Peace Education for Peaceful Laguna: Orientation Program and Workshop for DepEd Teachers in Pila District

JAMBIDAILY PILA, LAGUNA – On January 8, 2021, 431 teachers from 16 schools from the Department of Education (DepEd) Division of Laguna-Pila District joined in the virtual Peace Education Orientation Program and Workshop.

The program was provided by Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), an international non-governmental organization headquartered in South Korea. HWPL drafted 12 Peace Education Lessons applicable to the educational system of many countries, including the Philippines.

With the theme, “Raising Peace Educators for Peaceful Laguna,” this program aimed to equip teachers with the 12 Peace Education Lessons and enrich the contents of Peace Education Modules for each educational level to best reflect the characteristics of educational institutions.

“In the past, we only saw that our school is a zone of peace, but the question is how. How come our school has become a zone of peace?” said Dr. Marites A. Ibañez, Schools Division Superintendent of DepEd Laguna Region IV-A, in the Inspirational Message. She also stressed the instructive value of peace education that affects not only the learners but also the parents, teachers, and other members of the community.

After the Inspirational Message, the students who participated in the peace education program presented a performance singing “We Are the World” and “Heal the World” through the virtual meeting screen.

In the morning session, an overview of the 12 Peace Education Lessons and the standard lesson plan was introduced.

During the workshop, the teachers wrote lesson plans following the guidelines to modify the instructional materials better for the students. The developed instructional materials will be used in the pilot testing for schools in Region IV – A which will start in Pila, Laguna.

In order to reach more learners during the pandemic, DepEd continues to conduct educational projects including peace education through more flexible and more accessible learning modalities. For this, Dr. Florentina C. Rancap, Public Schools District Supervisor (PSDS) of DepEd Division of Laguna – Pila District, shared their plan to air weekly lessons in a local FM radio station named Radio Pinagpala (Blessed Radio) starting on January 19.

“I was challenged to integrate peace education not only for a single grade level, but in all levels from Kindergarten to Grade 12,” she added.

Since 2016, HWPL has established a partnership with 72 schools and educational institutions in the Philippines including the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for the integration of peace education. Before this workshop, HWPL conducted 2 workshops for 62 schools and pilot testing for 8 schools mostly in Cotabato City last November 2019 and January 2020.

HWPL will be holding another workshop and orientation program for 2 state universities and colleges (SUCs) under CHED Region V on January 14-15 and for 71 SUCs under CHED Region II on January 22.