JEWISH EDUCATION
Throughout Jewish history, the tradition of Jewish education began with the Old Testament during biblical times and the main purpose in the bible is to know how to worship God. The emphasis and value of education is strongly embedded in Jewish culture. Jewish parents were expected to teach their children about some basic prayers and what Torah forbids even at their very young ages. They should have transmitted Jewish morals, faith and values to their children.
The same is true with the education in Philippines at the Sisters of Mary School. It is an institution founded by Msgr. Father John Philip Aloysius Schwartz for high school students among the poorest of the poor in the Philippines. While in Korea, Brazil, Guatemala and Tanzania, they take good care of infants, children, adolescents and elders from the poorest of the poor who cannot be given proper care and education.
Although academics and technical vocational courses are offered freely by the hired teachers through the donations given by the foreigners supporting Msgr. Father John Philip Aloysius Schwartz, the nuns prioritize the teaching of catholic faith and beliefs through Catechism for the students to know, to love and to serve God through worship.
The students at the Sisters of Mary are taught about the basic prayers that they recite at a specific time within a day of their stay in the institution. They are also given lectures of what the bible teaches so as to become a better individual and citizen of the country who abides by the laws and teachings of the Lord Almighty as written in the holy bible especially when the time comes that they have to move out of the institution to face the real world outside its four walls.
They firmly believe in the motto “ Let us serve the Lord with joy”. There are four duties that they must perform while staying inside the institution namely: to pray, to study, to work and to play. Among these duties, to pray not only for oneself but for one’s family and for the whole world is the most important of all.
As the students go out to have a vacation in their own homes or to find a job or to continue their studies in college, they are expected to teach the prayers and beliefs that they have learned from the institution to the people they meet and interact with outside the four walls of the Sisters of Mary. Through God’s grace and guidance, I am very much blessed to be one of its millions of graduates.
These teaching must also be based on the Catholic faith and from the word of God written on the holy bible that they themselves as well as the people around them may live according to the will and law of God.
Some of them even act as little catechists who spend hours of teaching religion in some public and private elementary and secondary schools in their municipality.
When I became a licensed teacher, I still observed this at Our Lady Of Lourdes Academy and Lady Mediatrix Institute – private catholic schools in Tagkawayan, Quezon and in Candelaria, Quezon. The teaching of Christian Living was given so much importance. Assigned licensed teachers and sometimes the nuns themselves teach this subject. All teachers and advisers do have worship time where they read the daily verses, share their reflections and experiences. We even sang and dance as we worship together per section.
When I transferred in the public schools, teaching Catholic faith and values tend to be more of integration with specific subjects. Although there is ESP or Edukasyon Sa Pagpapakatao but it is more of the specific values that one must practice rather than the teaching of Catholic faith that is purely based on the bible itself.
Another thing is that… with the advancement of technology, the attitude or behavior of the pupils and students gradually undergoes a lot of changes that is really far from the attitude and behavior of the pupils and students way back then.
People are now busy with a lot of things like facebook, twitter, messenger, wattpad, google and youtube rather than spending some time in reading and studying the word of God through the bible. Maybe this is so true because some of the Filipino traditions, customs, cultures, beliefs and values are now forgotten with the presence of different traditions, customs, cultures, beliefs and values from other countries which are now being embraced by the Filipinos.
And it truly affects the kind of pupils and students we have nowadays. As it is always online and on television that education should begin and be nurtured at home – especially that of the values and behavior that they practice now.
Only if we can imitate the Jewish education where parents really teach their kids and children of the morals, faith and values… then our educational system would become more fruitful and successful in its truest sense.
Dean's 