Words by Paolo Mercado
Illustration by Dymo dela Peña
“Creativity cannot be taught, but it can be killed.” wrote American educator Dr. Zhong Yao in a 2006 article in which he pushed back on over-standardization of education in the US to the detriment of creativity.
This article explores the state of creative education in the Philippines from the K to 12 years, to university degree and professional non-degree programs. While not an exhaustive review, I will attempt to give a glimpse of emerging trends that could help propel creative education in the Philippines forward.
Let us start with Kindergarten. During his keynote address at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Creative Cities Forum, creative economy guru John Howkins commended the Department of Education (DepEd) for the Kindergarten Education Act (RA 10157) that “encourages young learners to create and discover, and become willing risk takers.” He challenged the Philippines though to implement this principle beyond kindergarten and into the entire educational system.
This is easier said than done. As many parents experience, Philippine education starts with an emphasis on creativity only in the early pre-school years. Once kids reach Grade 1, there is a swift sharp shift to traditional top-down education methods of knowledge acquisition, rote memorization, repetition, and emphasis on the “right” answer vs. the “smart” answer. There are several non-traditional grade schools & high schools that embrace methods which encourage creativity and self-directed learning (e.g. Montessori, Multiple Intelligences, etc.) but these are small private schools that are a drop in the bucket vis-a-vis the ocean of public schools and the large private schools.
A notable exception of course is the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) at Mount Makiling that marks its 40th anniversary this year. Established in 1977 as part of Imelda Marcos’ art and culture policy, the PHSA remains to be the country’s premiere institution for high school level art education. Many of its alumni have contributed to both cultural and creative industries. However, as the PHSA can only accommodate 130 to 150 students at any one time, its impact on creative education nationwide is very limited.
Last year, I had a chance to speak to Christine Graza-Magboo from DepEd who was part of the Technical Working Group implementing the new K to 12 curriculum. What was very encouraging with the new K to 12 program was the introduction of two creative tracks for High School:
• The Special Program for the Arts from Middle School to Junior High School which would give students at least 10 hours of art classes per week. This is a big leap from the current Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health (MAPEH) curriculum where Music & Art share a limited weekly time with PE & Health Education;
• The Art & Design track available as an IB Major for Junior and Senior students which would require students to take 720 hours of art and design classes per semester.
Initially more than 100 public and private schools showed keen interest to adopt these programs. However, in a recent conversation with Christine, it seems many schools are having the drop the program as there is little interest from parents to have their children take these programs, often citing the same old phrase: “Walang pera sa art-art na ‘yan. [There is no money in art.]”
Creative education in universities has been evolving in recent years from fine arts programs to Creative Industries specific courses. The University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila, University of Santo Tomas and Saint Paul’s College Manila have for many years been known for their strong liberal arts, humanities and fine arts programs that have produced creative industry leaders in theater, film, television and advertising as well as a few National Artists. In the past 15 years however, newer institutions such as the University of Asia and the Pacific, De La Salle University’s College of Saint Benilde, and Meridian International (MINT) College have made headway by designing programs that develop professional competence for more modern creative industries.
The University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) program for example is one I know well having taught in the program for several years. Launched in the mid 90s, this course was initially based on the IMC program of the North Western University. Dr. Jerry Kliatchko however wanted the program to produce high impact graduates for the advertising and marketing industry. Thus Jerry brought in industry senior leaders such as Minyong Ordoñez, JJ Calero, Mon Jimenez and my late father Tony Mercado to co-design the program. A critical innovation was the introduction of a 5th year MA program for top students who spent 10 month imbedded inside the agencies and marketing companies as they completed their masters thesis. Many of the top young creative leaders and mavericks in the advertising and digital industry are graduates of this IMC Program.
The Benilde’s Art and Culture Cluster (BACC) has likewise been making waves in the past few years. While the program offers classic fine arts tracks such as Theater Arts and Dance, what distinguishes the BACC program is an emphasis on creative production and management programs such as Arts Management, Design Foundation, Production Design, Music Production and Multimedia Arts which includes Film and Animation. Similar to UA&P, the strength of the BACC program is due to its faculty of practicing professionals who are respected in their various crafts. Jay Aranda, for example is the Director of BACC’s Theater Operations Program and is one of the most accomplished stage lighting designers in the country.
MINT College is one of the newest kids on the block. Established only in 2010, the school blends a unique mix of business, arts and technology thanks to the vision of its founder, Baltazar Endriga. Prior to founding MINT, Endriga worked for SGV, Anderson Consulting (Accenture), became president of the CCP, and was Dean for the college of business administration at UE. Small as the college is, MINT’s single minded focus is helping its students already gain recognition in local creative competitions including the adobo Design Awards Asia.
Responding perhaps to such competitive pressure, older universities are launching their own creativity and innovation programs. Miriam College launched the Henry Sy Sr. Innovation Center in 2015, while Ateneo de Manila is scheduled to launch its Arete Creative Hub within this year.
These university programs are still limited to exclusive schools which unfortunately are inaccessible to the majority of Filipinos. If we are to scale creative education in the country, perhaps we need to look beyond the universities and expand Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) programs that develop employable creative skills through short, non-degree certificate programs.
Already a few institutions such as the Philippine Center for Creative Imaging (PCCI), The School of Fashion & the Arts (SoFA) Design Institute, and the International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT) in Cebu offer TESDA accredited courses in photography, graphic design, fashion and interior design, film making, animation and acting. These courses are more accessible than full degree programs and have the potential to democratize creative education to a broader base of students.
With all of these programs available in high schools, colleges and TESDA programs, there are indeed a lot more opportunities for the young learner looking to start a career in the creative industries. But for this to happen, there is need to convince the previous generation of parents that there is indeed a sustainable career to be made in creative industries.
About the Author:
Paolo Mercado is a marketing professional, raised in a family of advertisers and writers, with a passion for teaching and an obsession for the performing arts. He is currently the Senior Vice President of Marketing, Communication and Innovation of Nestle Philippines.
This article was published in the adobo magazine Design 2017 issue.
