Vai Brazil - June 19 - Aug 3, 2018

On  the afternoon of June 19, I was at the NAIA waiting for my flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil that will reunite me with my youngest daughter, Kim, who had joined her husband, Renan, a Brazilian whom she met here in the country.  I was excited by the trip as it would be my first trip, the farthest, to boot and the only country where I shall stay for a long period of time where the people do not speak a word of English. Hence, I will be forced to  communicate in Portuguese, a language I only have an idea of using from that language app, Duolingo. Armed with only a few words and even fewer phrases of Portuguese and Spanish, I eagerly awaited the event of meeting my daughter, her husband and his family  but only after a long 26 hour flight and a 4-hour layover at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. But that is getting way ahead of the story.  Let me start with the long trip.

The Flight

Unaware of Ethiopian culture, or any African nation for that matter, I had many misconceptions before the flight - let us just say, my thoughts were bordering on being  very racist, something that is typical of bigotry as a result of utter ignorance, but then we all have our own biases and prejudices, right? My greatest apprehension was I might not like the food during the flight.  Being a diabetic who is not only constantly hungry but whose hunger is accompanied by a terrible trembling to the point of fainting, eating a full meal at the right time is very important to me.  Not only that, the food should satisfy my palette.  So, what would Ethiopian food be like? I guessed it would be terrible considering the strangeness of the culture and all that, again as a result of ignorance that is  tantamount to stupidity. How wrong I was.  First, the stewardess assigned to my section was not only uber beautiful, (so there, my first bias) her stance, her walk and her height was just like a model's, smelled good (another stupid bias, I may be a bigot without my knowledge)   and spoke good English.  So were a number of them. What's even more surprising was that I liked the food! All meals were to my liking. Not bad! (On my flight back home, I asked the stewardess if the food they were serving are traditional Ethiopian food, she said no! There you go!  I could have been right at this point.)  When we arrived at Addis Ababa, a young African male was a little bit loud and was cranking a joke.  "Everyone please remain seated There is a bomb inside the plane and it will explode in a matter of minutes." Nobody was taking him seriously but he kept on. How I wish an airport official were there to apprehend him as he was becoming to be very annoying.

My first obstacle at the Addis Ababa airport was finding the gate where the flight for Sao Paulo was located. I had been staying there for quite a while and still the screen did not project Sao Paulo. While my boarding pass did say which, I still had to be sure for there had been a number of times when the gate I  was to board, i.e. HK airport,  was changed in the past. It was then that I decided to look at the flight number instead.  It got even  more confusing. Yes, my flight was there but it said Argentina, which was even worse. I don't know what to do.  So, I waited and waited until an airport official asked me where I was headed. When I said Brazil, he showed me to the gate. To make a long story short, it said Argentina because it is a connecting flight that would land in Sao Paulo first.

The People I met

I arrived at GRU in Sao Paulo in the afternoon of June 20. There  had been a small confusion as I had not seen any of my welcoming party anywhere as I got out in the arrival area. I waited until I got a little anxious thinking I was at the wrong airport.  Not having a cellfone that I can use, I frantically  sent a message to my wife if she could contact Kim, not remembering that it would have been the wee hours in Manila and that my wife would have been in deep slumber already.  Then it dawned on me to try to contact Kim via the same platform, fb messenger, hoping she would have access to the internet as I did.  True enough,after several minutes, she did reply and we compared our bearings and soon enough, there they were.   Kim, her husband and mother-in-law were there to pick me up.Then it dawned on me and was a bit alarmed remembering that the lady at the immigration, who did not speak a word of English, failed to return to me the landing or disembarkation slip that I filled out at the airplane.  Frantically, we looked for someone who could tell us what to do as the slip might be needed on my way back home.  Finding one employee at the airport, he said it was not important so we were on our way and my first stay in Sao Paulo, Brazil has begun!

First,  they took me to the grand matriarch of the family whom Kim and Renan call Vova or grandmother as some sort of a courtesy call. Vova was a kind and high-spirited, loving woman who always had a smile on her face.  We also met Angela's younger sister and older brother, Tio Luis.  They were all pleasant, accommodating and very welcoming.

Angerla's portrait which I presented her on her 56th bday 

Renan's mother, Angela, Gob bless her, is a beautiful middle aged woman at 56. She was our designated driver all the time I was there. She lives in a town called Sumare, a two-hour drive from Taruman where we stayed, with her boyfriend, Paulo. As  it was a long drive from her place to ours, the two occasions that she were to take us to her place was to come to the city days before our intended departure for Sumare so she could tour us first before the event.  It was her who took us to the parks and several interesting places and every time we went out, she not only drove us to these outings but even  came very prepared with picnic food and various biscuits so that   we do not get hungry. .


The next Brazilian I met was Paulo, a guitarist who showed me some bossa nova songs, and even tried to teach me what was to become my favorite song "Chega de Saudade"  I would have learned it but not knowing how to sing it as I did not know the words made learning it to be futile.  Added to that was the fact that the chord shapes and progressions were far different from what I am used to making it even more difficult. We would jam playing the blues and a little jazz taking turns at doing solos and comping and I could say that  his knowledge of music was superb.  When I showed him my classical piece by Brazilian composer, Heitor Villa lobos entitled "Choro tipico," he responded with another famous classical piece by the same composer, "Preludio no. 2" prompting me to request for a copy of the piece which he not  only willingly obliged but gave me a copy of  all the etudes and preludes done by the  composer as transcribed by the great Andres Segovia.

The next family I was to meet was Renan's cousins from his father's side. Renan's father was a cop, probably something similar to our NBI police.  He was making an apprehension by his lonesome not knowing that the culprits had back up and was killed when Renan was about 10 years old.  Anyway, his uncle, Rafael, is a high ranking official of the police force. We were invited to their house and there met his wife, Sylvana, another very lovely woman who makes you feel at home even though it was just your first time to have met.  I feel bad that I cannot, at this time, communicate with the family as I had not practiced speaking in Portuguese.  This was my first time to sample Brazilian staple churrasco, a preparation of grilled beef or any kind of meat for that matter,  as Rafael was in the grill when we arrived.  Their sons Yuri, father of that cute little adorable child, Laura and Vinicius, father of Bernardo and Gabriel were there.   Unfortunately, the eldest and only daughter, Rafaella was not there as she had to work that day. I was to meet her in another day and the night of  our departure for Manila.

