Responsible Parenthood

I. INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

The above Biblical passage taken from Proverbs 22:6 (King James Version) is not only popular, but also becomes favorite to parents, educators, preachers, as well as writers in their lectures regarding parents’ behaviors toward child-rearing, education, discipline, and other related topics .

Throughout the world, education is a common concern and an obligation that parents could not escape. One evidence is the pre-marital seminar–workshop that the couple completes before taking the wedding vows as husband and wife. They are trained of the parental behaviors expected from a husband and wife towards their future children.

Aside from the fact that the home is the child’s first school, and the parents are the child’s first teachers, the family, as recognized by the 1987 Philippine Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, is the foundation of the nation and shall therefore strengthen its solidarity and actively promote its total development ( Article XV, Section 1). Furthermore, parents, as stated in Section 3, Paragraph 1, have the right to found a family in accordance with their religious convictions and the demands for responsible parenthood. Responsible parenthood includes providing children education as supported in Article XIV, Section 1 which states that : “ The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels, and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to

Aside from the formal education where schools serve the children classrooms to enter and study, we also have the Informal, and Non-Formal Education modes that cater to children and even adults who want to complete their education outside the regular schools. When it comes to poverty reasons, as what many use as excuses, one way to address them is through the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4P’s) that is primarily assigned to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).It regularly transfers cash to qualified families with the condition that the priority purpose of the cash assistance should serve their children’s education.

In Alejandro F. Oligan National High School, there are still records testifying to some parents’ poor regard to children’s education. As manifested in the first Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) General Assembly held on July 22, 2017, the general attendance record shows that almost half of the parents were which means that they prioritized other concerns before attending to their children’s scholastic conditions, problems, and needs, considering that such meetings are but called for