Today’s Manila Bulletin, page 4, reads Manila offers free education to youth.

I must applaud Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim for and his city government for working to make Francisco Balagtas Elementary School in Sta. Cruz, Manila to be a free school.  I hope that there are more of this in the Philippines.  In the US, my education was virtually free all the way to high school.  Yes, there were the occasional fees here and there, but it was very, and I mean very, affordable.  I also hope that teacher’s salaries will be increased because it will motivate to work harder and have pride in what they do.

Below this article is another headline that reads, Teachers, parents urged to uplift quality of education.  This time, it’s Valenzuela city mayor Sherwin Gatchalian urging more than 200 educators and community members  to become more involved in the education system of the city.  This is great news because we normally forget that we have a voice in how we want our education to be.  We leave it up to the educators themselves to do as they wish.  Parents, first and foremost, have the responsibility of ensuring that their children get the best education, no matter how poor you are.

Every thousand miles begins with a single step.  This is one of the early steps that our elected leaders are taking, and I applaud them for this.  Let’s just hope that, in the process of the many steps to come, it is all for the common good, and not for the selfish few.

Two of the main concepts we teach here at The American Institute is confidence and critical thinking.  We want our students not only to speak English, but to be fully assertive and to think intellectually.  We want our students to be free thinking human beings, capable of making sound decisions.

And one of the ways we accomplish these goals is by respecting all of our students.  We want to understand their situations, listen to their needs, and respect them for who they are.  We allow them to be creative, to be critical, and to be purposeful.  At the end of the day, we are not only English teachers, but guides, advisors, and friends.

In this blog, we want to discover the humanity of our students, our friends, and everyone around us, regardless of their color or creed.  We believe that the essence of education and of being truly free, is through understanding one another.

We present to you…Fearless Faces!