Continuing our focus on WaterBridge Outreach participants
Laguna BelAir School, today we feature the inspiring feedback of Mr. Romel Obinario, Academic Team Head and Institutional Values Formation Program Head.
At the heart of every PaperTigers book is a message for all of humanity. The message each book conveys is 
relevant, timeless, and transcends the boundaries set by current economic, political, or cultural constructs that continue to impinge on the way peoples of the world interact today.
We at Laguna BelAir School have realized the affinity between our core values and those of the PaperTigers (PT) organization, as conveyed in the PT books that the organization has sent us. By sharing the PT books with our students, we are also imparting our core values in a way that is not awkward and forced. Through the books, they may realize that the things we say we value are not simply words to be memorized but are ideals that other people cherish and live out. Through their constant exposure to these wonderful books, and their continuous experiences in the school’s different advocacies, they may truly become what we wish them to be – stewards for a better world.
Thank you, Paper Tigers, for involving us in your outreach program. We share in Wangari Maathai’s (Planting the Trees of Kenya) advocacy of caring for the environment by planting trees and in her belief in women and in communities working together to bring about much-needed reforms. We are inspired by Kojo’s (One Hen) example of thrift and of making a difference one small step at a time. The way we view people with cultures or beliefs other than ours is challenged by the way friendship is forged between Abaani and Haki (First Come the Zebra), thereby promoting peaceful coexistence. And we are truly inspired by the boy (A Child’s Garden: A Story of Hope) who despite all adversity finds hope for a better future in a war-ravaged land.
Yesterday on the blog we highlighted student feedback from Laguna BelAir School that we received on the 2010 and 2011 book sets. Today it’s time to read some of the wonderful comments we received from the teachers. As I mentioned yesterday obtaining feedback from our participants is a crucial part of our WaterBridge Outreach project and we are most appreciative of the students and staff at Laguna BelAir School who took the time to share their thoughts and comments on the book sets.
Question: How specifically have the PaperTigers book/s (any of them) helped you to open your pupil’s minds and hearts to other places and other cultures
The PaperTigers books are stories of different countries. Because of this, the stories helped me in opening my pupils’ minds and hearts to other places and other cultures. For instance, the book Rain School relates the culture of children who don’t have a formal school to enter to, yet they still loved schooling despite of their unfortunate situation. The books tackled variety of stories introducing other places specifically remote places and containing adventures of young children. The lessons they hopefully learned might have opened their minds to the fact that more children are still wanting or excited to be educated and that my pupils are more fortunate than them. ~ Ms. Sheila Lumbay, English 1 and 2
Since most of my pupils don’t experience too many hardships in their lives, it is difficult for us teachers to open their minds in the reality of the world. But with the help of the PaperTigers books, they became aware of the different cultures. I have read a pupil’s answer regarding the difference of his life to the lives of the characters in the story. He said that he is fortunate because he doesn’t need to build his own school compared to the children in the book Rain School. With the help of the books, they become thankful with what they get, as well. ~ Ms. Kate Caling, English 3 and 4
Question: What was your favorite PaperTiger book/s among your pupils and why?
The favorite books among my Grade 5 students are One Hen and A Child’s Garden. But most of the students like A Child’s Garden because it is a story of hope despite local conflicts in the country. ~ Mr. James Alvin Mirador, English 5
Biblioburro was the favorite book of my pupils because most of them were able to read and to reflect in the story. The book has inspired them to read and borrow more from the library. In fact, one of their comments says that they also want to be like Luis who was a generous man and really loved reading books and shared those books to the children from far-flung places. ~ Ms. Sheila Lumbay, English 1 and 2
Question: How specifically have the PaperTigers book/s (any of them) helped you teach English and encourage reading among your pupils?
These books helped me little by little to appreciate reading. I learned a lot about other cultures and started to get fascinated in books. They said that if you want to learn more vocabulary words, try reading children’s books. It’s true! It widens not only my vocabulary, but also my students’. I could easily motivate them because I incorporated the stories in my lessons. The students and I were hooked with the books. ~ Ms. Emirose Gonzale, English 6 and English Coordinator
Do click here to read the entire teachers’ feedback document.
Today we continue our focus on Laguna BelAir School, located in Santa Rosa City, Philippines, and their involvement in our WaterBridge Outreach Project. The first post in the series can be read here.
Working with Ms. Vin Del Rosario, Laguna BelAir’s head librarian, PaperTigers sent 2010 and 2011 book sets to the school. These book sets were used by Ms. Del Rosario in implementing an inspiring reading program for her students in grades 2 to 6. More information about the reading program can be found here and a video of the program can be watched here.
Feedback on the book sets is a crucial part of our project as we want to share the responses of teachers and librarians, children and parents, to the book sets with others around the world. Feedback can be like ripples in a pond, spreading out across the globe, and one never knows what hearts and minds might be moved, and lives touched, by the book sets. Ms. Del Rosario went above and beyond in providing us with feedback from the students and teachers at her school and as our Feedback Coordinator Dr. Barbara Bundy recently stated “We are awed and also very grateful to all of you at Laguna BelAir School for treasuring these books and using them to engage your pupils and to promote both reading and cultural literacy on the one hand, and the values of your own school on the other hand.”
Following is some of the wonderful feedback we received from Laguna BelAir students. Click here to read all the feedback submitted.
Biblioburro
Please read the book because it is full of lessons about life. I’ve learned that one way to help solve poverty in the country is by sharing your knowledge to less fortunate ones, like what Luis did in the story.
