Ensuring a young
learner’s future success is not defined solely by where and who they grew up
with. A child’s upbringing is not defined by their circumstances, but by the
conscious choices that those who support them make. What does it take to foster
a learning environment that supports young learners? It takes action, and a
deep sense of responsibility rooted in community support.
In the
Philippines, education is considered as a cornerstone of helping the national
economy thrive in a fast-paced world that demands new perspectives to answer
the challenges and recognize the opportunities that today's realities serve. We
live in spaces with so many diverse aspects that each contribute to how we look
at ourselves and decide what to do in life, with the world out there. This is
why it is important to build our capacities from multiple perspectives: to
shape our intellectual, social, physical, emotional, artistic, and creative
potentials. What does this mean for our young learners?
Shaped by the
rapid advances in global industry and technology, young learners today have
more privilege in terms of access to vast troves of information, all available
at the touch of a button or the tap of a screen. However, digital connectedness
and well-being are not really adequate measures of whether a child is learning
and is steadily becoming independent, able to expand their own imagination, and
always hungry to learn by both doing and taking apart what they already learned
to make something new.
The 21st century
is an age of connectedness and speed, a time when technology and industry are
seamlessly bound to make the world a better place, and transform how we live.
With this in mind, what we need is a whole new approach to the ways with which
we go about with education, how we prepare them for success in life.
The Whole Child
Initiative is a philosophy centered on holistic practices and methods that
develops and prepares students by attending to a learner’s multifaceted needs:
not just the academic aspect, but also, and more importantly, a learner’s
psycho-social and emotional development. By considering the learner as an
individual within a community, the Whole Child Initiative creates a bond
between teachers, schools, parents, and the entire community, fostering
awareness and openness to help shape and sustain learning environments into
safe spaces for growth, learning, and the fulfillment of every child’s
potential for success.
Through its
critical thinking and inquiry-based methodology, the Whole Child Initiative
aims to provide a well-rounded education, geared especially toward young
learners. It is through this core concept of a well-rounded education that the
Whole Child Initiative strives to help young learners become successful in
later life without unnecessarily straining or pressuring them to merely excel
in academics, given how academic excellence in itself is not an adequate
measure of a happy and fulfilling life.
As a holistic
approach, the Whole Child Initiative is guided by human values that have a
universal resonance: compassion and peace. The campaign for the Whole Child
commits itself to uplift all learners and help transform how we experience
education into something that they could cherish and look back with gratitude,
one that they will keep and treasure for a lifetime.
For over 69
years, REX has continuously evolved as the leading learning solutions provider
in the Philippines. REX envisions a bright future for every Filipino learner, a
future where they may reach for their dreams and become whole and joyful
persons ready to contribute to society, committed to helping build the nation
forward.
At REX,
everything is done to nurture and serve, for the child (“Para sa Bata”). From
publishing superior learning materials, to providing ISO-certified printing services,
to holding relevant professional development seminars for educators and school
administrators, all these works are part of the vision of the Whole Child: a
child who’s safe, healthy, challenged, supported, and engaged.
REX is the
premiere Philippine partner of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development (ASCD), the main international organization campaigning for the
Whole Child Approach. The REX and ASCD’s partnership has helped introduce and
widen the acceptance of holistic learning strategies for next-gen education in
the Philippines, all aligned with the country’s current transition to fully
implementing K-12 education policies, as well as the new General Education
Curriculum (GEC).
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