In the first part, we discussed the historical beginnings of VNATS and the basic aspects such as the school site and infrastructure, the administrative staff and faculty, and the curriculum. In this second part, we tackle the primary sector, the students, and the sort of life they spent as VNATSians.
The students
Within ten years of operations, the school saw through the secondary education of six batches of students. The first batch came in only in 1963 and finished in 1967. The last batch enrolled in 1968 and graduated in 1972. In all, there were 233 young people who came through the portals of VNATS and emerged with diplomas. Actual number of enrollees would be just a little more than that figure because there was merely a small number of dropouts; the VNATSians were the hard-working type determined to get good education, despite the reputation of the school’s rigorous vocational program.
There was only one section for every year level. Males dominated the females in numbers, of roughly 2.5:1 ratio. For the first batch, however, there were only 5 girls to 25 boys. At the start, parents were reluctant to have their daughters enroll. But subsequent years saw an increase in female enrolment, peaking in 1965 when about half of the class were of the “fairer” sex. It was at this time, too, that overall enrolment was at its highest but tapered down in subsequent years.
Quite expectedly, the host town of Virac was the place of origin of 82. 4% (193) of the graduates. Note that the northern part of the island had two vocational schools. But 43 (17.6%) came from the other towns. San Miguel contributed 10 while Viga, 9. Eight were from San Andres, 6 from Baras, 3 from Panganiban, 2 from Bato, and 1 from Gigmoto. None came from three towns: Pandan, Bagamanoc and Caramoran. Of those from Virac, 69 (35.8%) were from the host barangay Calatagan. But 16 were from the poblacion where the regular high schools were easily accessible by foot. Other barangays were significant feeders, namely Cavinitan, Palta Big, Palta Small, Valencia, Balite and Bigaa.
Free tuition was what attracted the enrollees. Specifically, they came from families from the rural areas that cannot otherwise afford high school education for their sons and daughters. But the patterns of place of origin clearly indicate proximity as another factor.
Student life
Transport. Mobility in Virac of the 1960s up until the early 70s was a far cry from the facility at present. Tricycles (motorized and padyak) plied only in and about the poblacion. Most of the rural barangays were reached only by jeeps that typically only had one trip to-and-fro, which ferried mostly the teachers. Big barangays such as Buyo and Magnesia had mini-buses. Bailon Zafe’s two buses (numero tres and beinte uno; why these numbers, we are clueless) serviced the Puniton-Hicming-Buyo-Simamla loop. But these PUVs would only ply their routes when full. On the other hand, calesas transported the folk of Danicop to and from the town proper.
As for the VNATSians outside of Calatagan, they simply walked if they cannot take the jeeps that passed by the school located along the main highway leading to San Andres and the northern barangays. Hermin Zafe (second batch, class of 1968) lived in Palta Small. He related that he would hitch on jeeps going downtown, holding fast for dear life at the estribo so that he would not be charged.
When enrollees started coming in from other towns, the school adopted a policy of allowing students residing in places beyond ten kilometers distance to live in quarters inside the campus. Parents of these students contributed their labor to build modest bunkers from materials provided by the school. Some others lived with relatives in Calatagan or nearby barangays. Some of the school personnel that were living in-house at VNATS also adopted students.
Daily routine. Classes started early at 7:00 in the morning and ended at 4:00 p.m. The mornings were typically spent for the general academic subjects and the afternoons were for the vocational courses, making for a 50-50 allocation to the two broad components of their education. Those from Calatagan would go home for lunch but others brought lunch packs wrapped in banana leaves. They were of modest grub, rice and some pieces of dried sapsap or stewed veggies. When there was no rice, boiled duma (root crops) would suffice. They eat together in the classroom or under the trees. If they have spare money, they buy snacks from the school canteen or from the lone sari-sari store across highway. Sometimes, they would walk around Calatagan during lunch break or recess and ask for fruits in season among the households. Occasionally, a teacher that managed a farm project would ask students to gather camote, peanuts or young corn and cook them to be partaken by everybody. In good times, they may have eggs from the poultry.
