Multiple Intelligence Intl School Foundation, Inc

I have been part of the MI community as a parent for 7 years now. My daughter started in MI Grade School in Grade 1. and has just completed her first year in MI High School.

I read Catherine's post with sadness, but I respect her opinion. I am sorry that this was her experience of the school. But because I know practically nothing of the case, It is best perhaps for me to say nothing of it.

Instead, I thought of sharing what my experience has been of the school over the past 7 years. To put some balance, so to speak, in what has been written about the school in this forum.

Respect for each child: Our first visit to the school is most memorable. We were in search of a grade school for my daughter, Therese, because the pre-school that she was in ended at prep. Teacher Joy, the directress of MI School, personally attended to us. When I told her that I was involving my then 6 year old child in the decision, she spoke first to me, but then knelt down to be at eye level with my daughter, and explained things to her as well. She respected Therese's opinion of the school, as much as mine. And respect seems to be at the very core of the school: Respect is given to every child, to every parent, every teacher, every member of the administrative staff. Teachers are addressed as Teacher Tess, Teacher Chris, or Teacher Myn; parents as Daddy Joel, Mommy Len, Mommy Mimi; administrative support staff as Kuya Peter, Kuya Louie, Ate May. Because the school community is small, through the years we have gotten to know our fellow parents by name, as well as our children's classmates and their teachers. When our children have issues in school, we are prime witnesses as to how their homeroom teachers, guidance counselor, and Teacher Joy work as a team and exert heroic efforts in order to process these experiences with our children, making sure that the kids learn from the experience, while maintaining respect for each other at all times.

Favorite spot in school: It is by Teacher Joy’s example that people in the community have embraced the culture of respect for children. It is perhaps the only school I know where students have absolutely no fear attached to the Office of the Directress, more commonly referred to in other schools as the Principal’s Office. If you have a meeting scheduled with Teacher Joy after class is out, you will find kids of all ages hanging out at her office while waiting to be fetched. They tell her stories, read her books, play on the floor, show her their artworks, tell on their classmates, give her gifts that they have made or letters that they have written. And Teacher Joy generously gives them her time and attention. She knows each one by name. Her office has clearly become one of the children’s favorite spots in school. In contrast, I remember how my classmates and I feared the principal’s office when we were growing up. It was a place only for kids who were in serious trouble. And that seems to be the case in most schools. At MI School, kids do not associate Teacher Joy’s office with trouble. Instead, they associate it with the values that Teacher Joy embodies when interacting with them: respect and unconditional positive regard for every child.

Every child is smart: The philosophy that "Every child is smart" makes MI School an ideal learning environment for children. Children are assessed according to the multiple intelligence framework of Dr. Howard Gardner, and are provided an intelligence profile. This profile is used by their teachers to help them learn, and it is also known to their classmates and parents in order to support them in their quest for learning. When my daughter Therese was in Grade 2, three of her classmates visited our house to swim in the village pool. I was surprised by the way Therese introduced them to me. "Papa, this is Katrina, she is body smart. This is Fleur and Sophia, they are both music smart." I thought to myself, if a child even at a young age knew very well what her strengths were, then she would have a healthy level of self-esteem, and be encouraged to overcome the challenges that she faces in school and at home every day. We can then look forward to a child who can effectively problem solve the challenges that she faces through time, and eventually become an effective leader in her community.

With your intelligences, you can make a difference: The intelligences of the kids are not just identified and honed in school, but the school also runs a program that encourages the children to use their intelligences make a difference in the communities that that belong to. Through the school's "Kids Can" Program, our children have initiated a myriad of projects in areas that have called them to make a difference. Projects have ranged from the simple, such as segregating, composting and recycling waste at home, planting a tree seedling, or having a garage sale to raise funds for a feeding program; to the bold and courageous, such as addressing and lobbying the Philippine Congress to pass the Clean Air Act. As parents, we are always amazed and inspired by concerns that our children have, and the ideas that they come up with to address these concerns. It is interesting for us to see how they are very deeply concerned about Mother Earth, and how they can help to protect the environment so that the world can still be livable when it is their turn to raise their own children. They also resonate very strongly with the work of Gawad Kalinga, and are committed to provide for the needs of the poor.

