Motivation in Public Service

By:  Ambassador Henrietta T. De Villa
First National Assembly of Education Leaders, PICC Manila Philippines, Sept. 20- 22, 2017

Why is the heart so important because it is where all dealings are made?  There is the heart.  The heart is the first organ that is visible. Engaging your heart is vital because you have the power, you have the means and you have the captive subject to shape a new and different future for the country. I hope you are very excited about what you do.  Yes, o yes, you have to be because it is always an adventure and an adventure to newness really is quite exciting.  Servant leaders of the nation with a heart, a pure heart, a clean heart, a compassionate heart.  And you have the power to chart a new course for our country that could even impact our ASEAN nations to draw them out, to draw us out, of the grab mentality.  Grab power, grab profit, grab pleasure.  I hope you will ponder on this and start doing it. 

I still remember my mother who was a Math teacher in FEU.  For her, math is not merely addition, subtraction, multiplication, division or equation.  She expanded her math lessons to wider dimensions, a more holistic meaning to the mathematical processes.  Subtracting pain through sharing, adding joy and hope through good deeds.  Multiplying talents with community work and dividing work load through volunteerism.  Sharing pain, having joy and hope, multiplying gifts, dividing the burden, this is engaging the heart of education leaders.  The sit of wisdom, the heart, compassion, most of all the start up motor of humanizing the person in society.  Education is an on-going process, a life-long project.  Even if in your case, education would be, educating in schools, within the confines of classrooms, within specific timelines, still there must be that consciousness that education is life-long and life-wide.  

What you teach and how you teach can detonate positive or negative heart bites.  TO TEACH IS TO SHOW SOMEONE HOW TO LIVE.  Teaching is not merely transmitting literal knowledge.  Teaching is making word and happening one.  So it is witnessing.  Pope Paul VI teachers teach best when they are witnesses.  Realize that engaging the heart is the dynamic force for motivation, experiences that becomes memories of the heart and lessons for a life-long and life-wide practice.

Mothering or parenting and teaching form a single vocation.  Both engage the heart to the hill in motivating their children and students to strive for excellence and to account for the hope that is in them.  Engaging the heart does not mean permissiveness.  It requires discipline.  A danger, parents are sometimes prone to probably due to the lack of time since both father and mother have to work.  Or the guilt provoked by this lack of time.  Neither does compassion mean, you can’t confuse it with pity.  If we spoon fed our daughters and sons of whatever age.  Your students of whatever level, there is a danger of turning them to become mental wimps, worst with hearts that crumble at the slightest stress or difficulty. 

Forms and substance but this has no reference to impeachment requirements.  Impeachment cases have become a dime a dozen now a days which is a sad commentary on public service.  Was it Jefferson?  I think its Jefferson who said, what we acquire too easily, we esteem too lightly. Going back to my sharing, this will focus on form and content.  The form, anecdotal narratives.  The content flushed out from the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines which is invoked by every congressional investigation in aid of legislation, a dime a dozen too now a days.  Since I am not a lawyer or an elected servant of the people, I just went as far as the preamble articles I to III, because I find them all the highlights I needed in these sections which can be crunched into three headings for purposes of motivation, motivating you as educators and public servants.  

The three motivators; maka-Diyos, makabayan, makatao.  Maka-Diyos when you read the constitution, that is the first part.  It invokes God, so it is recognition of the primacy of God.  And makabayan states the national territory that is our country, the Philippines which public servants and all of its citizens have to develop her patrimony and secure her posterity.  And then makatao particularly the poor, ang mga pinapahirapan, ang mga isinasaisantabi, mga kinakalimutan para sa panahon natin ngayon mga pinapatay.  Paulit-ulit, andun po sa Philippine Constitution ang karapatang pantao napakahalaga na ang karapatang pantao, hindi pinapahalagahan ng isang libo lamang.  Wala pong . . . ,  it cannot be buy you.  Do not be scared even if you are public officials to concern what is right and what is wrong.  I admire your secretary.  She vouched for the character of Kian De Los Santos.  That was brave.  I thought that was very brave.  What will make maka-Diyos, makabayan, makatao excellent motivators is love.  And love is not an emotion.  It is an action of the heart.  Love for God, love for country, love for people especially the poor.  This love must be proactive not passive.  Not just a passing emotion. Naku, kawawa naman.  Naku talagang mali ‘yan.  Magrarally tayo.  Pagkatapos, nakalimutan na.  It has to be a passion for it to be a life-long and life-wide. 

