DepEd enjoins schools to set Nat'l Children's Month activities
Published Oct 29, 2018 05:49 pm
By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
The Department of Education (DepEd) encouraged all private and public elementary and secondary schools to undertake activities in line with the celebration of the 2018 National Children’s Month (NCM) in November.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones (PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Education Secretary Leonor Briones, in DepEd Memorandum No. 163 series of 2018, expressed support to the celebration the NCM this year which will be led by the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC). She noted that the celebration of this year’s NCM is pursuant to Republic Act No. 10661, “An Act Declaring the Month of November of Every Year as the National Children’s Month.”
It commemorates the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the United Nations General Assembly on Nov. 20, 1989 and “seeks to instill its significance in the Filipino consciousness.”
Briones said the DepEd is mandated to “facilitate and encourage the celebration of this month in all public and private schools nationwide.”
End the violence
With the theme, “Isulong: Tamang Pag-Aaruga Para sa Lahat ng Bata,” this year’s NCM celebration marks the launch of the Philippine Plan of Action to End Violence Against Children (PPAEVAC).
The PPAEVAC is a multi-sectoral road map to “progressively reduce violence against children as part of the government’s commitment to build an enabling environment that respects, protects and fulfills child’s rights and address specific Sustainable Development Goals.”
Briones, in the said DepEd Memo, noted that the PPAEVAC “translates the findings of the 2015 National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children (NBS-VAC) into specific actions and results.”
The study, which was spearheaded by CWC, reveals that in “various settings in the Philippines, it is reported that three in five children have experienced physical violence; three in five children have experienced psychological violence, and one in five children have suffered sexual abuse.”
The PPAEVAC, Briones noted, also considered findings of the Systematic Review of the Drivers of Violence Affecting Children, which presents VAC as “not only an issue of personal behavior, but as situated in contextual factors that influence individual behavior such as the family’s level of financial security and education as well as community social norms.”
Under the PPAEVAC, Briones said that DepEd is “the lead agency for Key Result Area (KRA) 2 which states that “children and adolescents should demonstrate personal skills in managing risks, protecting themselves from violence, reporting their experience of violence, and seeing professional help when needed.”
Positive discipline
“In support of the key strategies of the PPAEVAC and its implementation, the NCM shall focus on positive parenting,” Briones said. Consistent with positive parenting, the DepEd issued DO No. 40, Series of 2012, titled “DepEd Child Protection Policy,” which prohibits the use of corporal punishment and promotes the use of Positive Discipline in schools.
“Positive Discipline is an approach to teaching that helps children develop appropriate thinking and behavior in the short and long terms and fosters self-discipline,” Briones explained. “It is based on the fundamental principle that children are full human beings with basic rights,” she added.
In view of the NCM celebration and this year’s theme, Briones said that the DepEd Central Office (CO), regional/schools division offices, and all public and private elementary and secondary schools are encouraged to undertake various activities in the month of November.
The activities may include hoisting of streamer/banner of the 20th NCM depicting its theme; recitation of the “Panatang Makabata” in the flag raising ceremony on November 5 – which is also the date of the NCM kickoff celebration; conduct of in-school discussions, fora and learning action cells (LACs) on positive discipline; conduct of regional, schools division and school-wide orientation training on positive discipline by trained facilitators and the members of the parents teachers association (PTA); in-class discussions on current issues such as bullying and conduct of child-friendly activities such as art contests and others.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones (PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Education Secretary Leonor Briones, in DepEd Memorandum No. 163 series of 2018, expressed support to the celebration the NCM this year which will be led by the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC). She noted that the celebration of this year’s NCM is pursuant to Republic Act No. 10661, “An Act Declaring the Month of November of Every Year as the National Children’s Month.”
It commemorates the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the United Nations General Assembly on Nov. 20, 1989 and “seeks to instill its significance in the Filipino consciousness.”
Briones said the DepEd is mandated to “facilitate and encourage the celebration of this month in all public and private schools nationwide.”
End the violence
With the theme, “Isulong: Tamang Pag-Aaruga Para sa Lahat ng Bata,” this year’s NCM celebration marks the launch of the Philippine Plan of Action to End Violence Against Children (PPAEVAC).
The PPAEVAC is a multi-sectoral road map to “progressively reduce violence against children as part of the government’s commitment to build an enabling environment that respects, protects and fulfills child’s rights and address specific Sustainable Development Goals.”
Briones, in the said DepEd Memo, noted that the PPAEVAC “translates the findings of the 2015 National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children (NBS-VAC) into specific actions and results.”
The study, which was spearheaded by CWC, reveals that in “various settings in the Philippines, it is reported that three in five children have experienced physical violence; three in five children have experienced psychological violence, and one in five children have suffered sexual abuse.”
The PPAEVAC, Briones noted, also considered findings of the Systematic Review of the Drivers of Violence Affecting Children, which presents VAC as “not only an issue of personal behavior, but as situated in contextual factors that influence individual behavior such as the family’s level of financial security and education as well as community social norms.”
Under the PPAEVAC, Briones said that DepEd is “the lead agency for Key Result Area (KRA) 2 which states that “children and adolescents should demonstrate personal skills in managing risks, protecting themselves from violence, reporting their experience of violence, and seeing professional help when needed.”
Positive discipline
“In support of the key strategies of the PPAEVAC and its implementation, the NCM shall focus on positive parenting,” Briones said. Consistent with positive parenting, the DepEd issued DO No. 40, Series of 2012, titled “DepEd Child Protection Policy,” which prohibits the use of corporal punishment and promotes the use of Positive Discipline in schools.
“Positive Discipline is an approach to teaching that helps children develop appropriate thinking and behavior in the short and long terms and fosters self-discipline,” Briones explained. “It is based on the fundamental principle that children are full human beings with basic rights,” she added.
In view of the NCM celebration and this year’s theme, Briones said that the DepEd Central Office (CO), regional/schools division offices, and all public and private elementary and secondary schools are encouraged to undertake various activities in the month of November.
The activities may include hoisting of streamer/banner of the 20th NCM depicting its theme; recitation of the “Panatang Makabata” in the flag raising ceremony on November 5 – which is also the date of the NCM kickoff celebration; conduct of in-school discussions, fora and learning action cells (LACs) on positive discipline; conduct of regional, schools division and school-wide orientation training on positive discipline by trained facilitators and the members of the parents teachers association (PTA); in-class discussions on current issues such as bullying and conduct of child-friendly activities such as art contests and others.