I Wanna Join -- How Do I Start?

Benc: I'm posting a comment emailed to me by my friend Ces, one of our first volunteers :)

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Hey benks, checked BookForge out. Count me in.

I'll also forward your email to our partners at Pacific Resources for
Education and Learning (PREL), a Honolulu-based non-profit agency we
are working with in our current Mindanao basic ed project. Their
specialization is context-specific curriculum development, distance
ed, ESL, etc.

Suggest that BookForge expand conception of "textbooks" to cover
teachers' resource books (which is really what we need more of), and
readers-cum-worksheets for students. By this, I mean resources for
students that combine text with exercises or reflection/processing
questions that allow kids to develop their critical/creative thinking
and problem solving skills.

Textbooks for students--in the traditional sense--are useful, but are
not that critical to learning. Ang mas importante for students
(especially at the later grades) is to have a variety of learning
resources at their disposal that they can use for self-propelled
research and inquiry. This is where BookForge can come in.

Importante rin for teachers to get their hands on resources that will
open up their creativity and let them realize that there are a variety
of paths to learning. It's important to shake off most teachers'
thinking that the standard textbook is THE only resource at their
disposal as they help kids learn. In fact, puedeng-puedeng matuto
kahit pa walang textbook, basta't may ibang alternate sources of
information.

Cheers,
Ces