Matt's Peace Corps Journal: Banana Training

100 Islands National Park

The school year is underway. In addition to teaching English, I was also given the subject of Values for the senior students.

Values is taught three days a week and typically involves a short sermon to students about quitting their bad vices, focusing on their ambitions, and strengthening their spiritual relationship with God. I asked the principal if I might take a slightly different approach. She said go for it. When she asked what materials I would need, I said only two things. A condom and a banana.

Since I started teaching at Mt. Data, three students have become pregnant and several others had previously given birth. This is somewhat surprising given that there are only around 200 students at the school ranging between the ages of 11 and 16. On top of the problems of drinking, smoking, and gambling, it was easy to see that the values subject wasn’t as effective as it was meant to be.

I found an excellent resource - a teaching manual from Advocates for Youth meant to give Life Planning sessions to inner city children in the U.S. By following the lesson plans and altering it to fit the students, I have been enjoying this subject more than any other. It’s been a great chance to help educate the students and prepare them for topics that are typically seen as taboo in public schools. We tackled gender equality, sexuality, safe-sex, and a ton of other topics including the STD horror show we all encountered in middle school sex-ed. We have also discussed peer pressure and relationships, and this quarter the students are planning community projects to improve their communities.

While I have been given full support by the staff, I am wondering what parents will say this Wednesday during our parent-teacher conferences. An American teaching Filipino values? I’m sure it will cause some protest. What Filipinos generally assume about Americans is that the second we turn 18 we abandon our parents to go frolic and have lots of sex and eat white bread and get filthy rich. So I’ll be surprised if no parents make a few comments to the school about my role in the development of their child’s principles.

On top of teaching, my time has been spent helping to advise the new Art Club and organize basketball games for the students. Last month was our Nutrition Month program during which students danced and brought huge vegetables from their gardens to showcase before cooking them and eating.

The Peace Corps Close of Service Conference was held at the beginning of the month and was the last chance most of the volunteers had to say goodbye to their fellow volunteers before going home to the U.S. On the way to the conference I stopped at One Hundred Islands National Park with my host family to go island hopping and explore the hundreds of small islets. It was beautiful and I’m happy I got the chance to have one last adventure with my host siblings.

With less than a month to go I’m trying to make the most of my time left. While many volunteers choose to travel around the Philippines during their last few weeks, I’ve decided to dedicate it to my site. I’ve developed close relationships in a lot shorter time than two years before, so saying goodbye to my friends here will surely be difficult. My going away party is planned next month so I will have my last in-country blog post then!