Star Teacher

Much of what we know about our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, came from textbooks or things we’ve been taught in school. Some Filipinos remember him by his two great novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Others may be familiar with his famous sayings such as, “Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika, daig pa ang hayop at malansang isda.” But for the greater majority, Rizal only happens to be an image on a one peso coin or a monument in Luneta Park.

Who was Jose Rizal really? Was he just the literary genius that history made him to be? Was he always the freedom fighter pinned against Andres Bonifacio at the height of the Spanish colonial period? What activities did he enjoy? What kind of person was he? Was he just like you and me?

Check out the following accounts and get to know Jose Rizal, the man.

Rizal was stingy

In Rizal Without the Overcoat, Ambeth Ocampo narrates how Rizal asked all guests in a New Year’s potluck party to pay their share of the champagne bill. People thought it was a joke until Rizal passed his hat around.

During his many travels, Rizal would always ask the front desk in the hotel where he planned to stay how much the rate was with and without breakfast. Most often, he opted for the latter to save money for his other purchases.
In his book, First Filipino, Leon Ma. Guerrero relates how Rizal survived on a  budget of 50 pesos a month while he was in Europe. He had once written his sister  Maria that he had not taken a bath for months because “it was really expensive.”

Rizal loved tuyo

Ambeth Ocampo devotes an entire chapter of his book to Rizal’s favorite foods. For breakfast, he liked hot chocolate, a cup of rice, and sardinas secas or tuyo. Lunch was ayungin or silver perch. His cook in Dapitan remembers that Rizal normally had three types of viands. The first was local food such as sinigang or  paksiw. The second was Spanish, and the third, he described as “mestizo.”

Rizal also enjoyed pancit, lanzones, and mangoes. He drank his water with ice, didn’t like wine but drank beer so as not to call attention to himself while in Europe.

Rizal was sometimes a proud man

Ocampo also relates that while Rizal was in Europe, there were times when he would run out of money to buy food as his allowance from the Philippines arrived late. Since he didn’t want his landlady to know he had no money, Rizal would go out during mealtimes and walk around town to pass the time, angered by such small misfortunes. It was only after mealtime that he would return home when everybody assumed he had eaten.

Rizal vowed never to buy anything from the Chinese

Rizal had an unfortunate disagreement with the sari-sari store owner at the Dapitan Stocking Market of 1896. Priests had decreed that women should attend mass in shoes and stockings. To observe the decree, women came in men’s socks bought for three reales a pair from a Chinese merchant. To take advantage of the demand, and to compete with the Chinese merchant whom he thought had exploited the natives (Filipinos), Rizal had two dozen socks sent to him by his sister. Unfortunately, the trend ended when he was ready to sell; and while the merchant had sold most of his stocks, Ocampo says, Rizal had “nearly 10 years worth left.”

Allow your students to learn the relevance of our national hero’s life in these modern times by discovering more about him yourself.

Rizal was a gym buff

To compensate for his small stature, Rizal did weight-lifting exercises to improve his physique. This fact was confirmed when cement barbells were later discovered in his Dapitan home.

Similarly, Leon Ma. Guerrero noted that as a child, Rizal was made fun of by Pedro, another student in school. Rizal was never quarrelsome but in this instance, he challenged Pedro to a fight and surprisingly, won.

Rizal was interested in science

During Rizal’s exile in Dapitan, he explored the jungles and coasts of Mindanao with his young pupils. He inspected various specimens of insects, birds, lizards, snakes, frog shells, and plants, and sent these specimens to the Dresden Museum in Europe in exchange for scientific books and surgical instruments.
Some of the rare specimens Rizal discovered were named after him. These included a flying dragon (Draco Rizali), small beetle (Apogonia Rizali), and a rare frog (Rhacophorus Rizali).

WHAT RIZAL SAID

These accounts show us how much Rizal was like many of us. However, his life and works
reveal that a person, as long as he has a clear vision and a strong will, can accomplish his desired goal. As then-senator Richard Gordon said during the commemoration of Rizal’s 148th birthday, “Jose Rizal showed us that even if we were colonized by foreign nations, we can refuse to be bound by them, by having a vision and strengthening our values. He showed that Filipinos could excel and compete with the best.”

Let’s take a look at some of Rizal’s words which, Gordon claims, have made him “the first Filipino to break the walls in his mind.” As a reaction to what our colonial rulers had fed Filipinos then, Rizal’s thoughts ignited the Filipinos’ fight for freedom. These same words continue to guide us through various aspects of human life today.

On love for country and the Filipino language

•Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika, daig pa ang hayop at malansang isda.

•While a people preserves its language; it preserves the marks of liberty.

• I love my country, the Philippines, because I owe her my life and happiness, and because
every man should love his country…

• There you have the country; love her as she deserves to be loved.

“His life and works reveal that a person, as long as he has a clear vision and a strong will, can accomplish his desired goal.”

On law and government

• There can be no tyrants where there are no slaves.
• All men are born equal, naked, without bonds. God did not create man to be a slave; nor did he endow him with intelligence to have him hoodwinked, or adorn him with reason to have him deceived by others.
• The tyranny of some is possible only through the cowardice of others.
• Treat the people well, teach them the sweetness of peace so that they can love it and maintain it.

On education

• The youth is the hope of our future.
• Without education and liberty, which are the soil and the sun of man, no reform is possible, no measure can give the result desired.

• Youth is a flower-bed that is to bear rich fruit and must accumulate wealth for its descendants

• Where are the youths who will dedicate their innocence, their idealism, enthusiasm to the good of the country?

On life and work

• Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan.
• A tree that grows in the mud is unsubstantial and good only for firewood.
• It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great ideal. It is like a stone wasted on the field without becoming a part of any edifice.
• A man without will of his own is a man without personality.
Such words are powerful. They mirror the kind of man Rizal was and the values he stood and fought for. Hence, it is important to make Rizal more known to the youth, as it would expose them to the values of nationalism, integrity, and faith in people. The use of Rizal words as instructional materials can help students realize his relevance today. He is after all, a symbol of hope. He is a model that students can imitate. His words bring them to a recognition of their own gifts which may be used to contribute to our  nation’s development.

