The Blackboard Campaign

by UTROS in Philippines
July 12, 2019

“Give, even if you only have a little. –Buddha

The green painted wood or ‘Pisara’ in Tagalog and a chalk brings back memories to us. This is the most widely used and economical type of blackboard. It is used as an old method of teaching aid, the blackboard has advantages of being inexpensive, reusable, allow students to keep pace with the teacher and not dependent on electricity. The chalk used for writing requires no special care, is cheaper, without any smell, good impact on presenting written and visual ideas. The real lecture was taught to us using the blackboard and a piece of chalk and take down notes never bothered us. It was a mandatory rule of every teacher to copy all the written lesson on the board.

Today, we still use blackboards and whiteboards on higher education but some rural areas barely use them. With the evolution of technology, students can now easily access modern learning devices such as cellphones, computers; tablets, laptops with the help of internet makes it easier to learn and achieve competence. But we must not forget the lessons from our past. The prominent balance between the new methods of learning and still embracing the old method of teaching to supports the timeless fundamental of our education.

As part of UTROS program, we conducted an assessment to Guinting Elementary School located in Cabuyao, Laguna to mobilize to address the community needs. The school was founded 65 years ago and still accepting students from Kinder to Grade 4. We figured out the lack of blackboard in the classrooms. This was the first time UTROS distribute blackboard to an old school. The organization wanted to help address one of the most critical issues prevalent in rural when it comes to teaching and nurturing the minds of the students and the teachers. We are still looking for other ways to build up the communities that will promote successful community development in the future. Being able to help is privilege for us as it teaches us to understand compassion. This program also help us to practice and teach Altruism and abolish selfishness. This is just the start, we encourage everyone to be part of us to surprise and spread joy to people.

We would like to sincerely thank you to our sponsors Mrs. Joana Oriel and Mr. Lloyd Oriel for having such a caring and giving heart and Ms. Pauline Gonzales and all the teachers and students of Guinting Elementary School.