Green Light

Manila Standard Today

Dr. Emiliano T. Hudtohan

July 29, 2013

Creative fidelity, which globally propelled the De La Salle institutions to the 21^st century, was engineered by Br. John Johnston, FSC during his term as super general.  I shared this concept with San Juan de Dios Educational Foundation, Inc. (SJDDEFI) and the Philippine Women’s University, as matter of divine providence and in obedience to the law of attraction.

On July 12, 2013, I was at San Juan de Dios Educational Foundation, Inc. with my spouse, Pearl, a former SJDEFI faculty and MBA student Marc Co. to address the issue of sustainability. It was recruitment officer Val Alejandro who sensed that “It’s not business as usual” at San Juan de Dios.

Marketing Feedforward

Pearl’s visit was an act of gratitude to San Juan de Dios. She was there from 2003 – 2009 Pearl with Dr. Chona Hernandez, Caroline Hizon, Apple Reynoso, Jeanne Aberion, Dr. Trix Ponsaran and Dr. Erick Laya..  During that period she had her most rewarding experience teaching English to nursing students, who ran up to as many as 10 sections of freshmen.

With the decline in nursing enrolment and a foreseeable 2 year hiatus of incoming freshmen due to K 12, Pearl endorsed Marc Co to rally the school community for student  recruitment. Marc offered technology to market San Juan de Dios in cyber space. He said that today 54 per cent of  netizens are  young Filipinos (16 to 24 years of age) students and young professionals. They use the  internet  roughly 14 hours on mobile phones and smart phones in a week.  Technology, he said, can provide: 1. E-Learning and webinars; 2. Student online checking of grades and tuition fee balance; and 3. Advanced online enlistment of student subject requirements.

Mirroring creative fidelity

In the presence of academic affairs Vice President Sr.Myrha Merene, DC, values formateur Sr. Adelaida Ricarte, DC, and the San Juan de Dios community I related the 100-year experience of Philippine Lasallian creative fidelity.  The Daughters of Charity and De La Salle Brother are both religious orders with French founders, who lived in the 17^th century. St. Louise de Marillac, D.C., (1591-1660) was the co-founder, with St. Vincent de Paul, of the Daughters of Charity and Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (1651-1719) was an  educational innovator and founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools.  Both orders made their presence in the Philippines 100 years ago.

Br. Luke Johnson says that “creative fidelity it means that Fidelity is the attitude of trust [loyalty] extended through time [and] to be truly faithful, one must be creative. This is because the other, as free subject, always changes. Creative fidelity is the willingness to trust, be attentive to, and suffer with the other even as the other changes. It is a living process”

Disruptive fidelity

Can innovation be disruptive fidelity?  According to Clayton Christensen, disruptive innovation is “a process whereby a product or service takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves up the market; displaces established competitors.”

Today, there is  an opportunity for theological update.   According to O’Murchu theology ought to explore our search for meaning for we are spiritual beings with human experience. However, religions adopt theologies that profess the notion that we are mere humans with spiritual experience.

Badrinarayan Shankar Pawar suggests that spirituality happens in the workplace at the level of meaning in work, community at work, and positive organizational purpose and that individual spirituality is manifested in job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment.

The search for creative fidelity of Catholic schools requires a reflective exercise on their theological tradition and at the same time a decisive action to address their religious and spiritual relevance for all stakeholders.

Creative feedback

On July 16, 2013 the Philippine Women’s University honored their top board passer Glenda de Rama Relova, 9^th placer Kate Kathleen Magno Santos,  the 30 other PWU social work graduates who passed the 2013 Philippine Regulatory Commission examination  and  1983 PRC 4^th placer and 2013 PRC outstanding social work awardee Sr. Marivic Sta. Ana.

Two years ago, Dr. Nenita Cura, PWU dean of social work, also an outstanding social work awardee, and I developed a new curriculum for the doctoral program in social development. She readily adopted the creative fidelity framework in rationalizing the program for doctor of philosophy in social development.  It grounded the practicing social scientist to a 21^st century philosophical and cosmological development perspective..