Passion is a produce of the heart.  A heart that has been loved.  A heart that has known what it is to be loved and what it is to love.  ‘Yong mga nakaranas, naïve, na mahal sila.  Na inibig sila.  Those who experienced how to be loved without looking at our warts, or moles, or defects, simply for ourselves, that is the best motivation, iyon ang nag-uudyok sa puso na magmahal din,  that dictates the heart to love too. 

I am a Catholic.  And I’m very proud to be one.  I believe in one God for whom nothing is impossible.  My God whom I believe who loves me and is always there for me, come hell or high water.  You have to believe in something or in someone.  Whatever your faith is or whatever god you worship, your faith, your god must be your all in all.  What is this that gives meaning to life?  To your vocation as educators.  God who is love is the absolute motivation for remaining faithful in being maka-Diyos, makabayan, makatao, in all things that we do and say. 

You know, Pope Francis is a very practical man.  He is very kin on encounter.  Iyong makipagtagpuan.  Because life is all about relationships. You relate with our children.  Children relate with their parents.  You relate with your students.  You relate with each other.  Life is relational.  We relate with people we encounter. Kaya best iyong person to person contact eh.  Kaya ako, hindi ako naniniwala nung bibigyan na lang ng assignment ang mga estudyante.  Darating na lang kapag may eksamin.  Sa college yata iyon, mas type nila yon.  At hindi na nakikita.  Wala iyong exchange, interaction, engaging the heart.  And we need to encounter God in especial moments of our lives.

I met my God early in life.  I know it was not through my effort for what grade three girl student for seriously know who Jesus is.  He must have been the one who drew me.  To wake up early every morning and walk to an early mass. 6:00 o’clock in the morning.  And then, so that we will not be late in school which starts the next day at 7:30.  Since then, Jesus and I have been friends.  And I can tell you.  There is no bff better than He is.  And I know, He will save me from whatever fall I find myself into from whatever foolishness I may do He will save me because He loves me.

When you know you are love unconditionally, faithfully walking with you in sunshine and in rain.  Then this gives meaning to your waking, sleeping, breathing, working living. 

Motivation starts with relationships, carried through relationships, which bear fruit in relationships.  They can be good or bad fruit depending on the relationships you established and encounters that you have.  I am a Filipino and I am very proud to be one. 

You saw that, The Devil Wears Prada?  Ang galing-galing ni Merill Strip.  The Devil Wears Prada, kase kapag nagkaron tayo ng mga ilusyon, to buy this, to buy that, to wear this to wear that.  Hay naku, umpisa na ang katapusan.  Madali po kaseng matisod, di po ba?  Kaya kailangang balik-balikan ang dalisay na hangarin sa paglilingkod.  Alalahanin n’yo po si Bonifacio.  Humayo kayo, humayo tayo at ibangon ang bayan sa kawalan ng puri dahil sa katiwalian. 

When somebody does something for you, no matter how small, or even if it’s their duty to do so, show some appreciation, some affirmation because some affirmation expands the heart.  And motivates it to go an extra hundred miles for the magi’s be abundance to life. One of the things I cannot forget, he told me because he made an order that I should repeat it to as many people as I can.  Pope John Paul II said, “God has blessed the Philippines, with two things that is not present anymore in other countries; the richness of your faith and the closeness of your families. 

Engaging the heart knows no distinction, no barriers, no differences.  The three motivators, Maka-Diyos, makabayan at makatao.  I hope you will always remember God who is kind and merciful.  Slow to anger and rich in forgiveness.  Even if your students are nakakagigil.  That you will remember that.  Na araw-araw hahayo kayo at ikalat na walang pag-ibig pa, na hihigit sa pagkadalisay at pagkadakila,  kundi ang pag-ibig sa tinubuang lupa.

That when you encounter people especially the poor.  That you will teach them, rather show them, through your hugs and affirmation that there are no children of a lesser god.  And what better motivation for you than being true to what you are and what you do which is a privilege no amount of money can equal that privilege to form the minds and engage the hearts of the young Filipino, the new Filipino, the future’s authentic Filipino servant leader.  Education is on-going, life-long, life-wide.