Luis and I are both book lovers. We like to read books to other people. We are inspired with the stories we read.
Rain School
The part that I liked the most was when the students are building their school. I was amazed how the children who are so young would volunteer and help to build their school.
I recommend this book because I know that the readers would love it and enjoy it. They will be happy to know the culture of Africa.
A Child’s Garden
I recommend this book because it is a story of hope and undying love for the environment. It is also a nice story because even though the soldiers destroyed the plant, the boy did not lose hope. That is a good example for children like us.
Planting the Trees of Kenya
The similarity between my way of life and Wangari’s is that we both aim to help people in the best way we can. I admire Wangari because she helped others to rise from poverty by giving the people seedlings, teaching them how to plant, and telling people how to plant more instead of cutting and removing trees.
The Storyteller’s Candle
My favorite character is Pura Belpre because she is a talented storyteller. She has the ability to motivate and inspire others to read books.
First Comes The Zebra
My favorite part of the story is when the sun rising over the grassland in Kenya.
This promises to be a special week here on the blog as we spend the next few days highlighting feedback from one of our WaterBridge Outreach participants: Laguna BelAir School in Santa Rosa City, Philippines.
Our WaterBridge Outreach: Books + Water Nourishing the Mind and Body program (formerly known as Spirit of PaperTigers Outreach) seeks to further the overall goals of the PaperTigers Program: bridging cultures and opening minds, promoting greater understanding and empathy among young people from different backgrounds, countries, and ethnicities. More specifically, WBOutreach works to advance education through books and reading, and development through clean and accessible water.
Since 2009, the “Books” portion of WaterBridge Outreach: Books + Water has seen us put specially chosen book sets into the hands of young readers through schools and libraries, encouraging literacy, developing understanding and making reading a lifelong habit. Each year’s set is comprised of books that we feel provide “multicultural” or “trans-cultural” stories that promote awareness of, knowledge about, and positive acceptance of “the other” in ways children can learn and enjoy. We are convinced of the crucial role of literacy and reading in an education that fosters understanding and empathy. Click here for information on the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Book Sets can be found here and includes reviews of the books, interviews with authors and illustrators, illustrator galleries, and publishing information.
Laguna BelAir School has participated in our Book Set program for the past 3 years under the guidance of the school’s amazing head librarian, Ms. Vin Del Rosario. Using the books Ms. Del Rosario implemented an inspiring reading program for her students in grades 2 to 6. Ms. Del Rosario writes:
You have chosen quality book sets, books that contain values that are important to us. It was easy for us to share the books with our students as the stories and illustrations “capture” our students’ interests.
I initiated the PaperTigers reading program to create an avenue to encourage our students to read the books in a fun way. It is also the library’s way of helping the English subject teachers to get feedback on the PaperTigers books.
This reading program is a class effort. It encourages class participation. The more these students read in a class, the faster they can reach their reading goal. Reading points were assigned to different PaperTigers books. Class advisers and Reading teachers encourage students to participate in the reading program.
The students visit the library to read the PaperTigers books during their snacks and lunch break. After reading a book, the student is given a “book completion form”, which is a small piece of paper with two or three questions about the book. Students earn points for each form they complete and are awarded a “mini book certificate”.
Originally, I had intended to run the reading program up to November 2012. However, due to the overwhelming responses of the students, we completed it by the end of September!
We have been posting Laguna BelAir’s written feedback on the book sets on our Outreach page here. Earlier this month we received this video from Laguna BelAir school that documents their Spirit of PaperTigers reading program! Such a thrill for us to see the students and staff of the school engaging with the books we sent and I think we can all agree that Ms. Del Rosario’s reading program was a HUGE success!
http://youtu.be/v1ns1yb23T0
Head on over to the Spirit of PaperTigers site to see feedback from the Laguna Bel Air School, City of Santa Rosa, Laguna, Philippines. Students in Grades 3 though 6 provided their comments on the books in the 2010 Spirit of PaperTigers Book Sets. Here is a sampling of what they wrote:
Planting the Trees of Kenya
KY, Grade 4: I recommend this book because it shows concern for our mother earth and nature. It shows us how to protect and plant trees, so that we can help the environment.
Little Leap Forward: A Boy in Beijing
MZM, Grade 5: My favorite part is when Little Leap Forward’s father told him that ‘With your music and your imagination, you can travel anywhere; you will always be free’ because it’s very inspiring and also because I’m a musician, too.
CM, Grade 5: My favorite illustration is when Little Little and Little Leap Forward are lying down on the riverbank. It shows that both of them are free and are best friends. When I do what both of them are doing, I will focus on the sky and realize that I still have to do many things before I reach heaven.
AJA, Grade 6: I really like Little Leap Forward because he is kind to his family, friends, pet bird (Little Cloud), and most especially to Blue. He did everything just to let Little Cloud sing. He even let go of her just to be happy and to sing. I will always remember these words from Little Leap Forward: “Wouldn’t you rather be free, just for a day, than spend a lifetime in a cage?”.
VAdR, Grade 6: My favorite chapter is ‘Autumn Song’ because it shows that Little Leap Forward finally gets his wish: to play the flute along with Little Cloud. He played the bamboo flute by just letting the music out from his heart, which for me is the most beautiful music of all.
One Hen
KMS, Grade 3: I like Kojo because he wanted to save money for their needs.
EA, Grade 3: I like the illustrations because they’re all very, very creative.
