DESCRIPTION OF

SENTRONG PAARALAN NG MGA AGTA (SPA)

 

I. A Brief History of SPA

SPA  was  established  in  1987  as  an  education  center  that  catered  to  the learning  needs of Agta youth and adults. The Tribal Filipino Center of the Prelature of Infanta  responded  to  the  clamour  of  Agta  communities  for  an  education  that  is  culturally rooted and is responsive to their learning needs. SPA started as a literacy program. Most  of  its  learners  came  from  remotest  communities  that  do not  have  access  to educational services provided by the government. 

 

In July 19, 2014, SPA received its Certificate of Recognition from the Department of Education as a formal elementary school implementing IP education. In 2016, SPA received its school identification number from Department of Education which is 425089. With the issuance of this school ID, every student of SPA is given a corresponding Learner Registration Number (LRN).

 

Since its founding, SPA has been firm in its mission of delivering a quality and relevant education to  Agta youth and children. It is manifested in the school’s continuous effort to interface indigenous knowledge systems and spirituality with the required national competencies.

 

II.  Description of SPA Curriculum

 

The curriculum of SPA is geared towards the realization of the school’s vision, which states:

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“Isang katutubong paaralan na nagdadalisay at nagpapatatag ng

pagkataong Agta; nangangalaga sa Lupaing Ninuno at kultura;

naglilinang ng angkop na kaalaman at kasanayan; nagpapalakas ng

kakayahang magsuri at makilahok sa gawain ng pamayanan; at

nagpapalalim ng paniniwala kay Makidepet.”

 

This vision serves as the school’s guiding principle in all its endeavours to form Agta youth and children as future culture bearers. The Agta elders firmly believe that they have their own system of education even before the coming of the colonizers. This is manifested in their capacity to transmit their indigenous culture from one generation to another. This kind of education is part of their everyday life. The teaching-learning process is embedded in their community life cycle. The formation of the children and youth is rooted and connected to the activities of the family and community. Their ancestral domain  which serves as the context of their indigenous education  is LIFE to them. Their relationship with their ancestral domain gives life to their relationship with Makidapet (their Creator),  with the spirits that nurture all of the creations, with their fellow human beings, with their ancestors and with the generations to come. Therefore, for the Agta, their ancestral domain is alive and gives them life.  For the  Agta,  learning  happens  through  actual  participation  in  family  or  community activities; by observing activities and  the environment; by listening to the parents and elders and to the various sounds and movements of the environment; and by relating/interacting with the Creator, with other Agta and with the all the things in the ancestral domain.

 

Because of this, the curriculum of SPA is rooted on the community life cycle of the Agta. Each  quarter  has  a  theme  based  on  the  prevailing community activity during that period. The following themes serve as the foundation of the teaching-learning process for every quarter:

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1. Unang Quarter: Buhay Agta Nakaugat sa Kalikasan: Yamang Tubig

2. Ikalawang Quarter: Buhay Agta Nakaugat sa Kalikasan: Yamang Gubat/Bundok

3. Ikatlong Quarter: Buhay Agta Nakaugat sa Buhay Pamilya

4. Ikaapat na Quarter: Buhay Agta Nakaugat sa Buhay Pamayanan

 

Each  indigenous  activity  is  viewed  as  an  integrated  indigenous  knowledge  system with spirituality as its core. Because of this, indigenous activity serves as the thread that connects all the subjects that are being taught. In this way, the learners will be able to understand the concepts taught in every subject as interconnected. The Agta view their indigenous activities as their means of giving life to the culture which they have inherited from their ancestors. One elder clearly stated that:

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“Ang kultura ay hindi isang asignatura na pag-aaralan, sa halip, ito ang pamamaraan upang matutunan  ng  mga  kabataang  Agta    ang  mga   kaalaman  mula  sa  patag  namagpapayabong ng kanilang pagkataong Agta.”

 

The formation of Agta children is also based on their individual capacity and age. The parents  and  elders  take  into  consideration  the  readiness  of  the  children  and  their specific tasks in the community. This principle is also being observed by the school.

 

To give emphasis on the importance of this principle, each grade level is compared to a particular kind of vine that grows abundantly in the forests of Quezon which they commonly called uway. These are the following:

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1. Kamlis (Kindergarten)

2. Goro-goro (Grade 1)

3. Talitol (Grade 2)

4. Tanla (Grade 3)

5. Porag (Grade 4)

6. Tumarim (Grade 5)

7. Masnang (Grade 6)

 

For SPA, it is clear that the learning process does not end in the school.  Learning continues as each learner interacts with his/her environment which includes not only his  family  or  community  but  the  whole  society.  All  the  learnings  gained  inside  the school will only be valid only if they are applied in the learner’s everyday life.  

 

SPA envisions  the formation of Agta who will be actively involved in the attainment of their tribe’s aspiration  towards  self-determination  and  self-reliance.  This  will  happen  if  the formation of Agta children in SPA is:

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1. Rooted in the community life of the Agta;

2. Strengthened by continuous practice of their culture;

3. Rooted in their relationship with the ancestral domain;

4. Founded on their indigenous spirituality

5. Open to accept new knowledge and skills that would enrich their indigenous personhood.

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SPA's TAGALOG BROCHURE