CREATIVE CLASSROOM

See the activity “What Rizal Said” in Creative Classroom on the back cover page, and follow the mechanics suggested below:

• Each day at the beginning of class, pick out a news topic of issue from the previous day or week. Paste the news clipping or picture of the issue on the second cartolina as described in Creative Classroom.
• Briefly discuss the news item or issue with the class. Then pick out quotation of Rizal from the first cartolina labeled ‘What Rizal Said’ With the students, relate quote to the news item or issue previously discussed to show Rizal’s relevance today.
• Using Rizal’s words as guide, ask students how they would respond to the social issue.
• Give students small label cards and ask them to write their response on it.
• Collect label cards and choose around three to five responses you deem best. Read these out in class and affirm students who wrote them. Let them paste their label cards on the third cartolina labeled “How do I respond today?.”
• Allow the class to express their opinions on how the selected responses mirror Rizal’s views on the chosen quote.
• Do the same thing twice or thrice a week.
• After a month, divide class into groups and challenge them to a song, poetry, or essay writing contest.  Using one quote from Rizal and their own response, the song/poem/essay they write should show how they have derived inspiration from Rizal on what they can become.

 Where in the world are Rizal’s monuments?

Every year on his birthday (June 19) and his execution (December 30), Rizal’s heroism is commemorated at Luneta Park where a monument stands in his honor. The monument recognizes his love for country and his martyrdom. The monument aims to help Filipinos rediscover their identity as well as regain their sense of responsibility.

But apart from the one at Luneta Park, there are other monuments around the world that pay tribute to Rizal, recognizing different traits that have endeared him to so many. Let’s take a look at these monuments.

1. China – This monument, an exact replica of the Manila monument, recognizes Rizal’s Chinese ancestral roots. Built in Jinjiang, it symbolizes the strong bond of friendship between the Philippines and China. The monument aims to show Rizal’s great interest in different cultures.

2. Australia – This monument was built through the initiative of a group of Filipino-Australians and their friends. A fitting tribute to Rizal’s heroism, it recognizes Rizal’s short but meaningful life.

3. Hawaii – This monument was a project of the Kauai Filipino Community Council. It recognizes the value of Rizal’s teachings and the importance of inculcating them in the minds and hearts of our people so they may strive to follow them.

4. Chicago – The unveiling ceremony of the Dr. Jose Rizal Monument in Chicago was held on June 19, 1999. The legacy of Rizal is not only for migrant Filipinos but for the children of Filipino-Americans who would appreciate his life and teachings for generations to come.

5. Washington – This memorial pays tribute to Rizal as a Filipino patriot who, during his short life, made lasting contributions to medicine, political and social reform, engineering and a large number of other disciplines.

6. Mexico – A lot has been written about the Rizal monument being given the name “Motto Stella” (Guiding Star) by Swiss sculptor Richard Kissling (1848-1919). Rizal’s monument reminds every Filipino of the values and principles he stood by and which we are encouraged to follow.

7. Peru -Inscribed on the bust of Rizal are the words: “Dr. Jose P. Rizal, Heroe Nacional de Filipinas, Nacionalista, Reformador Political, Escritor, Linguistica y Poeta, 1861-1896.” He is considered the “Pride of the Malay Race” being the first Asian to advocate Western ideas of social and political liberalism.

8. Spain – Rizal spoke fluent Spanish apart from other languages and this monument recognizes his love for learning. The memorial is a reminder of the time spent in Spain where he studied medicine at the Universidad Central de Madrid, to cure his mother’s failing eyesight—a testament of his love for his parents.

9. Germany – It was in Germany where Rizal found the tranquility that triggered great emotions and insights to complete his novel Noli Me Tangere. This book, an expression of Rizal’s love for freedom, created great impact on the Filipinos’ fight for freedom from Spanish colonial rule.

The list of monuments above may be used in the classroom to make students aware of the different Rizal memorials found around the world and to inspire them to emulate the many characteristics that have endeared Rizal to so many people, both here and abroad. To do this, see the activity of the same title described in Creative Classroom, and follow the mechanics suggested below:

• Draw students’ attention to the world map on the classroom wall and point out the countries where the different monuments of Rizal are found.
• Ask students “What is a monument? What is it for? What characteristics of Rizal does each monument represent?”
• Focus on one monument a day. Briefly discuss its significance and the trait of Rizal that each one represents.
• After all monuments have been discussed, ask students which trait of Rizal’s they can imitate and practice in their everyday life.
• Provide students with a checklist and ask them to monitor how they are able to practice this trait on a daily basis.
• Affirm students who show diligence in the practice of the trait every week.
• At the end of one month, choose the top three students who kept their pledges and honor them with the “Rizal of the 21st century” award during a school assembly.

Rizal: A Symbol of Hope

Rizal’s words of wisdom and his many monuments around the world only prove that his memory lives. Like any ordinary Filipino, he desired to see his country be free, develop, and progress. He found a cause he could give his life to and he worked towards it using the gifts he was endowed with.

This is what Rizal is all about. When there is a lack of role models today for young people to look up to, we find Rizal to be that model. He is our symbol of hope: A hope that our country could still redeem itself; a hope that all Filipinos discover their country, fall in love with it, and will their life to serving it.

Xavier School’s President Fr. Johnny Go shares how an open mind and experimental attitude can make a difference in your school and in your students’ lives.

Loved by his students and respected by colleagues, parents, and alumni, Xavier School President Fr. Johnny Go somehow manages to leave a lasting impression on the people he meets. Whether he’s lecturing about the use of technology in the classroom or giving a sermon on the Sunday gospel, people find themselves hanging on to his every word.

Ever since he was a young boy, Father Johnny has strived for excellence. When he graduated from Xavier School in 1979, he received the Xavier Award, the highest honor bestowed on the student who fully embodies the ideals of the school. Upon graduation from the Ateneo de Manila University, he decided with a group of high school friends, to go back and teach at their alma mater. “We wanted to give back,” he says. “Little did we know, we were actually going to receive so much more than what we could ever give.”

The Challenges and Rewards of Teaching

Father Johnny received his degree in AB Psychology from the Ateneo de Manila University and graduated magna cum laude in 1983. Being a Psych major, he worked as a guidance counselor in his first year in Xavier School. The following year, he taught English to high school seniors. “I was learning right alongside my students, and once in a while, a student would say something that would enrich or even change the way I understood the text,” he shares. “I really enjoyed myself. The exchanges in class were enlightening for me, but also sometimes hilarious.”

As fun as his first years of teaching were, Father Johnny had his fair share of difficulties. “It was a challenge to figure out how best to present something to the students without spoon-feeding it to them,” he says. “It’s always tempting to just do a ‘tell-all.’ For a teacher, lecturing is probably the easiest and most efficient way to teach. We teachers sometimes fall in love with the sound of our own voice because we sound so intelligent when we’re lecturing! But the research tells us that students don’t learn as much if they just sit there, listen to the lecture, and take notes.”

Father Johnny believes in the value of lectures, but encourages teachers to do more than that. “How do you give your students just enough to whet their appetite for learning, so that they do more of the work and learn actively? I think that’s the biggest challenge for teachers, regardless of the age of our students.”