It was a daily thing that students would bring their own bolos for the farm work they do regularly. It was no novelty to see even the girls na ga hagkus ning tabak. They were endlessly working the earth, cultivating, indeed plowing, planting, cleaning, watering, applying fertilizer. And then harvesting. Aside from the crops, the boys tended the poultry and swine houses. They feed and vaccinated the animals, capon-ed the male chicken and pigs and assisted the birthing of sows. The girls took added skills in homemaking. There was a practice house (now called the home economics building) maintained by Mrs. Lucila Dayawon and Mrs. Consuelo Popa. There the girls were taught cooking and baking, table setting, dressmaking, crocheting, embroidery. They also became adept at chicken dressing, meat preservation, and pickle making.
One unique entitlement of students at VNATS was the opportunity to earn. Those who want to make extra money would do various tasks for the farm projects managed by some of the teachers. They may be asked to do maintenance work at the farms. After harvest, they would husk corn and remove the seeds from the cobs, or ga hupo ning mani. For another thing, they also sell the produce from their individual plots. The school had established a stall at the market for the purpose of marketing farm products. Later on, the school administration opened for contract faming some rice lands. Even students may apply. A case in point was Mike B. Valeza (last batch, class of 1972) who together with some family members contracted a half-hectare of rice paddies. They did all labor while the school provided all inputs including the use of a tractor. Produce was divided 60-40 in favor of the cultivators.
Extra-curricular activities. Supportive of the curriculum, the so-called extra-curricular program centered on the activities of two complementing organizations, the Future Farmers of the Philippines (FFP) and the Future Agricultural Homemakers of the Philippines (FAHP). The former is for the boys and the latter, the girls. These two organizations had regional, national and international counterparts. The organization at the level of the school was called “chapter,” and VNATS surely had its own chapters. So, the students would vote for their own set of officers for each of the two groups for a one-year term. Then they busy themselves for participation in the province-wide “triangular meet” involving the three vocational schools (CAIS, PSAT) then on to the regional (district) and national conventions. In these events, the delegations compete in three areas namely: vocational skills, parliamentary procedure and literary-musical performances.
At the school level, they hold the “Chapter Week” which was the most important observance in VNATS, aside from graduation. Competitors among the students would display their aptitudes along the three areas hopeful to be the school’s representatives to the higher level of reckoning. For the boys (the future farmers) the categories included land preparation (familiarity and use of tilling implements), soil science, slaughtering of animals, caponization and pig castration, and carpentry. The girls (future homemakers) must prove their mettle in such skills as sewing, flower arrangement, cooking, table setting or mayonnaise and ketchup making.
One unique feature of the extra-curricular program of vocational schools was the training in parliamentary procedures. This is quite proof of the well-rounded education the students were getting. They are taught how to carry out a meeting in order to arrive at decisions systematically and democratically. Particularly, the skills necessary are manifold: use of formal language (it is carried out in English), logical thinking, following a set of complex rules of procedures, handling of conflict, facilitating and synthesizing of social exchange. In Catanduanes, VNATS students acquired quite a reputation for this; observers from other schools would come to learn from them as they do their thing along this line.
Supplementing the properly vocational areas of specialization were contests in the arts, specifically performance of literary genres and music. There were competitive demonstrations of talent in declamation, poetry recitation and oration, and in music through solo and duet singing and playing of instruments. Suffice it the to say that through the decade of operations, VNATSians proved their capabilities as they gathered awards on the various aspects of the FFP/FAHP annual convention all the way to the national level. Other activities that enliven the life of the VNATSians were student politics where they formed student body organizations, along the class and central levels. They, too, observed the usual “Linggo ng Wika,” “Nutrition Month,” etc.
Socialization, courtship, pop culture. What broke the monotony of campus life in a patently rural setting was the holding of dance parties, or pabayle. The school had its own sound system that became handy for these events. So, they never ran out of reasons for decking the hall with buntings for a night of social dancing. There were the induction ceremonies of the various student organizations, principally the FFP and FAHMP. Christmas and Valentine’s parties were most anticipated. When VIPs come-and-visit such as when the former Congressman Jose M. Alberto was in town, they would push aside the school chairs in the biggest room to make space for the pabayle.
