BRIDGING GAPS IN TEACHING ADOLESCENTS IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

On the first three days, our seminar was focused on learning how to effectively teach
reproductive health to our learners.

Dr. Mary Jo Dulawan and some of her staff from the Provincial Health Office started with
discussing about the Local Health situation of Ifugao. She gave us statistics on the cases of
adolescent sexual abuse and teenage pregnancy in the different provinces of CAR and that, for
Ifugao, the municipalities that have a high prevalence of sexual abuse and early pregnancy are
those with campuses of Ifugao State University namely Lamut, Alfonso Lista and Tinoc. She stated
that these municipalities have high cases of teenage pregnancy mainly because most adolescent
were not equipped with proper sex education knowledge and are easily swayed to experiment
out of curiosity and pressure from their peers.

The team from the Provincial Health Office also gave us a workshop on identifying gaps in Sexual
and Reproductive Health Education and a lecture regarding values check and Sexual Orientation
and Gender Identity and Expression.

The next day, we discussed the national state of youth health and was given an orientation on
the RPRH Law and other laws and conventions on the different guiding principles of the Philippine
Comprehensive Sex Education Standards such as; a. sexuality is a central aspect of being human,
b. sexuality is inextricably linked to gender, gender identity and roles and gender power
inequalities, c. for this standard to be effective, it must respond to the concrete needs of young
people in a way that respects and fulfills their rights. For it to work, the CSE standards must be
based on evidence about the effectiveness of existing sexuality education, cognizant of the fact
that culture is neither homogenous nor permanent and take into account the teachers capacity
to teach CSE and its enabling laws and policies.

We were also given an introduction on the 12 Elements of Reproductive Health and the common
myths and misconceptions of adolescent reproductive health. They also gave a short orientation
on HIV and AIDS.

For the third day, we had a group workshop on how to creatively present about the different
available contraceptives in the market. In this, our group exceled and was given the Best Output
Award.

All in all, this three day seminar increased my knowledge and capability as a Health teacher. We
all learned that teenage Health, particularly Reproductive Health, is not just merely the absence
of disease or infirmity but a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing.
BACKDROP ART MAKING FOR THEATRE PURPOSES
JULY 14-15, 2018

A backdrop is an effective means of passing across a message, emphasizing the theme of the
event, promoting a product or creating recognition for a brand. This is a painted piece of cloth that
is hung behind the stage in a theatre as part of its scenery.

For this training, the speakers introduced to us the different color combinations that we can use.
They also introduced some of the different alternative materials that can be used as backdrop
pieces like twigs, shrubs, and household materials like brooms and brush.

During the training proper, we chose to paint a scenery portraying the landscape of Barangay
Cudog particularly the site of Lagawe National High School Annex and its nearby sites. Working
hand in hand with my group mates, we started to paint the canvas given to us which is 8 meters
in length and 3 meters in width.

It was a beautiful and satisfying experience as I got to share it with my peers. We enjoyed painting
our canvass and was able to finish it in time with in the deadline.
BAMBOO MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS FOR THEATRICAL PURPOSES

Another important aspect of a theatre play is music. It gives life to the presentation.

In this seminar, we were able to learn how to make some bamboo musical instruments like the
palipal and papak. Also, we were able to make and try the nose flute.

I was able to learn the importance of these bamboo instruments and the proper occasion to use
them as these are used in various occasions. Some are used for important rituals, some during
wakes and some during harvest time.

All our outputs were used in a small presentation before the day ended which gave a preview of
how we can incorporate the use of bamboo musical instruments on our own theatre presentation
that we will be teaching our students.
REGIONAL TRAINGING OF GRADE 7 TEACHERS ON CRITICAL CONTENT FOR MUSIC AND ARTS

The objective of this training is to provide the teachers with concrete understanding of critical
content in the curriculum and opportunities to demonstrate understanding of it. This is a 7 days
training full of learning.

We were given a pre-test consisting of 150 items. This is for the training facilitators to assess our
grasp on the subjects we are teaching in music and arts which also served as a review on our part.

Even as a MAPEH major teacher, I can honestly say that I still lack some knowledge on teaching
music and arts to my student and is thankful enough for this kinds of trainings and seminars.

During the seminar proper, the speakers explained why the training is titled as is. They pointed
out that only 25% of the 100 plus participants are MAPEH Major Teachers and the rest belong to
other Majors but are currently teaching Music and Arts subjects in their respective schools. The
speaker explained why the training is titled “Critical Content” as most teachers in music and arts
in the region don’t have a proper training and background in teaching these subjects as they
come from other educational major. Explaining further that because of this setup, the MAPEH
curriculum is not being followed properly leaving the students to gain little knowledge in Music
and Arts. As such, the Department of Education devised trainings such as this where the teachers
would be taught how to follow and experience the activities that are present in the curriculum
guide.

We were taught how to make the proper lessons to be taught in Music and Arts that would entice
the interest of the learners and have them enjoy it at the same time.

The facilitators gave us a review on the elements of music and familiarized us with the different
Filipino Folksongs which some I was not able to teach due to the lack of knowledge on how these
songs were sung. For 7 days, we were taught about music in the morning and arts in the
afternoon. For arts, they taught us some tips on teaching our students the proper ways on how
to paint, how to do sculptures using simple objects like a bar of soap and paper weaving.

We presented all our outputs on the last day of the training and were told to incorporate this
knowledge in our theatre presentation. The training broadened our knowledge in music and arts
and have given us additional capacity to teach these subjects effectively and efficiently.