I like Montessori schools, mainly because of the tactile manipulatives that I myself would like to…read moreplay with. I could get lost with those blocks, really. #kidatheart This would be for pre-schools, but how do you apply this for elementary and high school students? You need materials reflective of real-life skills, even if it means getting that actual thing or forming that actual environment to mimic life outside schools. Realia, in short. The Seed Montessori School proves how relevant realia can provide good education. PROS: Out of the elementary and high schools I've seen, this would be one of those with facilities that impressed me so much. Seriously, a state-of-the-art kitchen room just for TLE? They really take their realia to heart. I wanted to tinker with their oven; Although it's not as spacious as "big schools" like Miriam or Ateneo, The Seed has enough space and facilities for activities that it doesn't feel cramped; Small class sizes makes it easier for both faculty and students. CONS: TSMS is expensive, with P50,000-P60,000 pesos for tuition alone. And when you're considering paying for a private education, expect a lot of additional fees (Energy fee? Cultural fee? Looking at you, UP. And you're not even a private school) plus costs for books and uniforms and baon, of course. TL;DR: Consider The Seed Montessori School for the impressive facilities, if you have the budget.

If you have ever frequented local parenting forums about schools, then you likely already know that…read moreDiliman Preparatory School has a strong emphasis on academics. Some parents have even complained the the curriculum tends to be too rigid, but in my opinion, it's just a matter of fit. There are some kids who thrive better in learning environments that are flexible and less structured, while there are kids who do better when given more rigorous lessons. I'm only familiar with Diliman Prep's Preschool and elementary programs so I can't speak for their high school levels. The preschool incorporates the Doman gentle revolution system and Singapore science and math. At this early stage, the preschoolers are already taught the fundamental computer programs in MS Office, in preparation for the elementary level's Robotics curricula. Once your child is promoted to the first grade, you have the option to enroll him in the Space Science program, which is entirely separate for the regular school curriculum. You might want to wait until the 2nd grade or even later to do this though, just to give your child a chance to first adjust to the greater demands of the elementary school before adding to his academic load.

well trained and disciplined students. I love how the teachers handle their class. Most…read moreimportantly, the kids are very prayerful because of school's Catholic tradition were taugh.

An outstanding school in the Philippines located in Quezon City for Nursery, Kinder up to Grade 6.read more

My nephew went to Expressive Minds Progressive Preschool & Tutorial Center along Katipunan Avenue…read morein Quezon City. See the thing with pre-schools is that the parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties can push with all their might where they want the young ones to go to school, but we all know that once that little boy or little girl sets his or her lil' heart on something, the rest of us usually will just surrender and give in. Expressive Minds was one of those things that my nephew demanded on. Once he saw the colorful classrooms, felt the cheerful vibe of the school, and the lovely personalities of the teachers, it was a done deal. No one was going to get in the way of the little guy from going to this school. The center does a very good job of mixing progressive learning and traditional learning. The traditional learning helps prepare the kids in a big way for the next step in their educational ladder (grade school). The progressive learning, my nephew really enjoyed. He would tell me stories about the different activities they would do in school, which made learning more interactive. He really enjoyed his time their and it was for good, too. He got accepted to Ateneo De Manila grade school after his time at Expressive Minds. What I liked about the center was that they have a small student-teacher ratio (10:1). For me, this ensures that the quality of learning is not watered down and that each student is given ample attention by their teachers. Also, they have summer camps and this program called KidzNMusik, teaching the kids about the joy of music. Taylor Swift mini me? Take Away: A preschool that has awesome teacher to student ratio and a good mix of progressive and traditional learning

I'm very happy with Expressive Minds! =) Their curriculum is individualized and they have come up…read morewith specific goals for my daughter which the teacher carefully executes. They have one-on-one time everyday which is great! This gives an opportunity for each student to work with the teacher to focus on specific tasks. We've actually tried a couple of preschools before enrolling her at Expressive Minds but unfortunately they didn't have one-on-one. My husband and I really liked the fact the student-teacher ratio is very small. If I'm not mistaken, they were only 10 during her time. There were 2 teachers and 1 teacher aide. So there are basically 3 adults for the class of 10 students. My daughter Serene really enjoyed her time there and now I'm enrolling my other daughter for their Early Learners class. Thumbs up to all the teachers and staff of Expressive. They have really contributed well to the school's inviting and homey environment!

