A Glimpse of the Physical Education Program at Palawan National School in the Province of Palawan, Philippines

pelinks4u editor: Mr. Bienvenido Batallones Constantino, Jr. Professor, University of Baguio General Luna Road, Baguio City, Philippines

Palawan is considered the longest and biggest island province in the western part of the country, and some of its parts are still uninhabited. It is an hour by air and 24-27 hours by sea from the capital of the Philippines, Manila. It is considered a remote province, but one that is rich in natural resources. Palawan National School (PNS) is the biggest public high school in the province with more than 6000 high school students coming from different and remote areas of the province. This is where I graduated, and there has been no great change in the physical education program in the 15 years since then.

I can clearly remember when my friend called me with the news that Palawan National School's grandstand, the only building intended for the Physical Education Program, was burned. This was the only building with the classrooms needed for the thousands of students taking physical education. The ruined bleacher on the left wing of the grandstand served as an extension for PE classes as well. I was in my first year of high school (1989) when the grandstand was renovated; when I came back to teach it was falling apart so it only took a single match stick to burn and destroy it.

The grandstand was composed of 10 classrooms that accommodated more than 60 students each. Chairs were not enough to accommodate the students inside; there were some who had to stand for the whole hour of discussion. You had to come early if you wanted to sit!   Students having their PE classes under the 25-year old wooden grandstand with their teacher Mrs.Estring Lerio

The old PNS grandstand stood in the midst of tall grasses and served as the oldest facility in PE

Palawan National School (PNS) is a public high school run by the government's Department of Education (DepEd). The school is financially dependent on the local government of the city of Puerto Princesa, the capital of the province. Public schools in this province offer different PE programs. Private secondary schools usually offer advanced PE classes because they have complete "state of the art" facilities for their PE programs. However, both are under the authority of the DepEd. Public high schools in the province, particularly PNS, are not lucky enough to have facilities or equipment for high school PE students due to the limited budget provided by the DepEd and the city government. Instead, the DepEd is responsible for choosing and hiring the best PE teacher for PNS and other public schools in the province.

PE teachers in PNS are carefully screened and chosen by the management of PNS. They are all skilled teachers and mostly former athletes who successfully finished their respective degrees. PE teachers are highly competitive professionals. Despite the program lacking funds, they strive to provide students with what they deserve. Even in the midst of many struggles, they have found ways to make the PE program possible in the institution. Teachers are not only skilled in PE, but also capable of teaching music and arts because the PE program is integrated with music and arts and is called PEHM (Physical Education, Health and Music). At present, PE is also integrated with another subject called MAKABAYAN, a new provision implemented by the DepEd under former Education secretary and former Philippine Senator Raul Roco.		Competitive teachers of PE program of Palawan National School in Palawan, Philippines
Mr. Apdon, a world-class trainer rand coach in Sepak Takraw, teaching his gymnastic class, while students at the right wait for their turn while comfortably sitting on a dangerous gutter of the grandstand that was almost ruined.
	I can attest that even during my time in PNS, 1989-1993, the skills and knowledge of the PE teachers were incomparable. They were equipped with enough skills and knowledge, but not with the facilities that they needed to teach PE. Most of the teachers are former athletes who excelled in their field and had excellent academic achievement during college days. Elma Arquero (group picture above, 4th from the left, second row) and Roel Pocallan (3rd from the left, 3rd row among the groups males teachers) are my classmates now, and both teach secondary PE. They both used to be national athletes in Athletics and tae-kwon-do. They have dedicated their lives to mastering their field so they can become an efficient mentor for thousands of students who expect to learn about fitness and sports. These are just two of the competitive PE teachers in Palawan National School.

Yet, being effective is difficult in the absence of proper facilities. Teachers have trained in countless national seminar-workshops to use facilities and equipment in their own field of choice. However, when returning to their respective class there is no equipment for use. More than 6000 students suffered in their PE classes every year in this school due to the absence of facilities and equipment for sports programs.

