Fostering deeper learning of the Filipino culture

To allow students to foster a deeper understanding of Filipino culture, the Department of Filipino launched Kagawaran Reads and Sari-Sari in 2019. As the name suggests, the series features department members reading pieces of classic Filipino literature. Sari-Sari, on the other hand, is an organization of Filipino professors and instructors dedicated to improving their teaching strategies with the ever-evolving times.

Recently, the department launched a new season of the Kagawaran Reads program. This year, Florante at Laura and Ibong Adarna serve as its headline stories. 

Despite the pandemic making it difficult for the department to meet and plan the production of new episodes, Kagawaran Reads persevered to push out content with the release of their Jose Rizal series in late 2020.

Kagawaran Reads struggled with the logistics of recording new episodes and had to proceed with the production without any traditional sources of funding.

Despite these challenges, their efforts have not been in vain. The department's weekly program on Radyo Katipunan, Sari-Sari, earned a Special Citation for an Educational Program in the 43rd Catholic Mass Media Awards.

Previous episodes of Kagawaran Reads have also been forwarded to the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to allow more Filipino teachers all over the country to use the content as supplementary teaching materials.

One of the creative minds behind Kagawaran Reads, Dr Alvin Yapan hopes that Kagawaran Reads and Sari-Sari could inspire more people to enrich their love and appreciation for Filipino literature and culture.

“Sana ay suportahan ang pagtuturo ng panitikan natin, mapaanong antas man—grade school, high school, university level man. Sana ay maging mas malalim ang pagpapahalaga nating lahat sa kultura natin (I hope that we will continue to teach Filipino literature, whether in grade school, high school or university level. My simple wish is for all of us to have a deeper appreciation of our culture,” he said.

Aside from Kagawaran Reads, the Filipino department plans to diversify its topics for Sari-Sari, from specialized teaching topics to Philippine pop culture. 

Watch recorded episodes of Kagawaran Reads on the Filipino department's YouTube channel. Live episodes of Sari-Sari can be streamed through their Facebook page.