When teachers get through that challenge—and when students actually fall in love with what you’re trying to teach them—the job can be very rewarding, says Father Johnny. “It’s like that old Indian tale where the wise man points to the moon, and the fool mistakes the finger for the moon—we don’t want that to happen. The teacher is that finger pointing to the moon. We are here not to draw our students’ attention to ourselves, but to literature, to writing, to truth in every possible discipline—and to God! Once they look beyond our finger and see the moon for themselves and no longer need us to point the way, that’s every teacher’s dream come true.”

Life as a Jesuit

After teaching in Xavier for two years, Father Johnny worked as a brand manager for a big corporation. Though it was a great job that paid well, he realized it wasn’t enough. After a period of discernment, he decided to enter the seminary.

As a seminarian, teaching remained close to his heart. He had various teaching engagements at the Ateneo de Manila University while completing his MAs in Philosophy and Theology.  His superiors’ plan at the time was to assign him to media work, so he was sent for a two-year training at Kuangchi Program Service, a Jesuit production house in Taipei. A year before ordination, he was assigned to Jesuit Communication, where during his four-year stint as Executive Director, he produced religious videos and music and taught media production in the university.

Just as Father Johnny was preparing to leave for post-graduate studies in media, he was asked to go to Xavier School in 2001 because they needed a successor for the school president—at least for one year. But as even the most well-laid plans can unexpectedly change, Father Johnny has ended up staying in Xavier for the past 10 years. Apart from doing administrative work, he has also made sure to teach, including a couple of Grade 7 classes of Advanced English, an education course to several classes of graduate students (including the school’s own teachers), and various types of workshops on education, spirituality, and leadership.

The Value of Change

“Schools are very conservative institutions; we usually take time to change—for good reason, of course,” says Father Johnny. “But if too many things in the world have changed, and the school is still stuck with the same way we’ve been teaching and running our schools for the last hundred years, we should at least begin to ask ourselves some questions.”
Indeed, most classrooms continue to look the same despite rapid changes in technology and among the youth. “So many things have changed—except our teaching which remains very 19th century. The teachers stand in front of class ‘transmitting’ information to the students, who in turn will just memorize and give it all back to the teacher during exams.”

Since Father Johnny assumed his position back in 2001, he has implemented new programs in the school to improve learning. “I realized that if I were a student in any school today, I’d be pretty frustrated, bored, and unmotivated,” he says. “So after studying what’s already being done in other countries, consulting experts, and conferring with colleagues, we started to perform little experiments to learn how we could reinvent schooling. I’m happy that in time, this mindset and this culture of experimentation has taken root in our school community. Today, we discuss, debate, and then design experiments to make learning more current.”

The Advantages of Technology

In this day and age, technology serves as a great communications tool and is also emerging as an important learning tool. But according to Father Johnny, “Technology isn’t just a tool; it’s a whole environment where we live and breathe. The learning environment today is no longer limited to the physical classroom, but to this virtual world that most of us have access to. The way our students learn, and even the way we adults learn—all this has been transformed by technology. The 21st-century teacher needs to learn how to manage learning not just in the physical classroom, but also in this virtual environment.”

In the absence of such access to technology, Father Johnny says it’s the learning principles behind the technology that are important. “Most of the things we’re doing in Xavier are made easier by technology, but we can adopt the learning principles even without technology. What are these learning principles? It’s actually all the clichés we’ve learned in our education classes about student-centered learning, where the student is an active learner, doing more of the work than the teacher. The teacher can engage students by making the class more interactive.”

Father Johnny shares a mnemonic device they use in Xavier that gives teachers a checklist of what this ideal of 21st-century student-centered learning is all about. He says, “We call it the ‘Five 8s’ because all five key words end in ‘-ate.’ When you examine the Five 8s, they’re actually 21st-century skills that are quite valuable beyond the classroom and certainly beyond high school.”

His teachers aim for their students to do the following:

1-2. Locate and interrogate content. They should be able to find information on their own and evaluate whether the information is accurate and helpful.
3. Create content. They should be able to do something with what they learn, through some kind of application.
4. Collaborate with others. They should be able to work with others or in teams.
5. Communicate content to others. Sharing what they have learned in an effective way is part and parcel of learning today.

Education as Nation-building

About three years ago, Xavier School adopted ERDA Technical and Vocational High School in Pandacan, a technical school for the poor, established by Fr. Pierre Tritz, SJ, a 96-year old French Jesuit described by the late Cory Aquino as the “Mother Teresa of the Philippines.” The school has very limited resources.  As a result, Father Johnny appreciates better the challenges faced by public school teachers.

“Given all the limitations they have to work with, our public school teachers face a much more complex situation than their fellow teachers in the private sector,” he says. “There are a lot of reasons to get discouraged, but even more reasons not to lose heart. So keep up the good work as we are all counting on you just as we are ready to help in any way we can.”

Keeping the Faith

Even after being a teacher for almost 30 years, Father Johnny continues to pursue his passion to become an excellent educator. He is currently doing his part-time doctorate in Education at the University of London’s Institute of Education and the National Institute of Education in Singapore.

Though he believes that education—which includes both teaching and character formation—is a much tougher undertaking today, it is precisely because of this that the work of educators becomes more important than ever. “Teaching has a way of summoning what’s best in a person,” he says. “So in the process, it can transform you into a much more generous, more caring person.”

Tips for Teachers

Fr. Johnny Go shares some nuggets of wisdom that he has learned over the years.

1. 1 Take care of yourself, especially your values and your faith. “One of my favorite gurus in education, Parker Palmer, wrote: ‘We teach who we are.’ In other words, we don’t just teach the subjects we’re assigned to teach; we share with our students our very person, our passion for learning, our values—and these, more than all our lectures—are what’s going to stay with our students.”
2. Remember your favorite teachers. “Who were your best teachers, and what made them so outstanding and unforgettable? Why did they make such a difference in your life?  Even now I learn from my favorite teachers. Long after they’re gone, their memory teaches me how to become a better teacher. To do our work as teachers well is really to honor their memory.”
3. Always be true and respectful to your students. “To be true means you don’t pretend you’re an expert who knows it all. It means admitting when you don’t know the answers and apologizing if you’ve committed a mistake. It’s also important to be respectful. Listen to what your students are trying to say. Some of the most profound insights about what I was teaching I got from students who had to struggle to find the words for them.”
4. Don’t ignore your students and their reactions. “There are certain symptoms that should immediately sound the alarm: Someone yawning at the back of the classroom or looking out the window; someone with eyebrows knitted significantly, bewilderment written all over his face—these are tell-tale signs that the students are not engaged, or they still don’t get it.”
5. Try and try again. “If the first time we present our lesson, the students don’t ‘get it,’ we’re expected to try again and again. Experiment with different strategies not only to get and keep our students’ attention, but also to help them learn. As teachers, we are trained to aim for student engagement and learning. The question that’s never asked but is in the minds of our students is: ‘Why should I even care about this? So what?’ And it’s our job as teachers to answer that question for any learning to happen.”