Teachers' Continuing Challenges as Instrumentalities of Knowledge and Wisdom in the 21st Century

By:  Gilbert M. Forbes

With excerpts from Ms. Dina Ocampo’s talk at PNU Graduation Ceremony, April 7, 2017

No one can deny that LIFE has become easy due to the improvement in the lives of the average Filipinos brought about by the increase in the so called per capita income.  Things considered as luxuries before by the poor and can only be afforded by the rich and the middle class like sardines, instant noodles, frozen foods, fork and chicken, even eggs are now affordable to the poor.  Even mobile phones, television sets, ordinary fashion even its from ukay are affordable too.  As such, at times the poor can outsmart the middle class in fashion and gadgetry.  It is now easy to go from one place to another.  Indeed, due to the onset of information technology, it has shrunk the world and the country we used to live.

Claro M. Recto Memorial Central School's grade two pupils in Tiaong, Quezon:
Learners' critical discernment has not been as great as it is today.

However, even if life has become easier and much entertaining, at least in our country as compared to Sub-saharan Africa, it did not contribute in the improvement of our values, morals, and spirituality.  While there’s an explosion of knowledge brought about by the information super high way, there came the evils of it. One example of this is the deliberate manufacturing and sharing of fake news to manipulate public opinion. The damage this causes society is massive. Anger is aroused, distrust is sewn, bigotry is fostered and culture of impunity is raised, promoted and even accepted as synonymous to forgiveness and the concept of moving on.

The pressure on educators such as ourselves to develop in learners critical discernment has not been as great as it is today. The age of information technology has become both a blessing and a bane to us teachers who ourselves have difficulty in distinguishing between credible news and “alternative facts” regardless of age bracket we belong be that as from baby boomers up to the mellenials or generation Y.   As such there comes the revisionists.

We must address this issue on two levels. First, establishing the truth must be based on facts that are corroborated by credible sources. And second, we must teach our students that the measure of fact has little to do with their preferred outcome. Just because it is your opinion, it does not mean it is right. Nor is it the truth.

In other words, critical pedagogy is what you must practice so that the students will develop critical discernment. Just because something resonates with your opinion, it doesn’t mean it is a fact. Scientific processes and the proper appreciation of data is needed. This can be done by giving students opportunities and direct instruction on how to dissect information. Otherwise, we will fall into the trap of believing that all opinions out there are for real. Worse, we will believe that our opinion is always better than others all the time and we ignore that there is always a possibility that we are mistaken.

Another example has to do with bigotry. In education, we have struggled to move away from labelling children and learners. We have stopped using terms like bobo and retarded to describe learners with different learning needs. We stopped homogenous grouping of our pupils and students according to their academic performance instead grouped them heterogenously avoiding labels as higher or lower section or fast and slow learners.  Move on na tayo diyan db? We have moved towards seeing the learner and their capacities instead of cuing onto the label together with the assumptions and judgements that go with that label.

Unfortunately, social media is full of bigotry. Dilawan and Dutertards are only two examples of such manifestations of bigotry. Labels such as these box in people into categories. Worse, they call into mind generalizations and characteristics that make recipients of these labels clones of each other as if they were not individuals and human.

Such bigotry resulted in the reign of terror in the middle east or even the unexpected personalities getting elected into public offices as a result of lies, trolls and memes. And now, still on-going, the attack on Marawi City by the Maute Group allegedly linked to ISIS. Or on statements like, “di ikaw na.  Addict ka!  “Kung kaanak mo kaya ang marape . . .”

As instrumentalities in propagating knowledge and wisdom we can help to abate social ills and lies for it would always be true and factual that education is the solution.  It is our greatest weapon and resource if we can only perform our sacred duties and responsibilities to the best that we can.  This we could do with much ease if we could rise above our basic enemy, the average in ourselves.  For we are tasked to do THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!  Aristotle puts it, EXCELLENCE ISN’T AN ACT, IT IS A HABIT.

We should always be open to trainings, lectures and discussions even when we feel and think that it is no longer new or interesting because at the end of the of the day, there will always be novel in things we thought we knew already.  We should reflect on what has been given to us up to this very moment onwards to the bits of wisdom our experiences tell and by internalizing and committing to apply with much ease the Constructivist, Integrative, Reflective, Inquiry, and Collaborative Approaches in teaching. 

Where others fail, in K to 12, with these clearly defined and given approaches, doing it right and with expertise, we are bound to SUCCEED!