Rafael and his wife, Sylvana

Vinicius and his wife, Karen                                                  Yuri

  Rafaella

 Laura

Bernardo

Gabriel

Museums

The very first museum Renan and Kim took me to was the   MASP or the Sao Paulo Museum of Art. This museum is like a walk in history of Western Art.  The collection started with Baroque to the French impressionists until the contemporary artists of Brazil. It was a wonderful experience as I had the chance to see works of painters that I admire like Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, etc. .

One fine day, Angela took us to the biggest park in Sao Paulo,  the  Ibirapuera National Park.  This was my first time to encounter Brazilian graffiti art and I was dumbfounded not knowing that this is nothing compared to what I shall be viewing several days after.  Anyway, there are 4 museums at the park and we visited two of them. I was impressed at the first one which was the Afro Brasil Museum that showcased Afro Brasilian  influence.  The next was Pavilhao Japones that showcased a typical Japanese house. We were surprised at how big the coys are as we enjoyed feeding them.  There are two other museums but the day was not enough to come visit them as we were afraid we could get trapped in a traffic jam should we leave during the rush hours.  These museums were the Lucas Nogueira Garcez Pavilion and much to my regret, the Sao Paulo Museum of Modern Art. I know I would have been viewing that exhibit with awe.

Next place we went to was a Japanese museum at the Liberdade district, a commercial place which I think is similar to Osaka's Dotonburi in some aspect.  This is supposed to be the district that showcases Asian (Japanese, Korean and Chinese) commerce. This place was a welcome tour for me because I had been craving for ramen.  We realized that this Japanese dish is called "lamen" in Brazil probably because they pronounce the letter "r" and "h".  Anyway, we found a "lamen" house but I think we could have chosen a better place as the ramen I had was wanting in flavors I was craving for..  However, I think I digressed.  After lunch, Renan, knowing that there is a museum somewhere  in the area, tried to figure out where it was. He asked around but could not find a definite answer prompting him to buy a map.  Thereafter, we walked the strip for about 10 to 15 minutes and found the Museu Historico da Imigracao Japonesa do Brasil a museum that centered on Japanese immigration to the State of Sao Paulo.  It would have been another nice walk through memory lane but most of the exhibit on the first floors were closed for renovation and only the top floor was open for guests.

These  museums were great but as I have mentioned earlier, I will have a fantastic experience of what was next to come. The Beco do Batman.  :It was so great that it merits  a separate post.  

The Inevitable Separation

My Retirement Speech
my retirement composition song with Mizel and his former instructor on violin



Finally, the day when I have to leave De La Salle Zobel and the comforts of home that it provides me together with all the amenities, equipment, the latest gadgets and knowing the latest trends in teaching the young, has finally come.  After thirty four years of continued service, I have to relinquish my post and hand it over to the next one.  It may be lonely but I know I am needed somewhere else.  So, to the world, I say here I come. I think you are ready for someone like me as I have been preparing to be ready to meet your challenges.

On May 25, I, together with two other retirees, Ms. Carol Ballesteros, school librarian and Ms. Tess Panaligan, Vice Principal for Academics of our Vermosa Campus, were given a tribute during the Recognition Day.  I was asked to deliver a speech in response to the tribute.  You can view the entire message in the link provided here

or if you prefer to read the text, I am reproducing it here for posterity so that those in my family who would be interested can view it the way it was presented.  Here goes:

I always gift myself with a major work, either a painting or a poem, which I do days before my birthday.  On the first day of September in 2007, a few days before I turned fifty, and ten years before this occasion, I wrote a poem which I would like to share with you today.  The poem is entitled, into the strenuous briefness, a title that is not mine, the only poem I have written that has a title borrowed from another artist, American beat poet, e. e. cummings – and it goes like this:

into the strenuous briefness

whether

you view it

like a rocky

river emptying

tons of water

into

the sea

or

a caravan

of a hundred men

on perspiring camels

slowly passing

a gorge

of sand

for the

next

patch

of

grass

or even

a tortoise

set

on a long journey

by land to seek

the ocean, tracing,

sniffing salt

in the air

trapped in

a puddle of hardening mud

left by the ebbing tide

life

pushes itself

till tomorrow is

yesterday

What is the relevance of this poem to my impending retirement? A lot. If you must know, I have stayed in this school for 34 years. To many, it would seem that that is a long time - but, actually, it isn’t.  To me, it seems like I woke up this morning only to find out that it has already been thirty-four years and I have already overstayed my welcome. A journey of a thousand miles, no matter how slow the pace and how long it takes, the end shall be reached and the journey has to end.  This is how it is. Time continues and will not stop for anything or anyone. We are trapped in a continuing whirlpool until we reach rock bottom for after all, life is not a bottomless pit.

People have been asking me, “Do you feel sad now that you are retiring?” My answer has always been a curt reply in the negative. You might say I am a bit numb or even egotistical not to admit I am saddened by having to say goodbye.  The truth of the matter is that it is only because it has not sunk in and that it will only be felt on the day when I no longer have to wake up early in the morning, drive all the way to school, and have my morning chit chat with friends while having breakfast. It is just like the experience of having someone die in your family and yes, you grieve but not that much for you are in the company of friends and relatives during the wake.  The loss truly sinks in when the departed is finally put permanently to rest, together with the flowers and notes and all the valuables you want to bury with the person.  When everybody has gone home, that is the time it will hit you.  Only then will you experience the emptiness, the longing for the shared laughter, never to hear the sound of his/her voice again – then you realize a dearly beloved has gone.  Yes, retirement will only sink in once I have stopped doing my daily routine, a routine I have been doing every waking day of my life for more than half of my existence here on earth. Ultimately in all reality and practicality, it will truly be felt every tenth and twenty-fifth of the month when no pay check shall be coming in.