In their book, Magaling Ang Pinoy!, Queena Lee-Chua, Maribel Sison-Dionisio, and Nerisa Fernandez reveal the best practices of excellent Filipino students and their families—and how your students can do them too!

What makes Filipino children do well in school?

This is a question that is foremost in the minds of most parents and teachers. Not content with simply looking for answers in Western books or elsewhere, Queena Lee-Chua, Maribel Sison-Dionisio, and Nerisa Fernandez decided to ask Filipino families themselves.

It all started in 2003, when Queena, a professor who specializes in mathematics education and learning psychology, and Maribel, a marriage and family counselor and parenting consultant, spearheaded the Parents’ Best Practices Study at the Ateneo de Manila High School. Queena designed a 100-item questionnaire based on American data, and with the help of volunteers from the High School Parents’ Council, they distributed the questionnaire to parents of honor students, athletes, student leaders, and students excelling in extracurricular activities.

Once all the survey results were in, they conducted a statistical analysis and the data revealed 10 best practices that families of Ateneo achievers had done—and continued to do. This became the basis of their book, Helping Our Children Do Well in School, which won the National Book Award for Education in 2005.

Despite the success of the study, another question lingered in their minds. Do the same practices apply to students in public schools?

In 2005, Queena and Maribel embarked on a much bigger study to find their answers. They were joined by Nesy Fernandez, a former marketing executive who was also part of the team that assisted in the survey conducted at the Ateneo High School in 2003. With the help of the Department of Education, several government officials, parent volunteers, and Pathways to Higher Education (an Ateneo program that helps talented public school students hone their skills for college), the ladies gained access to 17 public schools in Marikina and Bulacan. They distributed a revised version of their original questionnaire to more than a thousand families in each area, and conducted focus group discussions and personal interviews with several parents.

So what makes Filipino children do well in school? The answer lies in family.

Family Comes First

The families of outstanding students from the 17 public schools in Marikina and Bulacan differed in many ways, but they shared five things in common—and these became the basis for Queena, Maribel, and Nesy’s book, Magaling Ang Pinoy! How and Why Filipino Public School Students Achieve.

According to their book, disadvantaged students perform well because “parents use discipline to guide their children early on, motivating them to aim for various goals. Children learn to rely on their own efforts and skills, encouraged by loving families and a supportive home environment.”

As mothers themselves, Queena, Maribel, and Nesy believe that it’s not so much about the student’s socio economic background nor is it about the school where he or she studies. Queena says, “There is a huge gap between the influence of the school and that of the parents. Any school can produce both good and bad students. We found that it is really the parents who instill good study habits in their children.”

As they’ve found through the study and said in their book, “Academic success is not determined by economic status or social ties. What counts most is effective parenting that aims to develop our children’s potential to the utmost.”

Some parents believe that going abroad and earning more money to send their children to the best schools and hire tutors for them will help them excel. But Queena says, “Going abroad and having more money is not the solution. Parents should really be there. Sit down with your kids while they are studying.”

Queena emphasizes the value of “tutok”or focusing on the child. She herself has practiced this with her son Scott. In HelpingOur Children Do Well in School, she talks about how she sat with him through his assignments, as early as kindergarten. Now, she can trust Scott to do his schoolwork before doing other things.

Maribel says it is important for parents to be present in the first 10 years of their child’s life, guiding them throughout their studies. In Helping Our Children Do Well in School, the authors say, “Research has shown that if a child has constant parental presence and guidance during this period, he will already have formed the values, behavior, and habits parents want to instill in him.” When Maribel’s children Rafael, David, and Angelica were born, she left her corporate job and for the first 10 years in the life of each child, she focused on them.

Nesy agrees that parents should have a good relationship with their children. “Get close to them. Ask them what their problems are. Bring them to school and pick them up if you can. Advise them not to get married early and be there to support them. Parenting is a very difficult task and no relationship is perfect. Disappointments, arguments, and hurts are part of the landscape but being close and establishing good communication are definitely a plus.”

Nesy herself had been a parent volunteer since her son Gerard entered prep at the Ateneo Grade School. As a class parent representative in elementary and high school, she participated in most of the activities like field trips, outreach activities, seminars for parents, and more. She says, “I do not have any regrets of giving up a full-time career to raise my only child.I find parenting enriching and volunteer work, definitely fulfilling. ” Now that her son has graduated from college, Nesy continues to volunteer with Pathways to Higher Education at the Ateneo.

Parents and Teachers are Partners

Since they conducted the Best Practices Study, Queena, Maribel, and Nesy have been giving talks for parents, teachers, and students to teach them the lessons from the book. Queena says, “We tell public school teachers to be open to the parents of their students. Don’t have an adversarial relationship with them. Don’t just talk to them about grades. Tell parents that this study has been done and that this is what they can do to make their kids excel.”

Maribel adds that the burden of taking care of students should not be all on the teacher. “It’s supposed to be the parents’ responsibility. Sometimes when their kids are not doing well, they blame the teachers. Tell these parents about the best practices so that you can help each other.”

A manual entitled ABaKaDa ng Pagiging Mabuting Magulang was developed by one of their volunteers who is a professional trainer.This was the teaching aid the women used to simplify and demonstrate the five best practices of being a good parent. These stand for:

A – ATENSYON
B – BUONG PAGPAPAHALAGA sa SARILI
K – KOMUNIKASYON
D – DISIPLINANG may PAGMAMAHAL
E – ESPESYAL na RELASYON sa ASAWA at sa SARILI

Nesy says, “We would like to continue to encourage parents of public school children to teach their children and keep them in school so that they can get a college education. Hopefully, they will have more opportunities and a better future.”

Reaping the Rewards

In March 2010, Queena, Maribel, and Nesy received the award for “Scholarly Work With Most Social Impact” for Magaling Ang Pinoy! from the Ateneo. Queena says that out of all the awards she has received, this one is the most special to her. The book was truly a labor of love, not only by the authors, but also by all the parent volunteers who helped them conduct the study.

