CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES’ (CEAP) 2009 NATIONAL CONVENTION greatly affirms the 3015 stewards of Christ
The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines once again proved the power of divine intervention when a total of 3015 delegates (11 from DWCL) from all over the country converged in one big known place, Tent City of Manila Hotel, last September 16-18, for the 69th annual convention with the theme: “Hold it in Trust: Leadership as Stewardship”. The event was held to provide an opportunity for Bishops and Catholic schools to engage in meaningful conversations on stewardship in the Church and the Country; to share trends, best practices and strategies towards better management of educational institutions; and to provide a forum for national leaders to present their platforms on private education
The school was represented by 11 delegates comprised of key administrative officials headed by the Father President.
The first day was a tough one for the organizers and hotel staff since they have to cater to throngs of representatives of the more than 1,000 member schools all over the country. Registration alone was done for almost 4 hours in time for lunch. Hotel staff had a difficult time serving the delegates since they projected a lesser number. They have to pull out additional crew to expedite serving of lunch. But as Shakespeare puts it :“all’s well that ends well”, the organizers and hotel staff were able to pull it off together and everyone had a hearty share of a la carte. There were not much of activities after lunch except for the tribute to the late president Cory Aquino which was graced by no other than the unassuming daughter, Ballsy. Each day was always celebrated by a mass culminated by His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal B. Vidal, DD, the Archbishop of Cebu, on the last day.
The second day started with the business meeting followed by the conversations with the bishops and punctuated with the concurrent sessions done in the Tent City, function rooms of Manila Hotel and the decks of M/S Philippines Floating Hotel and /Restaurant located adjacent to the Tent City. There were 13 topics to choose from: accreditation, sourcing of funds, legal rights, ethics, quality education, research, quality textbooks and other related academic topics . I wish I could have gone to all these interesting sessions so that I can readily share to you what I have learned, but unfortunately we were only allowed to attend to one session and I was enlisted on the topic: Ensuring Quality of Textbooks. Our speaker was a very simple man in his late forties, a little short but who seemed to come from a mestiso lineage as manifested by his flawless complexion and his surname. He is the Chair for the National Book Development Plan and an Associate Dean of the School of Goverment in Ateneo de Manila University, Dr. Dennis T. Gonzales. He is a self-confessed blogger, teaches ethics, writes books (Mga Kataga ng Teolohiya and How to Win an Election) and a theologian. A holistic man indeed, as evidenced by his wide array of jobs dealing with social, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of life. He concisely explained three points to ensure procurement of quality textbooks:
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DepEd can only issue advisories on quality books
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The institution should have a clear cut guidelines and policies on the procurement of quality textbooks which include the tedious review and evaluation of books before acquisition.
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The incentives or perks offered by book companies should only come in second to the quality of the books.
In a nutshell, Dr. Gonzales was emphasizing that students should not be short changed in the delivery of quality education vis a vis the use of books.
The NBDP offers book evaluation services to institutions that are willing to pay some amount to ensure its quality. It also has its own website (www.nbdp.gov.ph) where it has access to their quarterly journal dubbed as BOOKWATCH, updates on recent publications, stories about book lovers and listed books with QUALITY SEAL AWARDS.
The session ended with a workshop where participants were grouped and asked to design a strategic plan on addressing the concerns in ensuring quality textbooks. It was a very brief talk but I believe we ended with a clearer perspective in mind on how to individually address this major academic issue.
Over dinner and a few cups of tea, my colleagues had a fair share of new information on the different sessions attended.
The third day was a bit more of a relaxed day since there were only two activities left and of course, my colleagues and I were also very eager to go home after lunch. The first activity was a forum with the national leaders, it was a little disappointing because the popular leaders who were invited did not show up due to previous commitments. However, no time was wasted since the 4 gentlemen surely scored “pogi points” from the delegates because they delivered well and survived the “hot seats”. A concelebrated mass followed afterwhich a message of thanks was eloquently delivered by the CEAP president, Msgr. Gerardo O. Santos, Ed.D..
In his speech, he presented the three Cs which comprise the key elements of the association’s aspirations - C- Christ which is associated with the word PRAYER; C- Church related to the word Dialogue and the last C for Community which goes hand in hand with the word Solidarity.
In closing, he threw a challenge to the delegates: In Christ we pray for the Church to serve as linkage to communication in order to reach the ultimate goal in life: happiness in solidarity ! Translate these key elements through AFFIRMATION to bring out the best in everyone.......LEADERSHIP AS STEWARDSHIP---the CEAP’s theme is true to its form indeed!
There you are, AFFIRM ....... start today with the person sitting , standing or lying next to you !!!!!! . //libertineruadapmacaspac
Posted on: 09/28/09
