as such is a pastor.
He is a pastor who makes a business out of education.
He hires teachers who don't even have Bachelor's degree.
He hires teachers who could not even speak in straight English, and if they do, they commit so many grammatical errors.
His teachers' salaries are lower than the minimum wage.
He orders his teachers to photocopy an entire book on Language and demands students to pay for them. He claimed he asked permission from the author or publisher abroad but I won't believe that there is an author/publisher who would allow a school principal from this country to photocopy his entire book year after year, thereby not gaining any payment/royalty from such publication. I believe that photocopying books for students' use every year is a clear infringement of the copyright law. So who is the liar?
I bet, it isn't me.
He called me a nuisance inquirer after I went to his school, inquiring about how my son's grades were arrived at. I also asked for a clarification regarding the teacher's comment on my son's report card. Then I asked why my son rarely (twice in half a year now) brought home assignments and he never brought his books home, except when they had their second quarter exam.
I obliged myself to go to the school and see the teacher and the principal because I wondered why the teacher said in my son's report card: I HOPE HE WILL DO BETTER NEXT TIME. This comment made my husband think. What else will our son improve on? He got merits for recitation and he got 100% in all his quarterly exams and quizzes. My son's grades improved -- definitely. But we didn't think about grades. We thought about HOW else my son could improve his class performance and so I went to see his teacher and the principal.
I saw the breakdown of the grades. My son got perfect scores for quarterly exams (we knew that because test papers were returned). He also got 100% on quizzes ( we also saw that, but only for spelling and Math)-- we didn't see any quiz in other subjects like Filipino, Civics, etc. Then, I was surprised to see that my son got a grade of 70% on BEHAVIOUR on all subjects. Then he got 75% on recitation and assigment.
So I asked the teacher, "How did my son get 75% on assignments when I don't remember him bringing home any assignment? He didn't even bring his books home."
And the teacher said that the students usually do their assignments in school. That reply made me raise my eyebrow. If those were done in school, then they must be called seatworks.
I also felt bad with the grade of 70% for my son's behavior. My son does not do any harm to his classmates; he does not say bad words; he does not shout at anyone; he is not a bad boy. But I told the teacher that I admit that my son is really talkative. But I think being talkative, as far as five-year-olds are concerned, is not the kind of attitude that deserves 70%.
It's not difficult to make my son listen. With very few students in class, the teacher should be able to manage the class easily. I won't believe my son was just talking from 8 in the morning till 11 a.m. That is the implication of 70% on behaviour on all subjects. Just imagine...
Well, I was very disappointed when I left the school. The principal thought I understood everything. He thought I accepted his defense when he told me that the comment of the teacher may not be as exact as what the teacher intended to say because "alam mo naman ang teacher, maraming trabaho."
I also didn't buy the idea that my son got grades (but not scores) on assignment without taking home any assignment.
The following day, I decided to write a letter to the teacher to tell her that I was not satisfied with what we talked about that morning. I pointed out some ideas which she may or may not accept.
The letter went back to me that same day. But the principal wrote a response to the letter.
And he called me a nuisance inquirer. And a liar -- for making them believe I understood everything.
There was no word of apology for the vague comment of teacher on the card, or on the lack of scores for assignment, making my son deserve 75% for no transparent basis.
The letter implied that I should drop my son from the school this year. And it clearly emphasized that the school is no longer accepting my son next academic year.
I could not believe I was facing a devil, and not a pastor. He was so defensive. He was so unprofessional. He didn't realize that I was so professional when I went there and I maintained professionalism even on the letter I sent the teacher. I tried to deal with the issue and did not attack the teacher. I didn't even mention the name of the pastor on the letter. I made sure I was not attacking people, but just the issue.
But the pastor did nothing but to attack me personally when the only thing I did was to ask how my son's grades were arrived at. All I did was to tell them I wasn't happy with what I found out.
I never mentioned that the teacher committed a lot of wrong spelling and wrong grammar when she wrote lecture/notes on my son's notebook.
I did not tell him that the teacher has no methodology in teaching Mathematics.
I never told him that my ears get irritated with the way the teacher speaks in English -- wrong grammar, incorrect pronunciation.
I never attempted to attack the teacher personally.
I didn't even tell him on his face that he is just a pastor in disguise. That he is using his god to make all his staff afraid of him -- that they follow all his words even if they get very low income -- some below the minimum wage.
I know a lot of irregularities in their school because I have two in-laws working for him.
Unfortunately, they didn't help in our attempt to make clarification. I realized they don't want to go against their "master."
The bottomline: NEVER WOULD I WANT MY SON TO GO BACK TO THAT SCHOOL.
MY SON WON'T LOSE ANYTHING EVEN IF HE STOPS THIS YEAR. I'D RATHER TEACH HIM AT HOME. AND I WILL MAKE SURE THAT NEXT YEAR, HE'LL BE IN AN ACCREDITED AND QUALITY PREP SCHOOL.
I won't regret this decision. After all, I found out that the school of the pastor-in-disguise does NOT meet the standards for the organization and operation of pre-schools in the Philippines.
Well, I was very disappointed when I left the school. The principal thought I understood everything. He thought I accepted his defense when he told me that the comment of the teacher may not be as exact as what the teacher intended to say because "alam mo naman ang teacher, maraming trabaho."
I also didn't buy the idea that my son got grades (but not scores) on assignment without taking home any assignment.
The following day, I decided to write a letter to the teacher to tell her that I was not satisfied with what we talked about that morning. I pointed out some ideas which she may or may not accept.
The letter went back to me that same day. But the principal wrote a response to the letter.
And he called me a nuisance inquirer. And a liar -- for making them believe I understood everything.
There was no word of apology for the vague comment of teacher on the card, or on the lack of scores for assignment, making my son deserve 75% for no transparent basis.
The letter implied that I should drop my son from the school this year. And it clearly emphasized that the school is no longer accepting my son next academic year.
I could not believe I was facing a devil, and not a pastor. He was so defensive. He was so unprofessional. He didn't realize that I was so professional when I went there and I maintained professionalism even on the letter I sent the teacher. I tried to deal with the issue and did not attack the teacher. I didn't even mention the name of the pastor on the letter. I made sure I was not attacking people, but just the issue.
But the pastor did nothing but to attack me personally when the only thing I did was to ask how my son's grades were arrived at. All I did was to tell them I wasn't happy with what I found out.
I never mentioned that the teacher committed a lot of wrong spelling and wrong grammar when she wrote lecture/notes on my son's notebook.
I did not tell him that the teacher has no methodology in teaching Mathematics.
I never told him that my ears get irritated with the way the teacher speaks in English -- wrong grammar, incorrect pronunciation.
I never attempted to attack the teacher personally.
I didn't even tell him on his face that he is just a pastor in disguise. That he is using his god to make all his staff afraid of him -- that they follow all his words even if they get very low income -- some below the minimum wage.
I know a lot of irregularities in their school because I have two in-laws working for him.
Unfortunately, they didn't help in our attempt to make clarification. I realized they don't want to go against their "master."
The bottomline: NEVER WOULD I WANT MY SON TO GO BACK TO THAT SCHOOL.
MY SON WON'T LOSE ANYTHING EVEN IF HE STOPS THIS YEAR. I'D RATHER TEACH HIM AT HOME. AND I WILL MAKE SURE THAT NEXT YEAR, HE'LL BE IN AN ACCREDITED AND QUALITY PREP SCHOOL.
I won't regret this decision. After all, I found out that the school of the pastor-in-disguise does NOT meet the standards for the organization and operation of pre-schools in the Philippines.
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