The Context: Who is the Filipino
Child
I would like to begin by identifying
the Filipino Child. We cannot talk about transformed children's library
services unless we have a good working knowledge of who we are providing
services for or who we wish to empower through our services and programs. We
need to always remind ourselves, as children's librarians that we wake up every
morning to work in the library for the children who need us. Children may not
tell us they need librarians, but they do! The adults who care for them and
work with them, parents, teachers, caregivers, counselors and the like need
partners. To quote an African proverb, "it takes a village to raise a
child." We are part of that village. We are in this enterprise of rearing,
teaching and caring for children who will become leaders of this nation and
responsible citizens of the world. Most importantly, the Filipino children we
provide services and programs for must grow up as empowered adults.
We are actually given a delicate
task. It is not less important or more relevant than our counterparts in the
school, college, research and special libraries. But the young adults and the grownups
these librarians are servicing were children once. So, a question I would like
us to think long after this conference is over is this: to what extent have we
provided effective, efficient, meaningful and transformational children's
library services? There must be a time and a place when and where we can talk
about results, evidences and manners of evaluation of our services and
programs. How can we transform continuously if we are comfortably seated in our
comfort zones? We will not thrive when we stay in the status quo. Moreover, the
children we serve will catch on this habit of complacency instead of imbibing
the value and philosophy of lifelong learning.
In broad strokes, we need to remember
that:
a. Children have needs.
Like all of us, children's basic
needs must be provided for them. Food and nutrition. Health care. Safety and
security. Education. They need to belong, to be appreciated, to achieve, to
love and be loved.
b. Children have rights.
The UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child identifies nine most important children's rights.
1. The right to life.
2. The right to freely express his or
her opinion.
3. The right to an identity,
including citizenship, a name and family ties.
4. The right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion.
5. The right not to be separated from
his/her parents against their will.
6. The right to have a name and
acquired citizenship, and where possible, the right to know his or her parents
and receive their care.
7. The right to standard of living
required for physical, intellectual, spiritual, moral and social development,
as well as the right to education, rest and leisure.
8. The right to freedom of
association, peaceful gatherings, and other such rights.
9. The right to have regular and
personal and direct contact with both parents (if separated).
c. Children learn.
Children learn in different ways, in
varied styles and modalities. Learning is very much a part of a growing child's
life and the environment he or she lives in contribute greatly to his or her
development as a person. A better understanding of the brain and how it
develops can help us understand the learning child's needs. Looking at the
learning from an oral, aural, visual and kinesthetic modalities
As children's librarians, we can
contextualize our library services and programs to the needs, the rights and
the learning capabilities of the children we serve. When we prepare our
collection development program, we take into consideration not only the budget
and logistics of the program, but likewise, the children who will read and use
the library's collection. When we design a children's section in the library,
we see this area as a learning environment where children can frequently visit
and stay on for hours reading, playing and discovering new ideas and ways of
knowing them. When we plan library activities that foster learning and
literacy, we need to involve them and get feedback from them especially after
the activity has been completed. Having children participate in our work in the
library opens up a learning opportunity not only for children for us too. In
short, the age of participation should not only occur online and in social
media. It should also happen in real life situations and the library is one
venue where children can be active participants to the library's many programs
and services.
Going micro, let us look at the
Filipino child. Living in an archipelago, our children's profile is as varied
as the many kakanin and rice cakes we serve and eat for merienda. But to know
them better, we can look at the environment and the time that our Filipino
children are growing up in.
Our Filipino children are growing up
in a fast paced world driven by technology and media. Knowledge creation and
knowledge sharing is the world's economic dictum. Climate has changed
drastically. There are breakouts of diseases in different parts of the globe.
War and conflict does not seem to end. Bullying exists in the classroom and in
government offices. Moral decline is the trend especially among our local
government officials and heads of state. The traditional dynamics of family
life and the values we grew up knowing is being challenged by these
technological, economic, cultural and sociological changes. The problems the world
comes face to face with affects us in global proportions. What a dangerous, yet
exciting time for a child to grow up in!
Given these global challenges, the
Filipino child of today will be a Filipino person of tomorrow who is very
different from whom they are now. We cannot separate the Filipino child with
the world. In line with ASEAN 2015, there is a great demand to strengthen the
knowledge and skills base of our educational system. Thus, our DepEd has been
working doubly hard on the K-12 program and reformed curriculum.
Where do we fall in the scheme of
things? If we call ourselves children's librarians, how are we contributing to
the mission of the global village in raising empowered children? What support
and initiatives have we started and set up to contribute to the DepEd's K-12
program? How are our library programs and services enriching the lives of the
children we serve but the parents, teachers, care givers, counselors and stake
holders of the community who are just as responsible for their well being? What
local and international partnerships have we collaborated with to install transformative
programs in our libraries thereby creating an impact to the community we serve?
Have we taken care of ourselves too? How do we respond to these global problems
and demands of the 21st century?
It is a time to ask hard questions.
Our culture of ambivalence need to change, if not drastically, then slowly and
with much thought and reflection.
I look at the program and I feel
positive that many of my hard questions will be answered as the conference
rolls along. In fact, these questions may have been answered already by the two
resource speakers who spoke before me. So, allow me now to discuss the last two
topics that, I believe has a strong connection to the mission we do as
children's librarians. The literature that our children read and the technology
they tinker with as a tool and an environment that, when designed, managed and
properly facilitated to children, can propel them towards empowerment and
transformation.
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