I came to this school in 1984 during its infancy stage, together with Litz,  six years after the school started. I was not prepared to be a teacher. I did not even know what a syllabus is, I frantically looked for a sample so that I can make it my template when they asked me to do one.  I should say, my first 15 years were spent in knowing how to teach and everything that comes with it. Now that I can say I know the ropes, they are retiring me.  It is like when I finally knew the answer, they changed the question.  I will never be as good as my friend, Henry Magahis. Now he is the epitome of a good teacher. He dreamt of it even when he was young. He knew what he wanted and got it. Nor will I ever be a Tess Panaligan whose passion and enthusiasm are easily passed on to her students. For those of you who really know who I am, it would be very easy for you to understand that I wear two hats in school. The teacher me who is all serious and strict with my students and the real me, a prankster, jocular, fun-loving and one who loves to tell jokes especially green ones. I had to keep the real me in tow knowing I have to be at my best behavior when I am being a teacher. As such, I have never been close to my students. Except for those who became teachers themselves, no student of mine will ever know the real me, fun to be with and most probably, lovable. My only consolation is that several months before retirement, I was fortunate to head a delegation of eight students to Kota Kinabalu.  Finally, I have bonded with students, earned their trust and gained their friendship. To me, that is truly endearing.  I will always cherish in my heart those seven days that we were together, telling jokes – the clean ones, of course, singing, hiking, playing cards during idle moments and enjoying the sceneries and the entire experience altogether! I have considered them to be my children who I shall be looking after even from a distance. So to Cristine, Tony, Bea, Jemil, Maui, Gerard, Adolf and Kester thank you and good luck on all your endeavors.

In my thirty-four years, I have witnessed every transformation the school has undergone. I have seen the progress it undertook from its simplest political and physical set-up to today’s complicated quagmire of networks and everything that go with it, even the confusing bureaucracy we have put ourselves in. I have worked under the tutelage of noble superiors who had clear visions and novel ideas. I have worked under three presidents, Br. Andrew, Br. Rafe, Broden and now, Br. Bernie.  I worked closely with two EVP’s, Br. Dalumpines and Mr. Holmes, several Directors and Principals, notable of which is Mr. Cadlum, the very first lay administrator La Salle would have and the one who, God bless him, offered me the job, to teach in Zobel.  There are also my ninongs Mr. Lozada and Mr. Valmonte, Mr. Sagum and yes, that enchanting but very evasive woman, Ms. Melissa Cruz.  All these leaders have left their imprints, whether physical or otherwise, serving as pillars of this well-established institution as they have envisioned.   I was one of the first coordinators, the youngest then, to hold office when the school adapted this system of management. Several years thereafter, I had the pleasure to work with no less than my fellow honoree, Ms. Agnes Panaligan.  She was a perfect teacher, immaculate as a Coordinator, she was impeccable as an Academic Vice Principal. What is the point of all these? I would like to tell you, we are now reaping the fruits of trees planted for us, and to borrow the words of the late Br.Rafe, we have been drinking from a well we did not dig.

There are a lot of things I have to be thankful for.  First of all, I have to thank La Salle for providing all my children with quality education. That is the primary reason why I stayed on board. I equated their education as part of my salary. Having done so, my wages, even then, was already comparable to what those working as managers in the industry or my artist-friends who are making their names known in art scene.  La Salle has made my journey as a family man comfortable, if not luxurious. We have always been simple folks with simple needs anyway. I would like to thank the Gr 9 and 10 teachers of the last two academic years for they have made my transition from the administration back to the classroom easy. I will have to thank my band and the singers. They made me look good and sound good. Special thanks should go my team leaders, Kathy and Symbol for it is in their leadership that my survival in the classroom had been effortless.  Next to thank are those women friends who were constant companions for lunch, outings and everything in between. First is Edith, Cris, Monette, Ophel, Joji, Suzette, Zharro, Liesl, Barbie, Monica, Tiffany, the computer girls headed by Kat, Apple, Armie, Lalaine and that cute little girl who has  always been the topic of my jokes, Ria. They were my angels. With only a brother, I grew up with sisters who pampered me making me more comfortable in the company of women than men. These women are both beautiful inside and out. Most of all, I have to thank my wife, Nitz, who put up with all my peculiarities and unusual ways.  Living with an artist is not easy but she survived. Then my children to whom I dedicate everything. Kraig, Mizel, Kim and Coby. They are my truest angels who guided me in all the endeavors I have undertaken and will continue to do so until I can no longer perform.

 I started with a poem, I would like to end with another one. This one is entitled The Reunion. It talks about two former lovers who have gone their separate ways after graduation. After long years of being apart, somehow they got in touch and have agreed to meet once again at the same spot which served as their rendezvous.  The man arrives earlier than the woman and he reminisces about old times. He is excited about the prospect of meeting her again. This is my metaphor for DLSZ and the relationship I have with it and  what  I foresee that relationship shall be in the future. So here goes:

The Reunion

Nothing has changed since I left

not the old tree in front

of the gate they closed at five,

or the tree we climbed to enter

the school,

so we could be alone,

talk, cuddle and kiss.

The white bench where we sat to watch

fiery glow of setting sun,

my signal to hold your hand,

put my arm around you,

hoping you would not resist –

caress your long, soft hair

blown by the gentle breeze,

gently kiss your reddened cheek.

Time stood still as we listen to the chimes

singing to announce

it is time to pray the angelus,

a prayer we used to share

while I gazed at your young, innocent face.

And then you arrive!

He hands of time spin as quickly

as the blades of a running motor.

You are different!

Your heavily made up face,

accented by thick, red lips

heavy mascara and plum body

remind me of my own flaws

now weighing on my shoulders.

Then I notice, the tree has gone dry,

its leaves withered by the summer heat,

our bench is dirty and rusted,

chimes now play a different tune.

We have gone old and the years

Have not been kind.