In a speech that Nesy delivered at the Ateneo right after they conducted the study, she said, “This project has given us so much more than just numbers. In the course of our research, we were drawn into an accidental journey into the heart and soul of the Filipino parent of a public school student…

“Our participation in this study was like an immersion into a life we knew of but never had a chance to feel. It was very close to being a religious experience. Most of these parents live the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity with incomparable zeal. They embraced the hardships of life with unwavering FAITH firmly believing that ‘makakaraos tayo sa awa ng Diyos.’ They allowed HOPE to light their way as they continue to aspire for a better life for their children in spite of the difficulties they face. They practiced CHARITY to the fullest… loving their children more than their own selves and giving all that they have.”

Magaling Ang Pinoy!

Here is an overview of the best practices of families of successful students in public high schools in Marikina and Bulacan as written by Queena, Maribel, and Nesy. Share these with your students’ parents to help their children excel!

1. Discipline to instruct, not to punish.When maintaining discipline, we should never threaten, hurt, or humiliate our children. Instead, explain what they have done wrong. When done effectively, disciplined children grow up with confidence and responsibility.
2. Set goals, for wishes are not enough. To achieve our dream, we need to break it down into concrete steps, or goals. In short, our goals must be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, and Time-bound. We need to develop a clear picture of where we want to go with our life, which involves deciding what our values are and setting achievable goals.
3. Rely on yourself, not on fate. Successful students take responsibility for their actions, while unsuccessful ones believe that they are the victims of fate. During the focus group discussions, all the honor students say that sipag is the foremost reason behind their academic achievement. No child is bobo. With proper guidance, every child can achieve.
4. Strengthen family bonds. The first step is being there. In the survey, majority of parents of successful students reveal that despite financial worries, they manage to prioritize their children and make time for them. A good way to strengthen family bonds is to do various activities together.
5. Make your home fit for learning. Parents are the first teachers. Parents of achieving children in Marikina and Bulacan public schools sit down with their children, supervise them as much as they can, make sacrifices for necessary materials, and keep tabs on their academic performance. They encourage their children to read books even if these are not required in school. With a set time and place for work and play, good study habits are formed early in childhood. A home where education is a priority helps children to value and enjoy learning, which in turn helps them to excel in school.

Former Education Secretary Jesli Lapus talks about improving the quality of education in the country and proves that he is worthy of the title, “Champion of Public School Teachers.”

Life is short,” says former education secretary Jesli Aquino Lapus. It was a realization he came to in his mid-thirties when he was diagnosed with coronary heart disease, a condition that increased his risk of suffering a fatal heart attack. Two years later, a tumor was found in his brain—something that would have left him with only six months to live, if it hadn’t miraculously disappeared.

Born in Tarlac on September 12, 1949, Lapus had already collected a string of achievements before he turned 30. At age 20, he became auditor-in-charge at auditing firm SGV & Co. At 23, he completed the Masters in Business Management program of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) and became the youngest Chief Finance Officer of the Ramcar Group, establishing the company as the market leader in the country. At 29, he became the first Filipino and the youngest Managing Director of Triumph International. He was even dubbed “ASEAN’s Management Whiz Kid” by Asian Finance magazine.

“I was at the peak of my professional career,” says Lapus. “I was on top of the world and I’d won all my rat races, when all of a sudden I realized that life could snap out of me anytime. And so I started thinking of legacy—of a significant contribution I could make to my country.”

A Heart for Public Service

At the time of his illness in the early ‘80s, his country was also in turmoil. His cousin Ninoy Aquino had just been assassinated and Filipinos were revolting against President Marcos. After being given a new lease on life, Lapus left Triumph and decided to help in the transition from the Marcos dictatorship to the Aquino administration. In 1987, he was appointed Undersecretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform, where he established the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) Fund and set up the Support Services Sector.

In 1992, his public service continued as President Fidel Ramos asked him to head the government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines. At 42 years old, he became the bank’s youngest president and CEO, steering the bank from number 18 to become the third biggest in the banking industry.

After his stint in Land Bank, Lapus served for three terms in the Philippine House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007, where he advocated the cause of education. After exposing the multi-billion peso automatic payroll deduction scheme—a move which led to the streamlining of the payroll and deduction systems, which benefited around 300,000 teachers all over the country—he earned the title “Champion of Public School Teachers.”

“Someone has to protect their interests,” says Lapus. “[The automatic payroll deduction scheme] has been happening for 20 years and has impacted the quality of education. It developed the culture of teachers trying to make money to make both ends meet. The teachers didn’t know what was happening to them, so I fought for it.”

Champion of Education

In August 2006, when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed him Secretary of Education, he was more than willing to take on the challenge. “I believe the quality of human resource will determine the future of our country,” he says. “I’m not in government to have a picnic. I’m here to try to make a difference. Why be in a field that people say is right down your alley and is easy? If I wanted an easy time, I’d have stayed in the private sector. DepEd counts for one third of the entire bureaucracy and you don’t need a teacher to run that—you need a professional manager.”

Lapus believes that teachers are the backbone of education. His three-and-a-half-year term in the DepEd is characterized by teacher development and boosting their morale. He also takes pride in his participative management style. “I try to make myself accessible,” he says. “Imagine how many texts I get a day from parents and teachers! I think the entire city knows my cell phone number.” While the Department of Education has suffered from a negative image in the past, it was consistently rated positive under Lapus’s leadership.

Lapus understands teachers’ concerns, partly because he was once a teacher himself.  “I taught in Ateneo and AIM,” he shares. “[Teaching] is about molding human beings and seeing that pupil become somebody. I like to look at myself as a developer of managers. When I came here, I found out that the administrators or managers of the department, like principals, had no management training. They think like teachers. I’ve been sending them to AIM for three-week management and leadership courses. It opened their minds completely.” For Lapus, seeing the teachers improve their competencies is one of the most fulfilling aspects of the job.

A Cause for Society

Lapus firmly believes that it is not just the DepEd that is responsible for education—it’s the entire society. This is why he has worked closely with the private sector. He tells companies, “You’re the employers.  Your best return on investment is to invest in education.”

One project that promotes community involvement is the Brigada Eskwela, where citizens of each barangay do cleaning and minor repairs before school starts. “It’s like a family affair,” says Lapus. “Now, they are saying, why don’t we do it all-year round? Enjoy sila. They realized it’s also a good bonding opportunity with their kids.” The project is spearheaded by DepEd’s Adopt-A-School Program and has saved the department P5.7 billion in repair costs in 2008.

Given his multi-faceted background, Lapus believes all his experiences in the past have helped him with his job as Education Secretary. He says, “I think I have succeeded in making all sectors of society aware that education is everybody’s responsibility and they’ve responded. Given that, there’s a better chance of doing more things… At the end of the day, I ask myself, how do I make my teachers be the best they can be?”

Lapus’s Legacy

Secretaries come and go—Lapus is the sixth secretary to take over the DepEd in eight years. After three and a half years on the job (and losing 18 pounds in the process!), Lapus has learned that the key to success is to empower those who are permanent, the civil servants and the middle management, so they can “take ownership of the improvements and reforms and continue with it.”