Creative cosmology

Dr. Cura’s cosmology drove her to challenge the faculty to conduct PRC review with “a sense of closure and resolve” to top the PRC exam. Thus, Annie Leyson, Alice Molina, Ester Galia, Joseph Lumanog, Nancy Pareno and Sr. Kit Legaste, DC offered an 8-day pro bono session. This is 21^st century volunteerism and divine accounting at work. Her drive for excellence was made manifest in a dream where a beautiful lady appeared while she was attending mass at PWW chapel; the reassuring presence of the lady made her proclaim that PWU will top the exam. In faith, she and Dr. Rosylyn Arnigo, PSSW faculty, had a precognition of PWU’s historic feat.

According to Dr. Cura, President Francisco Benitez’ mandate for vertical articulation, the school of social work grounded the professors to a 21^st century holistic paradigm for sustainable ”human and divine” development.

By the time the Tangco group partnered with PWU, Dr. Cura’s creative fidelity already re-established the relevance of the school of social work at the local off-campus learning clusters and at the Asean region, gaining foothold in Korea and Vietnam.

 Conclusion

Creative fidelity requires a delicate balance of doing a retrospective exercise on one’s historical significance and at the same time acting upon current opportunities for sustainable growth.  Institutions like De La Salle University and San Juan de Dios are century old, and right behind is 94 year old PWU.  To be sustainable for the next 100 years, they must continue to be faithful to the ideals of their founders through creative fidelity.

Editorial Column: Green Light

Published : Manila Standard Today

June 24, 2013

On May 31, 2013  eight Lasallian schools composed of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (Manila), De La Salle Araneta University (Malabon), La Salle College Antipolo,  University of St. La Salle (Bacolod), De La Salle University-Dasamarinas , De La Salle John Bosco College (Bislig, Surigao),  De La Salle Lipa, and La Salle University (Ozamiz) gathered at De La Salle-Dasmarinas, Cavite City for the third annual convention of Lasalian Association of Tourism and Hospitality Education (Lathe).  As keynote speaker, I was tasked to discuss the role of the Lasallian educator in teaching, research and community extension vis-a-wis the theme of “Advancing Lasallian Hospitality, Culinary and Tourism Education through Research and Innovation.”

Because I consider hospitality, culinary and tourism [HCT] as practical arts involving technical skills, I grounded these disciplines in liberal education. Liberal education is not new in Philippine Lasallian philosophy of education.  In the 60s, De La Salle University an innovative Liberal Arts-Commerce (Lia-Com) and Liberal Arts-Education (Lia-Ed) programs, envisioning graduates are who are professionals anchored in the humanities.

According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, “a liberal education produces persons who are open-minded and free from provincialism, dogma, preconception, and ideology; conscious of their opinions and judgments; reflective of their actions; and aware of their place in the social and natural worlds.” As the faculty, students and administrators of HCT become liberally minded, I believe the Lasallian HCT education will have a differentiated service to their clientele, locally and more importantly globally.

However, educational institutions will have a difficult time squeezing in ‘liberal’ units under general education (GE) subjects to accommodate the K 12 program.  According to Commission on Higher Education technical panel Maris Diokno, the new GE curriculum will be implemented with the first batch of K to 12 graduates.  She also noted that GE subjects for two years will be reduced to one year with a minimum of 36 units. This new direction is a setback for liberal education. The formation of the whole person will be sacrificed  in favor of emphasis on mathematics, science, and technical training.  Ultimately, liberal education will lose its prominent position in higher education studies.

Historically, the K-12 track is a redux of barrio education under the 1900 Schurman Commission.  The Thomasite Boy’s Creed and Girl’s Creed called for preparing the boys for vocational (farming) and training the girls for homemaking “under God’s blue sky and God’s green earth. Had this track been diligently developed in our education system, the two-year havoc which K 12 brings would have been avoided.  Interestingly, I studied at the Ester Araneta Elementary School at the Talisay-Silay Milling Company, Negros Occidental.  Our curriculum included gardening, industrial arts and GMRC.  Practical skills were complemented with behavioural skills. But I lament the fact that the school situated within the sugar milling compound failed to connect our education to the supply chain of sugar production from the hacienda to the industrial plant and to the local and world market.  Rudolf Steiner and Maria Montessori would have done otherwise.