             What am I trying to say in my poem? Heraclitus said, “You cannot cross the same river twice.” I cannot cross the same river twice because neither the river nor I will be the same. It is on that note that I say, with deep regret, that I can never return to the same De La Salle Santiago Zobel again.  Given three to five years, only a fraction of those teaching here would know me for those who did would have been gone having resigned, or yes, retired as well.  In ten years and more, nobody would know, much less care, who Rolly de los Santos is and all the thirty-four years of my stayhere shall be rendered as of no consequence.Just to prove my point, we all know where the Cadlum hall is but we don’t know after whom the place was named after.  Hoping I shall not be misconstrued as being critical but jus t driving home a point, this very institution was conceived and built by Br. Andrew and yet, nobody among the teachers here know  who he is. While he has a room named after him, nobody has the mind to build a statue in his honor in this very institution which was his baby, a project that he ardently fought for as the brothers then frowned upon the idea questioning why La Salle had to build another “elitist” school.  What about the two statues outside of the CPA? Br. Ceci and  Br. Felix? Those endearing brothers who charmed their way to the students’ hearts. Nobody knows them now. If these great men whose work far exceeded what was expected of them and yet, are forgotten now, surely I, a simple art teacher whose service can be considered minimal in comparison will not matter after ten years or even earlier.

        And so, my friends, if I can make an appeal to  you, those  here present and have known me and my work, please try to remember who I was and what I stood for. Try to remember me using that ancient computer lingo, wysywyg – what you see is what you get. I know I may have been brash or  rude at some point and may have possibly hurt someone one way or another  with my blunt words, but try to understand  that I was just  trying to be me and I apologize.  Believe me when I say it was nothing personal. I am still the same friendly me after that. I know that humility has not been my strongest virtue but I make sure that having integrity, being honest, and objectively fair top them all.  To the new teachers, I am sorry we could not have interacted that much but this I tell you, De La Salle is one place where you can stay for a very long time and it will treat you well if you do your job just as well. To my friends, I bid you adieu, hoping  it is just for now and that we will continue to correspond until I am no longer available to. Thank you Zobel, thank you everyone. This is rolly de los Santos signing out. Good morning!

Kota Kinabalu: A Land So Close and Yet So Far

          A week ago, I flew to Kota Kinabalu heading a delegation of eight students with the Science Coordinator on a cultural exchange visit with De La Salle Secondary School that started in 2009. Not knowing what to expect and ever hopeful to gain a very good experience from the trip, I eagerly waited for the delegates to arrive at the airport reading a book.  We were told that we shall be welcomed by Mr. Safri and Mr. Jong but never expected they will be accompanied by a fleet of alumni and students.

         Kota Kinabalu is an urbanized city that belongs to Sabah, the western part of Malaysia.  Formerly known as Jesselton, the name Kota Kinabalu comes from the Dusun words Kota for city or fort and Kinabalu, a compound word that joins Ki meaning to have or exist and Nabalu for spirit of the dead.  The term spirit of the dead, as eerie as it might sound, may no longer be appropriate for the city is bustling and very much alive.

         Having been to Kuala Lumpur on two occasions, it has always been a wonder to me how three ethnicities, Chinese, Malay and Indians, can live peacefully together  only to find out that Kota is populated by even more than a number of different ethnicities other than the three.  These include Bajaus, Kadazan-Dusun, Bruneian Malays, Bumiputras, and Muruts, to name a few.  It is quite a wonder how these people, in spite of their difference in lineage, culture and religion, have learned to live together in peace under one flag and one nation. 

         Kota Kinabalu is a land that is so close and yet so far from home in so many levels – geography, history, culture, and so much more.   In terms of geography, Kota is so near to the Philippines that it will take only a few hours by boat either from Palawan or down south of Mindanao to get to it. About 1 and 45 minutes by plane from Manila to its airport,  Kota Kinabalu is by far the closest to us geographically.  As such, it is no surprise that our ancestors arrived in our land via boats from these shores and Indonesia. This being the case, there are several words shared by both languages albeit some deviations.  Masuk, for example, is the same as the Tagalog word pasok for enter.  Manuk is the same as our manok for chicken, nasi, although such is only true for the Kapampangans, who use the same word for rice.  Bawang, on the other hand is onion to them while it is garlic to us.  Of course, make that bawang putih and it would mean garlic, too.    There are other words which a Fillipino can pick-up as being the same but sometimes could mean another that one can chuckle thinking that our ancestors might have messed the words up thus evolving to come up  with another meaning.

           In terms of history, there exists a parallelism between our two countries. While our country has experienced long periods of colonization, first by the Spaniards, to be followed by the Americans, Kota Kinabalu, once called Jesselton, named after Sir Charles Jesselton, the Vice Chairman of the British North Borneo Company, thereafter forcing the Sultanate of Brunei to cede the land to the British. As is with our country, the British saw revolt and destruction by the Bajaus, then inhabitants of the place. The greatest similarity being that our countries having been both occupied by the Japanese during World War II with both experiencing the wrath and destruction that war brings. What is even more interesting is that said parallelisms starts an even more interesting history between Sabah and the Philippines.

            As was stated earlier, Sabah was once under the Bruneian Empire. The story goes that the Sultan of Brunei gifted the northern part of Sabah to the Sultan of Sulu in 1658, in appreciation for its help in settling a civil war in Brunei, hence, the source of the disputed Sabah claim of the Philippines that lingered till the 70’s until this was abandoned completely under the Marcos regime, after a planned attack backfired into what is now called the Jabidah massacre where Moro soldiers were supposedly being trained to infiltrate the Sabah government but were massacred for reasons we will never know and a part of a sordid history that is best forgotten. 

           On a personal level, coming to Kota Kinabalu seems like I have never left home.  First of all, we share the same climate as it is also located in the tropics.  Secondly, just like in Thailand, Indonesia or any of our Asean neighbors in the Far East, the faces of its inhabitants are so close to home that one does not have that feeling of unease with total strangers having set on its soil for the first time.  Their faces are the same as the ones we see in the streets of Manila or any other province in the country -the same sparkle in their eyes as they greet you with pleasant, grinning faces are the same faces you see in your friendly neighborhood as you step out of your house in Manila.  The same brown skin, albeit the difference in costumes, although this difference is only because they are different in Manila but such is a common site in Mindanao.