Lapus believes his most important legacy is putting education in the front seat of everyone’s minds, to make it the first priority of national and local government units, private corporations, and NGOs. He is also proud of implementing the digital literacy training for teachers and strengthening technical vocational education in the country. Plus, he is the only secretary to hold two international positions, having been an Executive Board Member of the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and President of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO).

Lapus recalls that when the Thai Minister of Education visited schools in the Philippines, he was amazed by the teachers’ flexibility, passion, and intensity. Lapus says, “What we have going for us is that our Filipino teachers are genuinely passionate about teaching. The teachers serve as second parents and they truly love their pupils.”

Aside from nurturing this love for their students, Lapus advises teachers to continue improving their competencies. “We are competing in a global arena,” he says. “It’s already proven what we learn today is likely to be obsolete four years from now.”

Indeed, improving the quality of education in the country is a never-ending task—one that not only the teachers, but all members of the community, must be responsible for. Though Lapus is no longer with the DepEd (he was transferred to DTI in March 2010), there is no doubt that he will continue to be a champion for teachers and leave a legacy we can all be proud of.

For 2009 SORT winner Grace Rabelas, there is nothing more satisfying than helping her students discover the joys of reading.

My mother was my first reading teacher,” shares Grace Urlanda Rabelas, winner of the 2009 Search for Outstanding Reading Teacher. She believes one can only be a good reading teacher if you are a lover of books. “When I was a child, the first book my mother introduced to me was Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham,” she recalls. “When I was in elementary, I finished reading the entire Nancy Drew detective series, which I would borrow from our school library.”
Having good role models is one reason why Grace excelled as a reading teacher. Aside from her mother, she looks up to some of her former teachers who were very enthusiastic about their work. “They really strived for excellence up to the day they retired,” she says.

Early Teaching Years

Grace is a native of Iriga City in Camarines Sur, Bicol. She studied at private schools for elementary and high school. Upon her mother’s advice, she enrolled at the College of Education at the Bicol University in Legaspi City.

After she graduated in 1993, she started teaching grade four and grade six students at La Consolacion College, where she studied elementary. “My field of concentration in college was actually social studies,” says Grace. “But they were looking for an English teacher—that’s where it all started.”

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Metrobank Outstanding Teacher Evelyn Caja oozes with passion and enthusiasm for her work. She reveals why there is no greater satisfaction than teaching her visually impaired students.

Roselle Ambubuyog graduated Summa Cum Laude and valedictorian from the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Mathematics. She now works for a company based in Spain that develops software and provides training for the blind to gain access to technology.

Carolina Catacutan is a Cum Laude graduate of Mass Communications from the University of the Philippines. She is a professional writer, teacher, and founding member of ATRIEV or the Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration, and Empowerment of the Visually Impaired.

Roselle and Carolina are both visually impaired and successful in their fields—but their similarities don’t end there. Both were also students of special education teacher Evelyn Caja at Ramon Magsaysay High School.

Seeing for the Blind

Growing up as a pastor’s daughter, Evelyn lived a simple life. Every other year, her family would move from one place to another, depending on where her father would be assigned. She says, “Medyo hirap yung elementary, high school, and college days ko because my father did not earn much, but I survived. I’ve always believed that poverty is not a hindrance to success.”

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Meet the pioneers of Sa Aklat Sisikat’s Teacher Training Workshop!

For 10 years now, Sa Aklat Sisikat (SAS) has been introducing a 31-day Read-A-Thon for grade four public school students, with the objective of developing the love and habit of reading in children. To prepare schools for the successful implementation of the SAS Read-A-Thon, a two-day Teacher Training Workshop (TTW) is conducted. In these workshops, grade four teachers and school principals acquire new strategies and techniques in the teaching of reading, as well as learn about the SAS Read-A-Thon and its procedures. This innovative program inspires and empowers the whole school and its learning community to become book lovers and reading advocates.

The seeds of the TTW were planted by seasoned teachers whose fervor was to transform lives through reading. Neni Sta. Romana Cruz, Dali Soriano, Pat Jardiniano, and Titing Pascual Villamor are the women who started it all and continue to nurture others’ love for reading by still actively conducting workshops for SAS.

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One teacher defies all odds and turns her far-flung school into the number one public school in the country.

Nestled in the small town of Macrohon on the southernmost part of Leyte, Sindangan Elementary School is partially hidden in a remote mountain area, 15 kilometers away from the town proper and a decent cell phone signal. To get there, one must travel through rough roads where only one passenger jeepney regularly passes through. The school has about five one-story structures containing classrooms, a library-slash-clinic, and an office for the teachers. In between the buildings is an open field where its 197 students and nine teachers gather for the morning assembly.

It was quite a surprise then, when this seemingly unremarkable school suddenly topped the National Achievement Test (NAT) for grade six in 2007. From a ranking of 78 in 2005, the school jumped to number two in 2006, and finally rose to the top in 2007.

Along with the concerted efforts of the teachers and students, a large part of the school’s success can be attributed to Teacher Leah Gabriel, the grade six class adviser and science teacher, and as well as the math teacher for grades four to six.

Starting Out

Teacher Leah is no stranger to hard work and the value of discipline. “While studying in Agusan Colleges, I worked from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm as assistant kindergarten teacher in a private school,” shares Teacher Leah. “Then I would attend classes in the evening. When I got home, I still had to work on my assignments and do my chores.” When she graduated in 1992, she was hired by the same private school where she taught for the next 10 years.

“I got married in 2002 and I lived in Manila with my husband for a year,” says Teacher Leah. “However, I knew my mother was alone and I wanted to take care of her. That’s why I decided to apply as a teacher in Macrohon, where I grew up.” Since teachers who apply in public schools for the first time are normally assigned to the more remote areas, Teacher Leah landed a job in Sindangan Elementary School.
Teacher Leah reveals that teaching in Sindangan is different from being in a private school. In the public school, the atmosphere is more laid-back and teachers are not as srictly monitored. However, this did not deter her from doing her best and instilling discipline in her students.

“I am usually friendly and approachable, but I can also be strict,” she shares. “If you’re too friendly and lenient, the students won’t respect you. Discipline in the classroom is important.”

Teacher Leah found out that one of the reasons some of her students can’t turn in their assignments is because they help their parents, who are mostlt farmers. That is why she makes it a point to meet with the parents and explain her classroom policies to them as well. “I write a contract that syas they should help their kids with their assignments. It’s better to have a written agreement, which they sign, so they realize the value of education and learn how they can support their child in school.”

