KUYA ATE
MENTORSHIP
PROGRAM
EST 2007
KAMP'story
to reach out to the high school youth, the Sala Talks actually became a space for college students. At this point, Sala Talks Collective realized that in order to reach the youth, you need to go where they are. During the summer of 2007, the group began talking to several high school Tagalog teachers asking if they were open to bringing in a group of Kuyas and Ates. These Kuyas and Ates wanted to teach Filipina/o American experience in addition to the language courses. What began with a group of 5 Kuyas and Ates at Mira Mesa High School, quickly expanded to 26 Kuyas and Ates and 3 other high schools, Rancho Bernardo, Westview, and Mt. Carmel. From simple conversation, the foundation set by the Sala Talks Collective gave birth to the Kuya Ate Mentorship Program.Mission Statement
The Kuya and Ate Mentorship Program (KAMP) is a program in which Filipina/o American community members are given the opportunity to facilitate various workshops on Filipina/o American history and culture in high school classrooms in order to establish Filipina/o American Studies. The kuyas and ates will educate, mentor and support Filipina/o American high school students during their academic years in various high schools in San Diego.
The Kuyas/Ates main purposes are to foster youth leadership skills, encourage young minds to seek and critically understand our community (and their relationships) from social and global standpoints, create and sustain connections with other communities, bridge intergenerational gaps in our society, promote social change to better the community and to pave a way for future generations to come.
FAQs (frequently asked questions)
What is KAMP? - KAMP is the KUYA ATE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. We are supplementary education program that works with the Filipino Language teachers in San Diego.
Is this your job? - No. This is not our job. This is an all voluntary organization. Everyone in KAMP are either college students getting their AA to bachelors degrees, masters degrees and even PhDs to people who have already completed college and having jobs while doing KAMP as well.
Are any of you teachers? - People in KAMP have a lot of different backgrounds. Some of us want to pursue education as a career, BUT not all of us do. Some of us are nursing students, filmmakers, entrepenuers, law students, counselors, & some of us are still deciding. We come from all walks of life, and you need that to show the students that the path is not linear all the time. But it's not to say that the KUYAs and ATEs are not qualified to be in the classroom. We do extensive research on all the lessons we do, and we go through a rigorous training process. Do you have to be a teacher in order to educate?
Does KAMP make a lot of money? - Actually, no, KAMP makes no money. Everyone in KAMP generously volunteers their time and effort to the students. We are currently not receiving grants or government money to do this. We are self-sustaining. BUT, we are selling merchandise to ensure that KAMP can do its work for the following years. CHECK OUT OUR STORE! or check us out at the next Filipino Fiesta(s) or event (shameless plug).
If you don't get paid, then WHY DO YOU DO IT? - In KAMP we feel that education has no monetary value, even with all the budget cuts. We felt that the education of our people was more important than waiting for someone to fund it. It might've taken a long time. It was something we needed a long time ago... and for some in KAMP, something THEY needed when they were in High School. If KAMP is not factored in any budget, there would be no KAMP to cut.
Why do you ONLY teach Filipino stuff? There are other races too, you know. - We teach Filipino stuff, because Filipino stuff is what we know. We don't have the capacity to start up programs for other groups. But for those who feel this way, the students ARE in a Filipino class or club at our teaching locations. If anything, they would be learning Filipino stuff anyway. The difference is, we are combining our Filipino experiences and our American experiences. We were just a bunch of Filipino American kids who felt it necessary to share our his/herstory with the youth in our community. But we don't mean to do it to exclude anyone or discourage any other races to do the same. That would be up to the people in THAT community. But we would be interested in working with people who have started or thinking of starting those programs. We would share their information with students interested.
more faqs to come...