            We share the same staple - rice! Naturally, we almost do the same thing with it.  We cook rice the same way, steam or fry it.  Yet, they do more with it. We both eat rice as early as breakfast. While we fry rice and eat it with dried fish or canned sardines with fried or scrambled eggs, their traditional breakfast, nasi lemak, combines rice cooked in coconut milk, boiled eggs, anchovies (dilis) coupled with peanuts and sambal sauce which harmonizes everything together.  Our palettes and taste buds are different in that they use curry and chilis all the time. They also have delicacies which are not meant for the faint of heart.  We have balut and tamilok, they do have butod, which turns out to also be called sago grub or sago worm which is actually the larva of a beetle. I never had the guts to eat it and was amazed that two of my students mustered enough courage to. That made me look like and feel like chicken.

               During our week-long stay, we experienced their culture, enjoyed the sceneries but most of all, felt the warmth and friendly hospitality of our hosts.  Anywhere we went, we were greeted with aplomb that nothing can harm us along the way, even that treacherous trek up and down the hills of Kokol where rubber tapping is being done. We tasted their cuisine and prepared roti. We learned to drink water that was not cooled in the fridge and being told this is healthier, observed how they held classes, saw how the government worked during the Parliament session, learned about the history of DLSSSKK through its archives, gave small speeches about Jose Rizal which they take up and history in general and how this subject is taught in our school. We were taken to Tambunan, a valley some 80 kilometers away from Kota and experienced rural living although we were billeted in a brand new hostel. We saw the fantastic sceneries the land has to offer most especially the view from the mountain and the Mahua falls, though not as majestic as, say Pagsanjan falls or the Maria Cristina, is  as equaly breath taking as well. We were always afraid that we could be in a place where only the traditional toilets were present and feared we could never learn how to use such. To our relief, they always have what is now standard toilets with a bidet to boot.  We were taken to several dinners, both Malay and Chinese ones by our hosts, Mr. Safri, Sir Jong and Sir Adrian and the alumni and students of DLSSSKK who we cannot thank enough.  Or even the gracious Br. Peter, the Principal and Administration and teachers, the President of the PTA and the members of the Board of Trustees.

                 On a more personal level, I enjoyed Kota Kinabalu because of the company I had. I may have gone to Aspen, Colorado or the beaches of Amalfi Coast or Maldives but I would not have enjoyed it as much as I have Kota Kinabalu.  I may have stayed in a five-star hotel or even the Al Burj Khalifa in Dubai but none of its amenities could have matched the Benildus, ancient as it is, simply because I was with my students playing card games and telling benign jokes about anything under the sun with them. They who turned out to be my children for seven days and now my friends forever.  I would not have enjoyed the 7 days as much if it were not Milet who was with me as we ventured this new land.  I could not have enjoyed Kota if I were not seeing it with the glowing eyes of Christine, Bea, Toni, Jemil, Maui, Gerard, Adolf, and Kester.  I will never forget the adventurous Bea and Maui who braved trying everything they put on our plates, the simple but genuine contentment in the eyes of the boys as we practiced our songs which we had to perform or when they had to give short lectures on short notice, the sweet retorts one gets from the ever articulate Toni or that ever dulcet Christine smiles as she willingly gave out snippets of that cute lips that had the boys swooning over her. Or Adolf's and Maui's cute grins that the girls of St. Martin's or Stella Maris could ever forget. And that ever so sweet gesture of the boys to buy the girls their favorite stuff toys, hiding these from them all throughout the shopping spree and over thinking how these can be kept from them until they presented the same in their room. I am so proud of these guys for they delivered more than what was expected of them. They were true ambassadors of their school and I was so fortunate to have witnessed and be part of all this.  Such was the experience I had and I have never been happier coming to an unknown land for the first time - a land that is so close and yet so far from who or what I really am.

           

Kota Kinabalu

In about an hour, I shall be taking a bath and get ready to go to the airport and head eight Senior High Students together with the Science Coordinator, Millette Estidola, for a tour of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia.

This will be my first time to go to that land which was, in my childhood, was being claimed by the Philippines as its own.  I remember looking at the Philippine map and wondering why I am seeing Sabah underneath Mindanao. It was believed that the Sultanate of Brunei had given the northern part of Sabah to the Sulu Sultanate for its help during the civil war.  The land was ceded to the British and after decolonization was claimed by the Malaysian Federation. The Philippines, under former President Diosdado Macapagal, renewed the claim. The Sabah claim was abandoned by Pres. Marcos sometime during his reign and with a lot of scandal.  In the story told and re-told, Marcos instituted what was to be Operation Merdeka of Macapagal, a plan to destabilize Sabah by having men infiltrate and sabotage and legitimize the claim.  Marcos' plan was to be called Jabidah. Somehow, the plan did not work out and caused the massacre of the commando unit allegedly by members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.    Events like these have been forgotten and the Philippine claim to Sabah has been abandoned. Needless  to say that there exists a rich history between the two lands and I shall set foot on the shores that could have been ours. .You can read about the story here and here
I  have no idea what this trip would be like but I suspect it would be very fruitful and enjoyable.  Our schools, theirs and ours, have been having this program for several years now and I have had the privilege to be involved in one trip where I was to accompany the company of students from KK who visited the country several years back and got acquainted with their adult leaders, Mesdames LynnLulu and Noraisha Wan.  I am excited at the prospect of meeting Madame Lynn again. Too bad, Madam Wan is no longer connected with the school and has gone, probably, to KL.

We fly to KK at 4:25 pm and expects to reach the BKL airport at around 6:25 pm.   I am so excited by this trip and hoping I can blog every night my day to day experience.

Dookie - our miracle dog!