Fun and Games

To improve her students’ test scores, Teacher Leah tries to make learning fun for her students. “When I see some games on TV, I like to apply them in the classroom. The children are very fond of games! It makes them more alert and energetic.”

To create visual aids, she buys supplies in the city with her personal money. “Sometimes, I print pictures on the computer and stick them on cardboard.” Medyo massakit din sa bulsa but I’m happy when I am able to impart new knowledge to my students.” However, she stresses that one doesn’t need to spend a lot to be creative. She advises teachers to be more resourceful. Sometimes, even recycled materials are enough to make good visual aids.

Aside from playing games, Teacher Leah motivates her students by giving them rewards for good performance. “I give the grade six bookmarks if they get perfect attendance for a whole month. Getting sick is not an excuse!” she shares in a smile. “If they have perfect attendance every month, then they will get a medal at the end of the school year during their graduation.”

For her students in grades four to six, she gives star stickers to those who do well in class. “Excited sila sa stars. Kapag nauubusan ako ng star, uutangin ko muna at ‘pag nakalimutan ko, naaalala talaga nila!” She gives them stars when they get perfect scores in quizzes or if they havegroup work and their group does well in the activity.

Extra Effort

Aside from making classes fun for her students, Teacher Leah tutors the children outside of class. Together with the other teachers in the school, she conducts review classes for the kids every Saturday in preparation for exams. “The parents are very supportive too. Every week, they take turns to provide snacks for the children to keep the children motivated.”

On exerting extra time and effort outside school hours, she says, “Sometimes, my husband wonders why I still do school work even when I get home, but I tell him, okay lang, minsan lang naman ito. Kahit pagod ako, I pour out my time for them.” Teacher Leah does not have any kids of her own, but she surely does a great job of raising the 70 students under her wing.

Number One

All of Teacher Leah’s efforts paid off when her students passed the NAT with flying colors, securing them the top spot among public schools nationwide. “Some of my coteachers have said that the school got number one because of me. Sabi ko baka nagkataon lang ‘yan,” she states humbly. “Pero sinabi nila, hindi nagkataon ‘yan kasi sunod-sunod ang pag-top namin mula noong dumating ako dito. That’s why I was very happy when I learned the news. At least I was able to contribute to the school’s achievement.”

“At first a lot of people couldn’t believe it,” shares Mrs. Virginia Cortina, the school principal. “The naysayers discouraged us and warned us that it was hard to be number one because we would get a lot of visitors who would monitor our performance. I told them, it’s okay because it would benefit the school. We’re truly proud and we’re very thankful for God’s grace. Maybe this is our time to shine.”

True enough, because of their achievement, the Department of Education gave them funds to improve school facilities. The school was also featured on several television programs such as GMA7’s iWitness and QTV’s Proudly Filipina. As a result, a lot of people turned to help the school. “Different groups from here and abroad donated raincoats, books, school supplies, and uniforms for the children,” adds Teacher Leah. “We even had a free dental clinic! Others pledged to sponsor some of the children for their high school education.”

New Beginnings

This school year, Teacher Leah has been assigned to teach at Amparo Elementary School, which is much nearer and more accessible to her home. This is also where she studied elementary. “My students at Sindangan were very sad. Naiyak sila nung nalaman nila. Sabi nila, ‘wala nang magbibigay ng star sa amin.””

Principal Virginia says, “With Teacher Leah gone, it’s a challenge to the other teachers to also do their best.” Teacher Leah says her co-teachers have seen the way she runs her classes and the different techniques she employs. Hopefully, they will continue to teach by her example.

Though she misses her students at Sindangan, Teacher Leah has a lot of plans for Amparo. “I want to develop their math park, which is an area where they can learn math concepts while eating or playing during recess.” In Sindangan, several of these “parks” or small plots of land highlighting concepts from different subjects are scattered around the school. According to Teacher Leah, the students and teachers work on them together and in the process, they learn more about the subject.

Teacher Leah is also currently taking her masters in Education, Major in Science at the Asian Development Foundation College in Tacloban City. With her passion, dedication, and great accomplishments, it is clear that no matter what she does or where she teaches, she will continue to inspire and motivate her students to achieve the best in everything they do.

Here’s how one woman strives to improve education in the Philippines—one book at a time.

I’ve always thought of myself as a writer first before anything else,” shares Atty. Andrea Pasion-Flores, who has an undergraduate degree in Journalism, an MA in Creative Writing, and a Law degree from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. She worked for several newspapers, magazines, an advertising agency, and a law firm, before this self-confessed bookworm finally landed her job as Executive Director of the National Book Development Board (NBDB).

“Reading was always a big thing for me since childhood till the time I was already working. So when one of the board members of NBDB and my former MA adviser told me I would be perfect for this job, I applied for it. I was the only person from the private sector who applied and although I had absolutely no background in government, I got the job!”

For the Love of Books

“NBDB’s main goal is to develop the local book publishing industry,” explains Andrea. “According to the Book Publishing Industry Development Act, ‘Books are the most effective and economical tool for achieving educational growth; for imparting information, and for recording, preserving and disseminating the nation’s cultural heritage.’ It may sound like a motherhood statement but I really believe in that. In a poor country like ours, if the teacher is inadequate, the student’s main source of knowledge is the textbook. We may have the Internet and other forms of media, but books are different—they are more substantive, focused, and well-researched.

“I also believe we can help alleviate poverty by developing the industry into a more globally competitive one. We do this by developing the market, skills and capacity building, and facilitating accreditation for publishers. If you are an accredited publisher, for example, you are able to import raw materials tax-and-duty-free.

“For market building, we try to encourage the public to read books by Filipino authors.

The local book publishers’ main market is domestic. The problem is that a lot of Pinoys don’t know that these books by local authors are available. It’s not in their consciousness. But our authors are not writing for a foreign audience because they are talking about their own experience as Filipinos.”

Overcoming Obstacles

“All the problems of education today—such as the lack of classrooms, teachers, and textbooks—are our problems too. After all, how can you encourage more people to read when they don’t know how to read in the first place?” Andrea says. However, these challenges don’t faze her. “Since we don’t have much money, we try to come up with projects that are more creative. We get partners to help us, and we work harder to achieve our goals.”

Some of the NBDB’s projects include:

1. Get Caught Reading Campaign

“This is a local version of the campaign done by the American Association of Publishers. We get local actors and media personalities to pose with a Filipino author’s book. We turn these photos into posters, which we distribute to different public schools and community centers nationwide. In essence, this campaign has two messages: To read and to read Pinoy.”

2. Booklatan sa Bayan Program

“We go to different places around the country to hold book fairs, storytelling workshops, and seminars for Readership Enhancement and Advancement (READ) and library administration. We want to set up more reading centers because we have a study which says that if there is a library in the area, the literacy rate of the province goes up.”