I graduated from this school in the year 2000 (Banawe-Maria Clara). Yes, we do have physical…read moredisabilities, but we were trained to overcome our physical limitations. The curriculum is not different from any public schools in the country. In fact our teachers trains students to compete in Special Olympics. I agree with the other commenter that it doesn't sound right for a school that works amazingly well to level the plane to erase the stigma towards children with disabilities to have the word "Cripple" in its name, but I guess in the 1960's when it was founded, if I remember right, people were not easily offended, nor was it meant to offend. Other than that I'm NOH-SCC was a big part of my happy childhood.

As part of our field work, we were able to visit a school for children with physical disabilities -…read moreNational Orthopedic Hospital - School for Crippled Children. PROS: Content and curriculum speaking, NOH-SCC isn't that too different from other public schools. They have special adjustments when it comes to PE and they're not too strict when it comes to attendance, since a lot of the students have frequent and emergency health appointments; I like that despite the regular curriculum, the school has a small class size that helps the children and teachers interact more fully; They have some open spaced and structural adjustments like ramps. CONS: Calling a person with a physical disability a "cripple" isn't politically correct, and having the word in the name of the school itself makes me uncomfortable; For a school that's has lots of children with mobility issues, the classrooms are pretty tiny. TL;DR: NOH-SCC is one of the public special schools in Metro Manila that has it better in class sizes and facilities.

If a kid has a genius-level intelligence (not just IQ, but in a whole battery of tests), and he or…read moreshe might get bored in the typical school setup, Philippine Science High School may be their best bet at developing and making the most of their gifts. PROS: They provide allowances and student housing for their scholars (and by scholars, we mean all their students); Philippine Science High School - a government school - is under the Department of Science and Technology, instead of the others that's under the Department of Education. So expect that they have a more STEMS-concentrated curriculum, and that they don't have to conform to DepEd mandates. I hope this means immunity from bureaucratic policies most public schools are subjected to. CONS: Competition here is fierce, like legendarily. Heard of that news where a student poured mercury nitrate in another one's water jug, and the kid who drank from it had kidney failure? It was this school. Rumor has it that it was because of a scholarship that both the victim and the alleged suspect were vying for; Science high schools are generally difficult to enter as a student, but this is the motherlode. These are Mensa kids were talking about; Many are wary that the school is located along the Agham community, which is pretty notorious for high crime rates and riots. TL;DR: This is the country's literal school for the gifted (X-Men?). Philippine Science High School houses the best and brightest.

Growing up, Philippine Science High School was always synonymous to intelligent, genius, smart,…read morematalino and all the other adjectives we use to describe people who have very high grades. Back then, any new transfer from this school would always get snickers from my classmates, all thinking that the student must be a nerd and is worth copying from. While all this may sound like adolescent stupidity, it is true that students from this school are more advanced than others. Competition here is highly fierce and neither money nor stature will keep you there along with the best and the brightest students in the country. It's like a school dedicated for MENSA candidates and if your gene pool did not go in favor of high IQ points then it's best to go somewhere else. There's an IQ prerequisite involved here and it's not that easy.

I had to attend Resalest Education Center back in the day as I had flunked out of Geometry and…read moreTrigonometry classes. It was a huge embarrassment both for myself and my folks and I look back on those days with an immense amount of both shame and comedy. Shame because no matter how much studying I did, I couldn't understand why I just didn't get numbers! Comedy because I had the best time ever with my peers. We really just had fun together the entire summer. To be honest, this is a house that just pretends to be a school. The teacher never treated us with respect and I have a few choice words for the superiors who seemed to had other motives.