In all my life I never had a pet. My father was not keen in having one so I was already more than 50 years old when I got to have someone or something to play with.  It was a dog brought home by the wife in January of 2008 when she attended a wedding.  The whole family was excited having him as part of the household. His name was yogi.  He stayed with us for nine years until one day, my sons noticed that he was not himself doing nothing but lie on the floor.  This prompted my two boys to take him to the vet. Xray revealed that his penis was cut somewhere in the middle inside his body caused by a trauma. What caused that is still a mystery to us. One of the speculations was that someone beat him really hard.  I cannot be persuaded that this is the case because the hind legs would stand in the way of the penis.  There was nothing wrong with the legs.  Anyway the vet recommended that yogi be castrated and we agreed.  So, the following day, yogi was operated on.

When my sons came to the vet for a visit, they saw the vet force feeding yogi.  That afternoon, Kim, who rode with me to and from work decided to pay yogi a visit.  When we arrived at the hospital, I was looking for him expecting that he would be very happy to see us, jumping and wagging his tail.  Nothing.  I even ran past a cage until Kim told me yogi was inside sleeping.  I called him but to my surprise, there was no response from him. I tried to rouse him from sleep touching and petting him as I could but still no response until a staff talked to me to tell me that he was no longer with us.  Immediately, I saw Kim crying while I was trying to control my anger asking them what happened and if they have told my sons that death was possible in his condition.  All we knew was that he would be operated on, be well and go home.

Burying him was very painful. It was like a family member was being interred.  We were all determined not to have another pet as the pain was too much.

Several months later, my wife came home again from a far away island down south. Lo and behold, she carried with her another puppy!  Now this puppy was scot free and very independent in his former home in Marinduque where he could roam free., eat anytime and anything he wants. So, you can understand his frustration when we would crate him or tie him to restrain his movements.  What's worse is that at 5 months old, he seems to be teething and bites anything.  We would just discover the plants uprooted from the pots or our slippers being chewed to pieces.  Even worst was that we were all bitten by him.  First was Febie, Mamang's nurse, then Kraiganne, me and Nitz.  Except for Kraiganne, we all received complete shots for rabies.  I had to sacrifice several days just to get my shots at RITM.

When Dookie was with us for about a month when we started taking him to the vet.  It was my turn when he received his first vaccination. One day, Mickey noticed that he had a wound on his back.  I thought it was just an ordinary wound and let it be. Later on, it got bigger making us a little worried. We took him again to the vet and he was given medication for it. Just the same it kept on growing and probably very itchy as Dookie kept on scratching it until the flesh came out. Soon enough, there were two big wounds. All this time, Dookie became a picky eater. He wouldn't touch his food even the treats we bought from the vet. Then suddenly, he became very gloomy.  By this time, we no longer tie him or keep him in a cage as he wouldn't run around anymore.  This would have been fine except that he wouldn't eat, too.  He became really soft, fragile and skinny.  It was Coby who took him to the vet when he was suspected to have distemper.  I was really surprised. When I was in college, I had befriended a veterinarian and his staff in Marikina. I would stay in the clinic for a long time and I know what distemper is and what it can do to a dog. It is deadly! So we prayed hard that he wouldn't die and gave him all the nurturing we can give knowing that he would go anytime soon. We practically spoon fed him and gave him shots and  continuously talked to him urging him to hold on.

Days passed until his appetite was back! We were all so happy that even the vet was surprised that he was still alive.  There was one thing that we noticed, though.  His feet were becoming very weak. He would stumble down, pick up himself and walk again. By this time, his appetite is really back to normal and was consuming even more than he consumed before. We also stopped buying dog food and instead, Nitz would buy scrap meat and innards from the market, cook loads of it and store it in the fridge.   His knees kept weakening until one day, he couldn't use his hind legs anymore. He would crawl anywhere he wanted to go.  He would continue rushing to the door when a family member arrives, greet and wag his tail but he could not walk like a regular dog.

This morning, I got the surprise of my life when I woke up and he greeted me by the stairs. He was walking!!!! I guess a few more days and he will be back to normal.  We have our baby back to us! What a relief and joy that day would bring to me, my wife and my children.  I can't wait for that day to come.

Final Paper for Educational Leadership and Management

(Trying to be a prophet)

De La Salle Santiago Zobel: The Future in Responding to Learning Needs

of Millenials with the Advent of Technology

Introduction

               

De La Salle Santiago Zobel school is a Catholic  institution that belongs to the system of
the De La Salle Philippines.  As such, it is a system of education that originated in France and follows a long history dating as far back as the 18^th century.  With its educational philosophy of Teaching Minds, Touching Hearts and Transforming Lives, it makes sure that it has the learners at the core of its ministry.  This being the case, De La Salle Santiago Zobel School, henceforth DLSZ, keeps up with the latest trends in education to keep up with the changes happening in education here and abroad.

 With the advent of the internet, the world has been transformed into just one global village. Hence, it is imperative that schools should have the learners transform into global learners ready to compete and interact with anyone in the world. This poses a challenge to an educational system that is supposed to follow long traditions and philosophy set by its founder, St. John Baptist De La Salle.  At first glance, this may be very hard. However, knowing that the founder was an innovator and has addressed issues that confronted him at the time with innovation and creativity, it is safe to assume that the founder would have embraced new technologies if and only if such would benefit the learners.

This is the case with DLSZ.  Having been established in 1978, it has grown to what it is today. From the simple facility that is the main building, this institution of learning has matured into a big school that has state of the art edifices and equipment enabling it to compete with the very best in the country.  Its faculty has developed into major educators that provide top of the line, quality education for the young. Lately, it is one of the first institutions to adapt technology inside the classroom by divesting the use of books in favor of iPads called MLD’s or Mobile Learning Device. DLSZ uses different apps in education to supplement learning and even spearheaded the use of technology in other schools by launching a series of seminars called SparkEd, to showcase how learning takes place in the classroom.