Some of the PE programs being introduced for the students of PNS are:

• Philippine and foreign folkdances
• Aerobics
• Ball games
  • Basketball
  • Volleyball
  • Baseball and softball
  • Table tennis
  • Sepak Takraw/Sipa
  • Football
• Gymnastics
• Athletics
• Combative sports
• Mass Demonstration
• Larong Bayan (Philippine Indigenous Sports)
• Badminton

Some of the many factors why students fail to appreciate Physical Education

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

1) No equipment and limited facilities for students

Try to imagine a gymnastic class with 2000 students and no apparatus available! How can the teacher demonstrate a simple balance beam walk? Or simply show an uneven bar? Basketball and volleyball classes have the best privileges because the students love to play these games, eagerly bring their own equipment, and there is a facility for these sports. Baseball class uses balls made of stockings and pieces of wood for bats to avoid injuries. Good for track and field class because PNS has its own track oval. (But I felt so sorry for field events because there is no equipment available; it is just too expensive to provide for classes of more than 60 students each!). I remember that we were the last batch to use the ruined Javelin spear 15 years ago!

2) There are not sufficient classrooms for PE classes

A classroom is necessary for PE teachers during discussions. Some of the places teachers hold their classes are open fields, in the corridors, under the trees, or in ruined or abandoned classrooms. It's unimaginable for a big PE class to be in an open field where different distractions occur. This environment is not conducive for learning. PE demands a healthy environment where students can play in safety. Classrooms continue to be a big problem in Philippine education. The government is striving to provide better classrooms for new batches of students, but funding for education is insufficient for the 85 million Filipinos. Some need to rely on donations from private entities.

STUDENT FACTORS

1) Overloading the number of students inside the classroom

Overloading of students in the PE classrooms has been a problem for every PE class. Teachers cannot refuse students' enrollment in their PE class because it is a public school. This is the same problem for all public PE teachers all over the Philippines. In an overloaded PE class, students who are standing are not interested in listening during discussion because of individual concerns and the unhealthy environment. This is why some PE teachers hold their classes in open fields, but then other distractions reduce the student's attention to the teacher. Overloading often leads to the students ignoring their PE classes. Not even motivations have been able to increase their appreciation of PE.

2) Lack of interest and skills due to poor health status

PNS is a public high school; thus, students are over-flowing in each class. Not all are able to perform their PE activities properly because some are "weaklings." Teachers measure students' skills in PNS through a Physical Fitness Test (PFT). The PFT is given before a proper PE program is provided. Poor health status is still a problem in public schools in the country because most of students in public schools are the poorest of poor. A simple medical slip from a doctor stating that a student is weak is enough to exempt them from their PE classes for the entire year or even their entire stay in high school.

TEACHER FACTOR

1) Lack of skilled teachers due to the lack of funding

In Palawan National School teachers have been trained to "teach and execute." But the efficiency declined when teachers were given too many loads. Each teacher is handling at least 7-10 different PE classes from first year to fourth year. This is about 350-500 students for each teacher! Quality PE has been sacrificed to accommodate all the students. Due to very limited funds, the DepEd cannot hire new PE teachers. There are hundreds waiting for vacancies and opportunities, but because of the DepEd's financial problem, some of these teachers decided to work abroad expecting a better life. Moreover, the government has a good program for teachers who are domestic helpers and who plan on coming back to teach in the Philippines. They will have an immediate slot in public schools at either the elementary or secondary level. This is an attempt of Gloria's government to improve quality of education in the country.

Despite these dilemmas, PNS still produces the best athletes from their PE classes. Most of the athletes being trained to compete in nationals were discovered in PE classes. Thousand of athletes that have competed in different national games were produced by quality PE teachers in PNS. World-class athletes in Sepak Takraw have been produced and trained at PNS. It's an irony to think that despite this opportunity PNS is still far behind in comparison to other schools in the Philippines and even farther behind other countries in the South East Asian region.

The local government of Puerto Princesa has devised a plan to solve the problem of public schools, along with the private entities. PE teachers are led by their head Mrs. Flor Alfonso and the PNS administration. They are all working and striving together to provide the best for young generations to come.

The improvised classrooms through the collaborative efforts of the PNS administration after the burning of the old grandstand		The site of the old burned grandstand has been replaced with new PE classrooms through the effort of the city government of Puerto Princesa and lead by Mayor Edward Hagedorn.

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