MANILA, Philippines ? Trust teacher to know exactly why our local education system is the way it is.

According to long-time educator Emily Bengzon, Filipino students today learn only as much as they do in school because of a number of factors.

?First, there are too many of them in class,? she says. ?How do you expect a teacher, regardless of how efficient he or she is, to attend to 50 different personalities at one time??

Economics is another reason. While the more qualified teachers leave their jobs and country for higher pay, less qualified teachers simply take over. ?And some schools are so desperate, they?ll just accept,? sighs Bengzon.

Adding a year in high school or college will not help, she believes. ?You have to give educators better incentives,? she says, ?or you have to change the entire education system, and that?s going to take years!?

Tutorial services supplement what kids learn in school, but even that can be tricky. Bengzon, who needed a math tutor when she was a student, didn?t appreciate the setup because it ?made me dependent on my tutor.?

Years later, the Assumption College teacher would experience the other side of the coin when she herself became a private tutor. ?I was on call on weekends, especially when a student had exams on a Monday,? she recalls. ?If I got sick, the parents would panic! It?s nice to be needed, but eventually I realized, this isn?t healthy for either of us.?

These days, Bengzon is still ?making a difference in children?s lives,? but this time, in a manner beneficial to both the educator and her students.

Greater self-confidence

Launched last January, Tutoring Club is a US-based after-school learning system that offers not only a marked academic improvement in pre-school, elementary, and high school reading, writing, and math, but a greater sense of self-confidence and independence as well. Teachers range from those with actual experience before a class, to professionals (like engineers) who have a passion for the noblest profession.

?I believe in the system,? says Bengzon who runs the center with Geri Tirona and Ting Feliciano.

For starters, students undergo a diagnostic test to pinpoint where they are in their problem subject. The test may reveal, for instance, a third-grade student with difficulty in reading, having the skills of a second-grader. Worksheets and an individualized program should equip the student with the appropriate skills for his grade level?all this is possible in 32 hours tops.

That the Tutoring Club adheres to a finite number of hours to teach students (classes last an hour, the center is closed on weekends, and doesn?t give homework) appeals to Bengzon. ?You?re not holding the parents or the kids hostage to a tutoring center,? she says. ?And because a tutor isn?t always there, this allows a student to practice the skills he learned on his own, which builds independence and self-esteem.?

Reinforcement

Learning is apparently conducive in this center?bright and spacious floor area, cool interiors, and attractive incentives. Students who do well get anything, from tokens and toys, to gift certificates for their efforts.

?Of course, everybody likes it, but not everybody gets one,? says Bengzon with a smile. ?At least it?s positive reinforcement.?

Whatever it is, it seems to be working. In the three months the center has been operating, Bengzon notes how a little boy ?who was all over the place? and on the verge of being kicked out of school has since toned down and focused on his math. ?His mom is amazed,? she says.

Another mom who was in the center in the morning was pleased to report about her son?s consistently perfect grades. He?s in Tutoring Club?s enrichment program, a service designed to keep smart kids at the top of their class. Apparently, the enrichment program is the most popular service of Tutoring Club.

?We thought it would be math,? says Bengzon. ?But I did a little research, and I found out our clientele, which consists mostly of Koreans and Japanese kids, are already good in math. They want to improve their English writing skills because their parents plan to send them to US schools.?

With a smile, the educator says, ?We?re learning a lot, too.?

(The Tutoring Club is located at Unit 204, Three Salcedo Place, 123 Tordesillas St., Salcedo Village, Makati, tels. 844-7368 and 0916- 5055911)