Food was never a problem. The future homemakers prepare simple snacks from the crops, butcher some chicken and an occasional pig. When necessary, a carabao from the herd goes down. In these occasions, everybody got to participate in the merrymaking: students and personnel alike. They danced to the latest tunes in vogue, seen from movies or else the younger teachers who studied in the city showed them how to do the twist, grind, soul and chachacha. Surely, they did the “sweet” for a more intimate encounter between boys and girls.
These parties would end up before midnight without any untoward incident. One disturbance that they remembered however was when stones landed on the roof of the venue. It turned out that some out-of-school youth pf Calatagan tried to disrupt the party, allegedly because they resented that the male students were able to dance with the young lady teachers who were objects of distant admiration. But such youthful misadventures never developed into any serious eventualities.
The gallant boys accompanied the girls home hiking through the dark streets. By accounts of the female alumni, the VNATS boys were gentlemanly and indeed timid, they maintained respect of them. There had been no incident of malicious and opportunistic taking chances. Note that school-going age represents the start of prospecting for courtship and establish romantic relationship. This was more so for VNATSians, many of whom were of advanced age than the typical high school students. Sons and daughters of poor farming parents, a good number of them would not have attended high school if not for the opportunity presented by VNATS. So, they entered high school only after some years out of schooling after their elementary grades. While ripe for romance, the VNATSian males were shy types in expressing their amorous intents, on account of their rural upbringing.
According to the alumni, now retirees, they had crushes and fell in love like anyone their age but were quite modest in conveying their feelings. The typical mode by the males was to write love letters which were not given directly to the prospected girl. One may either give it through a common friend, or else borrow her book or notebook and return it with the letter inserted between the pages. Giving of gifts was not a practice as their economic situation would inhibit it. There was no dating either, much less calling at home of the girl. At their age, this was not yet proper according to the prevailing norms. They would be gratified by glances or small and short talk, and quite a jackpot if one is able to dance with the admired girl during pabayle. By and large, a boy would not be too expressive of his intents for a girl while in school lest he endure annoying kantiyaw from peers. On the other hand, as one alumni pointed out, the boys were too respectful of the girls, they would not make any uncalled-for advances on them.
Like any typical youth of their generation, the VNATSians eagerly imbibed the avant-garde spirit of the time as expressed by the fads of pop culture propagated by mass media and the entertainment industry. So, they patronized komiks magazines in currency during the sixties such as the Liwayway and Kislap for the serial love and adventure stories and for show business news and features to get updated of the latest happenings as regards their favorite movie stars. Back then, it was a pick between Susan Roces and Amalia Fuentes and their love interests. While economic capacities and distance from the cultural nerve center of Virac limited their access to the products of pop culture, they managed to get gratified. When resources permitted, these rural based youths would venture into town and watch blockbuster flicks at the old flea-infested sinehan ni Dadoy. And surely they took to heart the latest pop songs by listening to transistor radios. They sighed and swooned over the love ballads of Eddie Peregrina and rocked and rolled by Elvis Presley’s songs.
One anecdote by an alumna told of how she and two other friends escaped the last subjects of one Friday. They walked to downtown Virac in order to drop on a jukebox a few coins saved from their allowances and listen to their favorite music. Afterwards, they bought pan de coco in a nearby bakery which they hastily ate with soda drinks. They had to hurry so that there would still be daylight as they hiked back home to Calatagan. One song they did not miss to play was “Greenfields” by the Brothers Four, which their batch in VNATS has adopted as theme song, for the idyllic imagery of the countryside landscape it conjured that was quite appropriate for the agriculture-based education that they have come to love and embrace.
For the last part, we focus on the stories of four successful alumni as exemplars of the products of VNATSian education and discuss the overall impact of the school’s decade of existence.