RockEd is a late movement that means education through rock n’ roll, and it’s something that influential minds take to. What do they stand for and what are they?
RockED is, but is not limited to: “A volunteer group working to provide venues and events for alternative education [and with] a 10-year series of alternative education projects that teaches via music, the arts, poetry, sports, photography, fashion, graphic design, literature, new approaches to science, film, cultural studies, theatre, dance, and any other way except being in a classroom. It was decided by the convenors of RockEd to Rock Society through education and to educate the youth through rock culture.”
And the teachers of these classes? Artists, celebrities, poets, entrepreneurs, writers and all other related professions.
They can be also defined in a more ‘traditional way’ by calling them “a group of private citizens that coordinate joint projects with other NGOs that are addressing any of the 8 Millennium Goals” set out by the UN which are: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger, Achieve Universal Primary Education, Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women, Reduce Child Mortality, Ensure Maternal Health, Combat HIV/AIDS/Malaria and other diseases, Ensure Environmental Sustainability, and Develop a Global Partnership for Development.
Or as simply as “A group of private citizens that believe that poverty should end now” and to further drive the point home, “A group of private citizens that value education in its traditional form but creates alternative solutions for teacher training and student activities to enhance classroom learning--NOT replace it.”
The mastermind behind this and one of the more outspoken leaders of this peace wielding pack is Ms. Gangging Badoy, a teacher by day who infects anyone within a 50 mile radius with inspiration and hope that this country is, dare I say, pretty darn cool. When she speaks, she speaks like someone who has seen something and has experienced something that is just so brilliant she can’t contain it, something that we all strive in life for, and she exudes it with such simplicity that however powerful or controversial her message is, it is endearing and it is suddenly so easy to see EXACTLY how to start changing the world in your little way.
“We are an apolitical group and we aim to keep it like that,” Gang says.
So, this noble little NGO that could (and has) started a movement in the Philippines showing how small changes can be made in the country through music and forms of media that is, with a lack of a better term, easily digestable. Even if this is so, what exactly is their bottom line?
“Our bottom line,” Gang says, “is we want every single Filipino born to have a chance to go to primary school, and to have a primary education wherein they can at the very least read and write. I’ve seen through experiences in my UP days of sponsoring scholars that I saw from almost the start to finish. Everybody educated is my dream.
“Actually, ang dream ko talaga is that when I have children, I can enroll my child into the public school nearest our house and will feel secure that the standard of education there is pareho to any private school. I have seen concrete evidence through the years that education gives a person dignity, it sets them apart.”
And the other bottom line? “My other dream is that people will have access to healthcare, not extra, but the basics that should be there, like running water.”
“There’s also this mentality that when people are asked, ‘how do you get less poor?’ they always answer ‘get a job, a high paying job’,” Gang says, “so they go abroad and become caregivers because they think that to have a dignified life, you have to have a salary.”
“There will always be a need for busboys, train conductors, waiters, bus drivers, all kinds of labor,” Gang continues, “pero when umuwi na sila, na kapag tapos na ang trabaho makakauwi sila at di na nila proproblemahin na wala siyang tubig, o na healthcare niya dependable, o kapag pumunta siya pulis, totoong pulis ang tutulong sa kanya.”
It also stands to reason that a VP of some company and the waitress of a fast food restaurant shouldn’t experience any discrepancy when it comes to their basic rights to clean water, sanitation, police protection, and healthcare regulated by the government. “All RockED projects are geared towards realizing this dream,” she ends. “We decided early on to stick with what we know best which is to help people through music and the arts and have the ‘cool’ people help spread the word. Of course, people would rather listen to a rock star than a politician.”
There are only two choices in trying to make a country a better place according to Gang, and these are either “possible frustration” and “indifference”---and RockED would rather be frustrated. “Parang if those are my two choices, I’d rather be frustrated,” she laughs. “It’s ok to redefine, resize your dream. You don’t have to save the entire world here and now. You can save it just by making the small and conscious decision that helping out is going to be part of your life”.
Just like taking a shower or brushing your teeth? “Yes, because you see athletes or musicians, when they play their sport or instruments and it’s just second nature to them, and its part of who they are. Civic service should be second nature and part of everyone’s everyday life.”
|