Because my daughter is nature smart, most of the projects that she initiated throughout her six years in grade school had something to do with the environment. But she also initiated two projects that will forever remain in my heart. The first one was a picture book. Because my wife Mila suffered a severe brain injury when she gave birth to Therese, Mila has become dependent on a wheelchair for her mobility. So for her "Kids Can" Project when she was in Grade 2, Therese wrote a children's book on the importance of wheelchair accessibility in buildings and public spaces, in order to give equal access to all people regardless of their abilities. For her second most memorable project, Therese encouraged me to run while pushing Mila in a wheelchair in the 10K event of Pinay In Action. I had been sidelined by a foot injury and kept away from running for three years. But Therese wanted me to run again to help raise awareness on wheelchair accessibility. For her project, Therese took photos of the event, and wrote about the experience, sharing her photo essay with her classmates and in her multiply website.

But my proudest moment came to me only last month. At the close of last school year, I received a text message from Therese's homeroom teacher, Teacher Myn. She said that a fellow MI Parent wanted to thank Therese for helping their son get through first year high school. Not knowing much about this, I asked Therese what happened. Therese explained that she had a classmate who had learning disabilities. He was quite smart, but he clearly had special needs. Part of his problem was that he could hardly keep still. His mind would wander, and then his legs would follow, taking him away from the classroom. So Teacher Myn appointed Therese to be her student mentor. Her role was to keep him in place, remind him to pay attention, and go out looking for him in case he escapes from class. So Therese fulfilled her role dutifully, so well, in fact, that during the last semester of the school year, his grades improved. I was so moved my this story, it almost made me cry. My daughter has made a real difference in the life of her classmate, and I thank the school for forming her and giving her the opportunity to do so.

It takes a village to raise a child: Because the school population is small enough, the parents, teachers and administrators of the MI School have made a conscious effort to deliberately foster a sense of community in the school. We do this through the Parent School Partnership Council (PSPC), which is the equivalent of the parent teacher association in most schools. The PSPC is composed of elected Parent Representatives, Teachers and school Administrators. Key in the success of the PSPC is the definition of the parent representative's role for her class. The parent representative is there primarily to support the teacher in her program for the year, as well as to build a sense of community among the teachers and the parents of her class. I have been a parent representative three times in my 7 years in MI School. Through the years, I can say that I am blessed to have developed valuable friendships with my fellow parents as a result, and have gotten to know the classmates of my daughter as well. I am "Tito Wawel" to my daughter's classmates, and they are sons and daughters to me to. We have grown into a real class community. We look after each others' children and we entrust our kids to our fellow parents if we are unable to personally attend a school activity. We write palanca letters to the kids who lack them when they are on retreat, we form carpools for school activities making sure that all the kids are present, we freely organize ourselves to give support to our children's teacher whenever necessary. Two weekends ago, the parents and children of my daughter's class went out to on potluck picnic and swimming party to mark the end of the school year for all our children. The gathering has become an annual tradition, and in the process, we have grown to know each others' families very well. We use these occasions to discuss, in a constructive manner, our concerns and aspirations for our children's schooling. The parent representative then relays these to the school, and the valid suggestions are carried out. We are lucky that we belong to such a community, where friendships among parents are fostered, where parents and teachers recognize the importance and effectiveness of a cooperative partnership in raising our children, and where the school listens and is responsive to our concerns.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating: But I fully realize that all these are just my stories, second hand information for you to read. Definitely, forming an opinion about the school based solely on this post is grossly inadequate. I therefore encourage you to pay a personal visit to the school. Speak with Teacher Joy, and with the High School Principal, Mrs. Olvido. Speak to the teachers. Speak to the students. Speak to other parents with children in the school. You may even speak to me. You may reach me at wawelmercado@gmail.com. We shall all be glad to share with you how blessed we truly feel about being part of this learning community

To "Oh my God a monkey" and "Your Face": I understand if you feel strongly about criticism about your school. And it is good to defend it and your batch too. However, I agree with "MI Parent too (Mommy J...)". No matter how strongly you feel about the issue, you should refrain from using such tone/language. It is CONDUCT UNBECOMING of an MI Student. Or in Mommy J's words, it is NOT the MI way. Please realize that by reacting that way, you are damaging the very school you want to protect because you reinforcing the bad image of MI in Mommy Catherine's mind. Who knows, perhaps she was misinformed. A more respectful reply would have shown her and everybody else that the true MI kid is respectful.

I have three kids in MI and have been an MI parent since 2001. One thing that stands out among MI kids in the Grade School is that they are respectful of each other and of grown ups. The MI Grade school community is like one big family. As parents, it is our hope and expectation that the high school is the same.