Undoubtedly, HCT courses are aligned with K 12 but these courses must have humanistic orientation for this is what Lasallian education, and for that matter general education, is all about. Today, we need liberal education to further deepen our local identity in an interactive global culture and anchor ourselves to values that make us truly human, as science and technology alter and revolutionize our human functions. Technical educators are challenged to truly humanize our sustainable existence on this planet.

Liberal education allows us to widen our vision experientially. For example, Philippine English is so American in orientation. You don’t order ‘take home’ food In Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney; you say, ‘take away’ which I thought was wrong English.  There are no CR signs in Europe, only WCs, which I mistakenly interpreted as ‘women’s comfort room’ at Orly Airport in France. Worse, Pinoy English trained me to pronounce every syllable but the Brits say it differently.  On board the Red Bus in London, I kept an eye on the digital screen for my bus stop at Warwick but the audio announced, ‘Next stop. Waric’.  Indeed, travel is liberal education.

Liberal education as an approach to learning empowers individuals to deal with complexity, diversity, and change.  It studies in science, culture, and society and it addresses an in-depth achievement of a particular academic interest. It helps students develop a sense of social responsibility; intellectual and practical skills linked with communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills applied in the real world.  The 2013 survey by Hart Research Associates in America showed 74 per cent of employers prefer this educational approach to college-bound students. [www.aacu.org/leap.]

Liberal education is an essential necessity for all students to be successful in a global economy as well as becoming an informed citizen.  It should be delivered through studies that emphasize the essential learning outcomes across the entire educational continuum—from grade school, high school through college—at progressively higher levels of achievement an across all fields of study.

While St. La Salle did not open any technical school during his time,  it must be noted that the artisans and craftsmen were at the heart of his educational mission.  The “artisans and the poor” whose sons formed the main body of the clientele were served by the Brothers of the Christian Schools in 17^th century France.  He noted that the artisans and the poor were “little instructed and [were] occupied all day in gaining a livelihood,” the majority of parents were “not sufficiently instructed” about religion, and that “most parents [were] not sufficiently enlightened” in religious matters.  Lasallian liberal education is anchored in Christian education, in building character and helping the student become productive member of society.

The HCT schools, especially Lasallian schools, are challenged to make room for liberal and Christian education, if they desire to produce more than just technical professionals who are skilled in the art of hotel, culinary, and tourism management.  Thus, liberal education is a must.

*****

I congratulate Dean Leticia O. Delamente LATHE President (2011-2013) and the 2013-2015 officers: Dean Pedro Simon T. Ledesma, President; Dean Joy Zapata, Vice Presidnt; OIC-Dean Chair Geronio G. Ulayao, Secretary; Dr. Maribeth R. Pillo, Treasurer; Chair Andrea M. Pangan, Auditor; and Associate Dean Jefferson S. Buenviaje, PRO in promoting excellence in Hospitality, Culinary, and Tourism education.

 

Editorial Column: Green Light

Published : Manila Standard Today

June 24, 2013

On May 31, 2013  eight Lasallian schools composed of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (Manila), De La Salle Araneta University (Malabon), La Salle College Antipolo,  University of St. La Salle (Bacolod), De La Salle University-Dasamarinas , De La Salle John Bosco College (Bislig, Surigao),  De La Salle Lipa, and La Salle University (Ozamiz) gathered at De La Salle-Dasmarinas, Cavite City for the third annual convention of Lasalian Association of Tourism and Hospitality Education (Lathe).  As keynote speaker, I was tasked to discuss the role of the Lasallian educator in teaching, research and community extension vis-a-wis the theme of “Advancing Lasallian Hospitality, Culinary and Tourism Education through Research and Innovation.”

Because I consider hospitality, culinary and tourism [HCT] as practical arts involving technical skills, I grounded these disciplines in liberal education. Liberal education is not new in Philippine Lasallian philosophy of education.  In the 60s, De La Salle University an innovative Liberal Arts-Commerce (Lia-Com) and Liberal Arts-Education (Lia-Ed) programs, envisioning graduates are who are professionals anchored in the humanities.

According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, “a liberal education produces persons who are open-minded and free from provincialism, dogma, preconception, and ideology; conscious of their opinions and judgments; reflective of their actions; and aware of their place in the social and natural worlds.” As the faculty, students and administrators of HCT become liberally minded, I believe the Lasallian HCT education will have a differentiated service to their clientele, locally and more importantly globally.

