Wednesday: Magsaysay Park & Santa Ana National High School
Updated: Aug 11
Today began at Magsaysay Park, an exciting showcase of Mindanao's tribal heritage. Each of the eleven indigenous tribes residing in Davao build a structure representing not only their culture and traditions but also showcasing their incredible weaving techniques. Each of these were in varying stages of construction; improvements were being made across the park and city for August's incredible Kadayawan Festival. At the festival, each indigenous tribe builds a float and sends a wide array of artisans and musicians to perform and showcase traditional costume. Additionally, the harvest is celebrated, primarily of the region's most famous fruit - durian.
We were able to learn about the Tausug, one of Mindanao's primary tribes, and hear their incredible musical traditions, before learning about the construction and preparation that goes into the month. During the Agong ug Kulintangan cultural showcase, members of the tribe perform their instruments in cultural dress. Ultimately, people travel to Davao to witness the Pamulak sa Kadayawan float parade, participate in games and dances, and sample all of the incredible produce that the region has to offer. The pride that we could sense from every Davaoeño when discussing this festival was inspiring; it was such a privilege to witness preparations for this incredible event. We all absolutely made a note to return in the future for the festival before traveling to one of the city's largest public school, Santa Ana.
At Santa Ana National High School, we first met with the director of the school and their head math teacher in addition to two ninth grade journalism students. In learning about the campus, we not only discovered the school's incredible resiliency but also got an idea of just how hard the teachers are working each day to provide a fantastic education.
With over 6,000 students split between a morning shift (5:55am - 12:00pm) and afternoon shift (12:00pm - 6:00pm), most teachers experience class sizes of 40-50 students. While the morning shift is typically populated by students who participate in afternoon activities, such as journalism, music, and dance (pictures below), the afternoon shift is geared to work with the schedules of working students. In each classroom, we witnessed some of the most hardworking and resilient students on our trip so far. Undeterred by the 88-degree afternoon heat, not the mention the stifling humidity, students prepared answers to worksheets and bravely shared their thought processes in front of the entire class. This, along with the warm welcome and choruses of "Good afternoon Ma'am!" that we received in each class, made Santa Ana one of the most positive and affirming experiences of the trip.
Despite limited resources, heat, and marginalized student populations, Santa Ana teachers are doing amazing work each day in the classroom. Each classroom was filled with a powerful sense of joy and motivation, making this one of the most remarkable classroom observations to date.
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