Learning Without Fear: A Reflection

  Having two grade school kids is mainly the reason why I am so engrossed with the PLAN project on Learning without Fear. I know that my kids also fall prey to bullying, thanks a lot my girl knows how to handle it. But my son could not and simply cries in the corner. I frequently visited their school especially when they were in lower grades to update myself on the situation of my kids. Often times, I saw some kids, particularly big boys harassing little girls and boys until they cry. I discussed my observations to some teachers but they dismissed it as normal process of growing up. In my heart, I knew it was wrong. I had been a survivor of bullying and teasing when I was in grade school not only of some classmates but also of teachers. Again, I thanked myself for squarely facing those bullies because I knew it was wrong. And most importantly, I thanked my grandmother for defending me to those bullies; a teacher or a child.

I started reading the manual on May 8. Although it is not thick, it needs re-reading and a feminist lens to be able to come up with suggestions that might help in improving the manual.  According to PLAN, the final draft of the manual will be released sometime in July 2009. 

The manual came out as an advocacy to end violence in school. From February to June 2008, Plan International from the countries of Germany, Tanzania, Uganda, Colombia, Ecuador, India and Philippines worked with the children to share their experiences of violence in school. These experiences were collated and later become a manual in which their experiences were documented and given solutions. The manual encourages all to participate in the movement to end violence in school in order to “Learn without Fear.”

Learn without fear manual (youth in action against violence in schools) is commended because it explains well the types of abuses happening to the children in school which resulted to many consequences and often times lead to the deprivation of a child in terms of his or her right to education. Violence in school also leads to intellectual, moral and even physical disintegration of a child, which may or may not be reversible.

The manual is still in the revision period. Thus, I hope that my inputs can be also considered and so as the other inputs which are really from the children’s perspectives.