Statement of the Problem

            Just like any other institutions, organizations that started breathing shall, at one point or another, expire. It may take years and years of a very long existence but just like a turtle who has set on a long journey of a thousand miles, it will one day reach its destination.  Such is the life of an organization. It will eventually face its inevitable demise. DLSZ is not immune to such a painful end. As a matter of fact, it has experienced several downfalls, like the downfall of the number of enrollees and/or having suffered a collective dampened spirit as a school. These setbacks are living testimonies that the school is in fact as vulnerable as any other.  There have been many times that DLSZ, as a school could have met its tragic death.  One of the major plunges the school experienced was on the 20^th of November in 1996 when the tragic accident involving a grade four student died in an amusement ride while the school opened its fair grounds. This also involved another classmate losing her arm as a result of the said accident.  The spirit of the entire school was dampened for it never realized that such a thing could happen within its grounds.  The second was during the Erap administration in 1998 and the ensuing economic dive experienced by the country. The enrolment was at a low during the time. The all-time low in the enrolment was somehow abated with the proliferation of Korean students who flocked in the country to get education.  Another incident that could have caused the school its untimely demise was when one of its students, Mcsi Perlas, a graduating student met his untimely death in a car crash involving him and other classmates coming from a school activity in Dasmariñas, Cavite.  However, these events, no matter how tragic, proved how resilient DLSZ can be. 

Lately, the school has been facing another blow in its thirty-nine years of having been alive.  The very subdivision, the posh village of AAVA to where the school lies, is threatening the very existence of the school inside its premises.  The school is being seen as the cause of the horrendous traffic during rush hours among others, plus the noise and chaos such brings to an otherwise peaceful community. Such an irony for the very same institution was lured to establish its grounds on where it now stands as a marketing ploy to attract families to build their homes in the area knowing that they can send their young at an excellent school nearby.  Now that the children of the original homeowners have graduated and most of its students are non-villagers, the school is now regarded as a nuisance. Such is a serious threat to the school’s existence. However, the school is not to die of this nature. Sure, the building to where it stands might be thrown away but the school has already started a new building to continue its existence. This is where the school houses its Senior High School, a new addition to the organization to address the paradigm shift from a four-year high school system to a continuous grade level which is the actual system among international contemporaries. 
Hence, it can be said that the institution has not really died but has continued its existence in another place.

            However, there is another threat to the existence of the school which will surely cause its death. As a matter of fact, such threat holds true not only to DLSZ but to the entire school system in the country as we know it.  This is the fast paced growth education has undergone for the past decade or so.  With the advent of the computer and the internet, we are now faced with a different set of learners.  Gone are the days when students have to memorize facts and figures, formulae and other things we used to put to memory.  With computers, a limitless data can be had at the click of the keypad.  Since information can be had within a few seconds, man does not have to memorize anything anymore.  This being the case, teachers have to reinvent teaching.  They should now make lessons on the basis that students can have information easily and quickly.  They no longer have to stand in queue at libraries to research. 

            Computers have changed the landscape of education.  Its fast changing pace leads to the question on how relevant are traditional schools today.  We have already learned that education via correspondence is possible a long time ago.  And this is via snail mail and it has been with us for a very long time.  So too do we now have online universities such as the Writersvillage.com where people who wants to become writers join and attend classes in virtual classrooms.  Considering that distance learning is possible, the eventuality that schools will be configured to be online is tremendous.  We can just imagine a teacher conducting her class in front of a computer and the students are settled in the comfort of their homes attending class by just sitting in front of the computer as well.  The students interact and get engaged with the learning, only that they are not physically present altogether in one place at the same time.  Teachers would operate just like what they did before, writing their syllabi and daily lessons, only that they do this in front of a computer with access to a network system and talking to 20 or more students logged in at the same time. The teacher would be using the computer just like operators at call centers multi-tasking talking and listening via the headset with a microphone and continuous typing on a keyboard.  When this time happens, this will truly be the demise of schools as we know it.  At the rate technology is overtaking our daily lives, it seems like the next paradigm shift in education is inevitable.   The question is when. With DLSZ adapting quickly with the advances in technology, with its teachers being the first to be accredited by the famous company Apple as Distinguished Educators, a title bestowed to very select elite teachers around the world and four of its teachers as members of the Microsoft Certified Educators, about 20 Microsoft Innovation Experts and several more as Microsoft Innovation Education Experts, it could be said that the school has embraced technology altogether.  Hence, this paper will try to predict when education in DLSZ shall cease to exist as has been posited earlier. Such study shall be limited to DLSZ based on surrounding circumstances hoping the future can be foreseen out of the activities and the way DLSZ views education and how it handles its policies. 

Methodology

            To get a picture of learning that happens in DLSZ against a backdrop of technology based learning and how technology is being used in the school, the paper shall start with the different apps known as Learning Management Systems or LMS used in DLSZ.  These apps shall be gathered and be given a brief description of each and their use.  With this, the paper shall try to assess whether or not the apps used are bound to pose an alternative system which will eventually cause a drastic change in the future. 

After which, the paper will look at the different influences involved with teacher-student engagement like government agencies, parents, teachers themselves, the principal, etc. who could, in one way or another, be a major force in either the acceptance or rejection of the issue on hand. The paper will try to predict how these influences would react to a paradigm shift in the educational system of DLSZ and in what capacity should they influence such change.   Among the very popular ones are the following:

Learning Management System

Edmodo

Schoology –

Google classroom

iTunes U

Course Content Management System

Khan Academy

VBS Economics

Cinch –

Socratic –

Gooru

Presentation

Microsoft Power point

Keynote

Haiku Deck

Popplet Lite

Microsoft Sway

Document Processing and Alterations App

Google docs

Microsoft Word

Adobe Acrobat

Type on PDF

Graphing Data Collection

Desmos

Numbers

Microsoft Excel

Google Forms

Picture Editing and Video Making Application

Toontastic

Comic Lite

Screen Capture Lessons from Quicktime

Showme

Communication and Social Media Applications

Skype

iMessage

Facebook

Twitter

Collaboration, Print Formatting, Readers and File Storage Applications

Office 365 One Drive

Cam Scanner

Google Drive

Office 365 One Note

Schoology - a learning management system (LMS) for K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and corporations that allows users to create, manage, and share content and resources. Also known as a course management system (CMS) or virtual learning environment (VLE), the cloud-based platform provides tools to manage any classroom or blended learning environment.

