From September 23 to 25, 2012, 340 delegates from 10 Jesuit schools converged in Zamboanga City to participate in the 2nd Jesuit Basic Education Congress and join Ateneo de Zamboanga University in celebrating its centennial year.
The congress was themed “#MindaNow: Re-Imagining the Filipino Soul and Story” in recognition of the need for Filipinos to acquire a fuller appreciation of Mindanao. Accounts of Philippine history have included frequent albeit unintended marginalization of Mindanao and its peoples, showing a need for greater diversity in the understanding of what being Filipino means. This challenge is especially urgent for Philippine educators.
The Jesuit Basic Education Commission (JBEC) conceived the Jesuit Basic Education Congress as a meeting to be held once every three years to provide administrators and educators in Jesuit schools with an opportunity to reflect on their mission and to exchange insights and best practices in professional conversation.
Day 1 provided the delegates with an overview of Mindanao and its peoples, beginning with the Jesuit story in Mindanao. In his keynote address, Fr Antonio de Castro SJ, a Philippine Church history scholar, spoke of the outstanding qualities exemplified by the 19th Century Jesuit missionaries in Mindanao – generosity, flexibility, alertness and creativity, openness, and humility in collaborating with others. He suggested that these qualities could be points of reflection as the delegates discerned about working in the frontiers.
This was followed by a round of professional conversations, a time for the delegates to meet their peers from other schools and discuss their thoughts and reactions to Fr Antonio’s speech. The small group discussion was an opportunity for delegates to practice the Reflection component of Ignatian pedagogy, for them to make connections and understand what had been presented in order to prepare for future action in their institutions.
In the afternoon, the delegates were given a first-hand account of some of the major concerns and issues in Mindanao in a panel discussion titled “Mindanao Voices: Feelings and Wish Lists”. The strong panel comprised USEC Luisito Montalbo of the Office of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), Beatriz Inangcob-Colmo, an indigenous (or lumad) woman, and Hon Isabelle Climaco-Salazar, a former Ateneo faculty member who is now a Congresswoman.
Later, the participants attended parallel sessions on aspects of Mindanao such as dance and culture, religious traditions, interfaith dialogue, the changing role of women, the plight of the lumads, and holistic peace education.
Day 2 focussed on two more immediate concerns – what students are taught about Mindanao, and the problem of bullying in schools.
In his keynote address, entitled “What’s Wrong with the Picture? Righting Mindanao’s History”, Fr Albert Alejo SJ bewailed the flagrant factual errors common in our textbooks, leading to unfair stereotypes and labels.
After Fr Alejo’s presentation, the controversial Lee Hirsch film, “Bully”, was screened. The 2011 film is a powerful documentary about bullying in American schools, exposing the gravity of the problem by chronicling the experiences of victims in high schools in Georgia, Iowa, Texas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma and the suicide of two victims of bullying.
The film was an excellent lead into the discussion of the problem, which Dr Honey Carandang, one of the most respected child psychologists in the country, said continues to worsen in many Philippine schools despite the best efforts of educators.
In his synthesis, JBEC Chairman Fr Johnny Go SJ articulated the connection between Mindanao and the problem of bullying: Mindanao may well be the victim of national bullying, having been neglected and misrepresented so often and in so many ways. Hence, Mindanao may also offer lessons on how to address the problem of bullying in schools.
One of the highlights of the congress was the keynote address of Fr Jose Magadia SJ, Provincial Superior of the Philippine Jesuits, entitled “Quo vadis, JBEC?” Fr Provincial suggested five possible directions for consideration – deepening Ignatian spirituality, solidarity with the poor, reconciliation with creation, working with and for the Church and involvement in the Jesuit works in Asia Pacific.
Acknowledging the challenges and constraints to the mission, Fr Provincial encouraged the delegates by sharing with them a Latin phrase that translates to “We shall find a way, and we shall make a way.”
By the closing Eucharistic Celebration, it was clear to the delegates that they had undergone a most enriching experience. Indeed the sense of a shared mission and community was palpable during the congress – truly a rare gift that we ought to thank the Lord for. As Jane Cacacho, High School Principal of Xavier School, put it during an Open Forum: “Not only are our bags filled with pasalubongs, but our hearts also are overflowing with gratitude.”