Edsa Revolution in the eyes of the kids...
How do you tell a bunch of 6 year old kids the story of the Edsa 1 Revolution when you yourself wasn't even born then?
That was my dilemma a few days ago when our head teacher told me that we need to explain to the kids why they don't have a class on Friday, February 25. The first thing that came to my mind when my boss told this to us was, "Aren't they too young to even care about this? Would they even understand our explanation?" So with this questions in the back of my mind, I had to devise a way to tell the story without being bias and would make me sound like I really know the story. Both aspects posed a problem because I think Marcos was a very good President (although his methods were terribly in bad shape) and I wasn't born when this happened.
Luckily, we have a book in the house that contained pictures during the People Power 1. It was in black and white (which you wouldn't probably appreciate when you're in their age because it isn't colorful) but it would have to do. Imagine my surprise when they actually showed interest. As I told them the story of the first Edsa Revolution, they were very quiet and was listening intently to the story. They actually didn't even care about Kris Aquino on the picture (no offense meant). They were so engrossed with the picture of Sen. Ninoy in the coffin, the burial and the mass of people who were in Edsa then.
With this experience, it made me realize that the story how we got our democracy back shouldn't be limited to those who are in the elementary level and up. Sometimes its simpler to tell the story to younger children. They may have a lot of question but somehow, their questions are easier to answer. Also, telling them the story makes them more proud to be a Filipino (which kids nowadays sorely lack).
That was my dilemma a few days ago when our head teacher told me that we need to explain to the kids why they don't have a class on Friday, February 25. The first thing that came to my mind when my boss told this to us was, "Aren't they too young to even care about this? Would they even understand our explanation?" So with this questions in the back of my mind, I had to devise a way to tell the story without being bias and would make me sound like I really know the story. Both aspects posed a problem because I think Marcos was a very good President (although his methods were terribly in bad shape) and I wasn't born when this happened.
Luckily, we have a book in the house that contained pictures during the People Power 1. It was in black and white (which you wouldn't probably appreciate when you're in their age because it isn't colorful) but it would have to do. Imagine my surprise when they actually showed interest. As I told them the story of the first Edsa Revolution, they were very quiet and was listening intently to the story. They actually didn't even care about Kris Aquino on the picture (no offense meant). They were so engrossed with the picture of Sen. Ninoy in the coffin, the burial and the mass of people who were in Edsa then.
With this experience, it made me realize that the story how we got our democracy back shouldn't be limited to those who are in the elementary level and up. Sometimes its simpler to tell the story to younger children. They may have a lot of question but somehow, their questions are easier to answer. Also, telling them the story makes them more proud to be a Filipino (which kids nowadays sorely lack).
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