Google Classroom - a learning management system developed by Google for schools that aims to simplify creating, distributing and grading assignments in a paperless way. Google Classroom combines Google Drive for assignment creation and distribution, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides for writing, Gmail for communication, and Google Calendar for scheduling, and Google Search to help with school projects. Students can be invited to classes through the institution's database, through a private code, or be automatically imported from a school domain.

 Edmodo – offers a communication, collaboration and coaching platform to K-12 schools and teachers. The Edmodo network enables teachers to share content, distribute quizzes, assignments, and manage communication with students, colleagues, and parents. Edmodo is very teacher-centric in their design and philosophy: students and parents can only join Edmodo if invited to do so by a teacher. Teachers and students spend large amounts of time on the platform, both in and out of the classroom.

Kahoot! -  a game-based learning platform, used as educational technology in classrooms and other learning institutions. Launched in August 2013 in Norway, Kahoot! is played by millions of people in 100 countries. Its learning games ("kahoots") are multiple-choice quizzes that can be created by anyone and are not restricted as to age level or subject matter. Kahoot! can be played using any mobile device, desktop or laptop with an internet connection and web browser.

Khan Academy - a non-profit educational organization created in 2006 by educator Salman Khan with a goal of creating a set of online tools that help educate students. The organization produces short lectures in the form of YouTube videos Its website also includes supplementary practice exercises and materials for educators. All resources are available to users of the website. The website and its content are provided mainly in English, but are also available in other languages.

YouTube - is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. Google bought the site in November 2006 for US$1.65 billion; YouTube now operates as one of Google's subsidiaries.

YouTube allows users to upload, view, rate, share, add to favorites, report, comment on videos, and subscribe to other users. It offers a wide variety of user-generated and corporate media videos. Available content includes video clips, TV show clips, music videos, short and documentary films music videos, short and documentary films, audio recordings, etc,

 Other Influences

Government - from among the influences that could affect the change in the system of education, the government, notably the Department of Education, plays the most important role for it has the power to effect changes.  This fact can clearly be seen when the department issued the changes a few years back introducing the KPUP grading system whereby the grading components have been identified and classified into knowledge, Process, Understanding and Product with the corresponding grade allocations and the change to the K-12 system to synchronize with international standards.

            Looking back, the Department however does not seem to have changed much throughout the years.  The changes in education has been very minimal, if not non-existent.  Other than its political structure, the department has not changed that much until the changes effected during the 21^st century.  Looking back from the Reorganization Act of 1916, the changes ever since were not as drastic as it has done in the last few years.  Nevertheless, it is obvious that the man at the helm of the Department needs to be strong willed as the late Secretary, Br. Armin Luistro, FSC, to create drastic changes within the Department. 

DLSZ – while the school is first to embrace technology in its system, the school per se might not be very kin in changing the entire system altogether.  It still holds some traditions which it may not be ready to abandon.  When the opening of classes was suggested and adapted in some schools to be held in August, DLSZ did not follow suit.  There have been some reasons that the management of the school has given why it has decided not to join the schools, known as the big four, in changing the opening of classes.  To think that these schools included De La Salle University.  The other schools being the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila and the University of Santo Tomas to change their school calendar. 

Parents – parents are wont to question changes schools undergo.  They are a staunch believers of the saying, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Parents would only understand that they were educated this and that way and because of this, they think like it is the only way.  They will be the last one to accept any changes that would happen on how schools should teach their children.  Oftentimes, one hears them asking, “Why are you experimenting on my child?” The parents are a big factor in the school to the point that they sometimes meddle with its operation.  They would question the grades given by the teacher thinking that there has been bias in the giving of the grade. 

Teachers – this group of educators would not succumb to a drastic change. On the contrary, rather than viewing this as an advance to their profession, they may find such as a threat to their very existence.  Like they would soon be replaced by technology and that they would soon be seen as obsolete.  Another way that this group of people would be an obstacle to the change is that they might be afraid of the unknown. 

            While there are a lot of advantages that the change in the system can be had with the scheme like easing down the traffic jams in the cities as the student population share the biggest chunk of the commuting public; the dangers posed by congested buildings of young teen agers; abating the drug problem in schools, one of the biggest arguments people have is that students will not develop their social skills as they will not have  interact with their peers. 

Findings

            Based on the foregoing, the paradigm shift in schools talked about in this paper will not yet happen in the near future.  The timing is just not right and the mind-set of the major players in DLSZ are not yet ready to embrace such an idea.  For one thing, the apps used in the school still have the traditional classroom in mind.  And to think DLSZ is among the pioneers in embracing technology in the classroom.

First and foremost, the programs seem to be designed for the classroom setting. The proposed change should begin with the designers who have yet to create a separate curriculum intended for distance learning in basic education. By doing so, the applications made shall be geared towards that end.  From among the platforms we already have,  Skype, iMessenger seem to be the most susceptible to this need.  These apps can be developed to hold conferences in a big scale so that the teacher can talk, teach and communicate with his/her students online at the same time.  There should also be a way by which the students can communicate with each other while such a lesson is taking place.  This and more are the problems the designers would have to address so that we can start to even think about changing the educational system.

Furthermore, the internet connection is still too slow and irregular.  With the internet connection being too slow results plus the intermittent interruptions, the country is definitely not ready to go into education that uses technology like the one being discussed here.  We have to ensure that the connection with the internet is almost worry-free and that the learning shall be uninterrupted for this scheme to succeed. 

The school, should it want to change the system, should work really hard to sell the idea not only to the major players who hold the biggest influence in the system.  It should be able to convince not only the parents, the teachers and students but itself that such is the only way left for us.  That the learners are faced with different problems as those faced by their predecessors.

This paper believes that the change is inevitable and that schools shall cease to exist the way it does. It does not even need to answer the how.  One day, the more progressive countries will make the change and the government will have no other recourse but to follow suit.  The only question is when. Yet, as fast as technology is surpassing and engulfing our lives, it seems like DLSZ and the entire school system will not yet be ready in the next twenty years.