We are a Community

We strive to be a community school in the truest sense of the word. It’s as much about striving to be a school for the community where the school is located and about transcending differences to come together and work together towards mutual development.

“How do we work together, really?” has been the perennial question. There have been many ideas. Different ways of relating and communicating have been tried. Today, parents’ roles in support of the school – in their homes and in school – are becoming clearer. The school is also striving to provide parents ways to be involved and be listened to.

Clearly though, teachers can only do so much in the four hours that the children are in school. What happens at home in the remaining 20 hours is entirely under the control of the parents. Some parents understand this home-school partnership immediately and do something about it. They stop relying on teachers to “rehabilitate” their children but look at themselves and improve their own habits and lifestyles first. Like swapping television watching with outdoor games and practical hands-on creative activities and swapping eating processed prepackaged food with fruits and vegetables.

In school, the partnership is concretely expressed in parents’ involvement in Tuburan’s six committees where they spearhead the enrollment drive, the search for additional teachers, the parent education program, fundraising activities, greening the school site, preparing meals, cleaning during health breaks, and more.

Bottomline is that children’s compassion, reverence, and respect for others are best nurtured in a community life where children can see and imitate adults valuing and caring for each other.

A genuine community life is one way of planting in children the seeds of mutual development and coexistence. Like their parents before them, children will grow up also wanting to do something for others and for the community.