However, educational institutions will have a difficult time squeezing in ‘liberal’ units under general education (GE) subjects to accommodate the K 12 program.  According to Commission on Higher Education technical panel Maris Diokno, the new GE curriculum will be implemented with the first batch of K to 12 graduates.  She also noted that GE subjects for two years will be reduced to one year with a minimum of 36 units. This new direction is a setback for liberal education. The formation of the whole person will be sacrificed  in favor of emphasis on mathematics, science, and technical training.  Ultimately, liberal education will lose its prominent position in higher education studies.

Historically, the K-12 track is a redux of barrio education under the 1900 Schurman Commission.  The Thomasite Boy’s Creed and Girl’s Creed called for preparing the boys for vocational (farming) and training the girls for homemaking “under God’s blue sky and God’s green earth. Had this track been diligently developed in our education system, the two-year havoc which K 12 brings would have been avoided.  Interestingly, I studied at the Ester Araneta Elementary School at the Talisay-Silay Milling Company, Negros Occidental.  Our curriculum included gardening, industrial arts and GMRC.  Practical skills were complemented with behavioural skills. But I lament the fact that the school situated within the sugar milling compound failed to connect our education to the supply chain of sugar production from the hacienda to the industrial plant and to the local and world market.  Rudolf Steiner and Maria Montessori would have done otherwise.

Undoubtedly, HCT courses are aligned with K 12 but these courses must have humanistic orientation for this is what Lasallian education, and for that matter general education, is all about. Today, we need liberal education to further deepen our local identity in an interactive global culture and anchor ourselves to values that make us truly human, as science and technology alter and revolutionize our human functions. Technical educators are challenged to truly humanize our sustainable existence on this planet.

Liberal education allows us to widen our vision experientially. For example, Philippine English is so American in orientation. You don’t order ‘take home’ food In Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney; you say, ‘take away’ which I thought was wrong English.  There are no CR signs in Europe, only WCs, which I mistakenly interpreted as ‘women’s comfort room’ at Orly Airport in France. Worse, Pinoy English trained me to pronounce every syllable but the Brits say it differently.  On board the Red Bus in London, I kept an eye on the digital screen for my bus stop at Warwick but the audio announced, ‘Next stop. Waric’.  Indeed, travel is liberal education.

Liberal education as an approach to learning empowers individuals to deal with complexity, diversity, and change.  It studies in science, culture, and society and it addresses an in-depth achievement of a particular academic interest. It helps students develop a sense of social responsibility; intellectual and practical skills linked with communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills applied in the real world.  The 2013 survey by Hart Research Associates in America showed 74 per cent of employers prefer this educational approach to college-bound students. [www.aacu.org/leap.]

Liberal education is an essential necessity for all students to be successful in a global economy as well as becoming an informed citizen.  It should be delivered through studies that emphasize the essential learning outcomes across the entire educational continuum—from grade school, high school through college—at progressively higher levels of achievement an across all fields of study.

While St. La Salle did not open any technical school during his time,  it must be noted that the artisans and craftsmen were at the heart of his educational mission.  The “artisans and the poor” whose sons formed the main body of the clientele were served by the Brothers of the Christian Schools in 17^th century France.  He noted that the artisans and the poor were “little instructed and [were] occupied all day in gaining a livelihood,” the majority of parents were “not sufficiently instructed” about religion, and that “most parents [were] not sufficiently enlightened” in religious matters.  Lasallian liberal education is anchored in Christian education, in building character and helping the student become productive member of society.

The HCT schools, especially Lasallian schools, are challenged to make room for liberal and Christian education, if they desire to produce more than just technical professionals who are skilled in the art of hotel, culinary, and tourism management.  Thus, liberal education is a must.

*****

I congratulate Dean Leticia O. Delamente LATHE President (2011-2013) and the 2013-2015 officers: Dean Pedro Simon T. Ledesma, President; Dean Joy Zapata, Vice Presidnt; OIC-Dean Chair Geronio G. Ulayao, Secretary; Dr. Maribeth R. Pillo, Treasurer; Chair Andrea M. Pangan, Auditor; and Associate Dean Jefferson S. Buenviaje, PRO in promoting excellence in Hospitality, Culinary, and Tourism education.