3. NBDB Book Club

“We meet once a month to discuss books by Filipino authors. When we meet, the author is present. Sometimes, we invite students to join the sessions. Then, we write about it so people get interested in the book.”

4. Philippine Book Development Month

“We celebrate this in November. We have all sorts of activities lined up to promote reading and books by Filipino authors nationwide.”

WANT NBDB TO CONDUCT ITS
BOOKLATAN SA BAYAN IN YOUR SCHOOL?
For inquiries, contact: National Book Development
Board 2/F National Printing Office Building, EDSA cor.
NIA Northside Rd., Diliman
Tel. No.: 920-9853 or 926-8238.
E-mail: oed@nbdb.gov.ph
Website: http://www.nbdb.gov.ph

Talented teens and Department of Education endorsers Sam Concepcion and Cheska Ortega speak up for education, literacy, and healthy living.

September 2007, Baguio City: In an auditorium full of high school students, the energy level is steadily rising. Mobile phones and cameras are held above each other’s heads— everyone wants a better view of the stage, and normal conversation is impossible amidst all the excited screaming. And no, it’s not a rock concert. It is the final night of the National Leadership Training for Student Government Officers, and the induction of singer and actor Sam Concepcion as the Department of Education’s new Youth Spokesperson and Role Model.

Young Leaders

Looking at Sam, it’s not that easy to grasp how someone so young can have such a powerful effect on so many people. At 15, with his boyish smile and carefree vibe, he strikes you as a normal kid having fun onstage. But when you talk to him, you realize how humble and grounded he is despite his numerous achievements—  starring in the local version of international hit High School Musical, being part of the Y Speak squad, being nominated as Best New Male Artist in the Aliw Awards, appearing on various magazine covers, and churning out chart-topping singles off his debut album. You see how close he is to his family and how much he values his fans’ love and support. You see how dedicated he is to his career, and how he approaches his success and popularity not as privileges, but as blessings. And you understand that the DepEd has definitely made the right choice—this young boy, who works his magic on teens just as effortlessly as he charms grown-ups, really IS role model material.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus says, “We need somebody like Sam to remind the youth that education can be enjoyable and bring us closer to our dreams. We chose Sam because he has maintained a wholesome public image while appreciating the value of education.”

“DepEd gave my manager, Tito David, a call last year and asked for a meeting,” Sam shares. “They were looking for a new youth spokesperson and role model. Basically, what they wanted me to do was to go around schools in the country to perform and encourage students to stay in school and be the best they can be. I said yes, of course. It was a bit overwhelming at first, especially because the past spokespersons were older, like Dingdong Dantes, Onemig Bondoc, and the late Rico Yan. But they told me I could relate to the students better, since I’m their age. I was very excited.”

What happens during the school tours? “We have a program and I sing songs from my album or from High School Musical,” Sam says. “It’s fun ‘cause the students prepare their own games and song and dance numbers, and sometimes I get to have a duet with someone from the school. Everyone is so accommodating and supportive. I have short speeches in between performances. I encourage them to value their education and follow their dreams. I also ask them to stay away from vices and respect their parents and teachers. I lead a pledge of commitment, where we all promise to excel in our academics and live a healthy lifestyle.” Last year, the DepEd brought Sam to several schools in Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and Metro Manila. This year, the target is 50 more schools all over the Philippines.

Joining Sam on the school tours is 15- year-old Cheska Ortega, who shares his passion for theater and was also part of the High School Musical phenomenon. “I had doubts at first,” she admits. “I have role models myself, such as Al Gore and writer Joel Osteen, and I was suddenly going to be one. But I was also happy because I knew I was going to be helping a lot of people.”

School Smarts

The fact that they both love learning makes Sam and Cheska’s job of promoting the value of a good education so much easier. Sam, who is enrolled in a home-schooling program, is in grade nine (or first year high school), while Cheska is a sophomore in Saint Pedro Poveda College.

“My tests are computer-based, and I can study any time I want to,” Sam says. “You can finish two levels in a year; it all depends on your progress. I have English, Math, Science, and World History. My favorite subject has always been Math. I can rest on some days, but it is my duty to catch up. I’m usually busy with rehearsals and tapings, but right now I’m finding time to read Wicked. I also liked The Chronicles of Narnia and The Little Prince.”

Cheska, an advocate for literacy, reads every day and goes through several books in a month. “My mom tells me to read a lot. Reading has so many benefits. When you read, you learn. It opens up your imagination and helps you become more creative. As my mom said, you can find everything in the library. I think everyone should read.” She is particularly fond of personality and self-help titles. “I love Joel Osteen’s works,” she says. “His books really develop you and help you become a better person.”

For A Cause

Aside from encouraging the youth to stay in school, Sam and Cheska champion other equally important causes.

“I emphasize the need for them to hone their talents,” Sam says. “If we were given more time for the school tours, and if I were given the chance to come up with my own project, I’d love to organize talent shows for the students. We can also have singing contests or fashion design competitions within the school.”

Cheska, on the other hand, is an anti-smoking ambassador. The Tobacco-Free Initiative Program is a tie-up between the DepEd and the World Health Organization. “I ask them to stop smoking and tell them why it’s harmful. I make them aware of the negative effects of smoking, like the fact that it’s really bad for your lungs and that it contributes to pollution. It causes cancer, and second-hand smoke is even worse. I think people my age smoke because of peer pressure, or maybe because they’re bothered about something but they don’t really know how to handle it. They think smoking is a solution. But what they don’t realize is that it’s neither going to make them happy nor make them feel better. Smoking will not fi x their problems; it will just make things worse.”

She also wants to help stop global warming. “It’s one of the worst things happening to our planet right now, and students aren’t fully aware of it,” she asserts. “I don’t think it’s just the grown-ups’ responsibility to work against environmental destruction. Everyone should do something to fight it.”

Wise Words

When asked what the best thing about being a DepEd spokesperson is, Sam replies, “I get to share a part of myself. Sometimes, the message I impart, no matter how simple, can be something they can hold on to while growing up. That’s the best thing—that I get to make a difference in my own little way.”

His message to the schools included on the tour? “To the schools I have already visited, thank you for listening and being there. I do hope you spoke that pledge from the bottom of your heart! To the schools I have yet to visit, I’m really looking forward to interacting with all of you.”

Cheska’s words imply wisdom beyond her years—a far cry from typical teenagers whose main concerns run along the lines of shopping and partying. “To my fellow students, stay away from vices and always listen to your parents. They know what’s good for you. Most of all, live above all the negative influences around you, because that’s the way to be the best person you can be.”