2019.01.07. My ALDP Reflection Paper (for Module 0)

(Now: Blogging before going to sleep.) 

In the following, I am posting the reflection paper I wrote for the first activities in the Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP), a training for newly-hired faculty of the De La Salle University (DLSU).

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My First Experiences in the ALDP

or, In Which the Outsider Gets an Early Glimpse of the La Sallian Life and Culture 

Rene C. Batac, Ph.D. 

Physics Department 

College of Science 

I consider myself as an outsider as far as the La Sallian culture is concerned. I have been affiliated with the University of the Philippines (UP), as a student and as a teacher, from 2001-2018. Come to think of it, I did not even take the college admission test of the De La Salle University (DLUS) in high school! I am part of the bigger outside world that has come to view the DLSU as an elistist institution that caters only to the privileged children in the upper echelons of society. 

Boy, was I so wrong! And I have never been this happy to be proven wrong. 

On September 2018, I joined the Physics Department of the College of Science (COS) of DLSU as an Associate Professor. The outsider got in. And as one of the earliest requirements for my tenure, I am listed as a participant in Batch XII of the Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP). In the following, I intend to give a short (hopefully) account of the things that transpired during the first activities of the ALDP (to be written as introductory paragraphs in italics). I would also like to share my personal insights and reflections. Suffice it to say that the outsider not only got in to the school, the outsider got schooled. 

The Reims Experience 

On 21-22 October 2018, the ALDP Batch XII conducted the Reims Experience, a series of talks and seminars held in Caleruega in Batangas. The activity aims to orient the participants about: (i) the Founder of the La Sallian Mission; (ii) the La Sallian Guiding Principles; (iii) the charism of De La Salle; and (iv) the La Sallian Reflection Framework. 

The hilly Caleruega, with its picturesque settings and quiet neighborhoods, is a perfect starting location for the ALDP. Away from the distractions of urban life, and with only ourselves and our activities to focus on, I (and, I’m sure, my fellow participants as well) really enjoyed the experience and got acquainted with the life of St. John Baptist De La Salle and the Mission he founded. I also reflected on my place in DLSU, however short a time I have spent in it as of that time. 

Caleruega is a beautiful and quiet place for retreat and reflection. Photo by the author.

After a short introduction, the highlight of the first-day activity is the presentation given by Bro. Michael J. Broughton, FSC. In his talk, aptly titled De La Salle: Our Story, he brought St. John Baptist De La Salle to life, so to speak, and, using very good animated presentations and videos, not only detailed the important events in his life but also gave us an understanding of his calling and vocation. 

I am personally moved by the fact that De La Salle cared for the poor, especially the children. It may sound cliché today, but education is the single most effective tool not only to lift people out of poverty but to give them dignity and personal identity. During the harsh winter of 1684-1685, De La Salle used up all of his personal finances just to be able to care for the poor and weary. In the words of Bro. Michael during the talk, it was during that time that he “discovered the world of the poor.” Instead of complaining, however (note that he was born of nobility), he made it a point to continue, and even to expand the ways by which he can help them by establishing the schools, first in his hometown and then in Paris and in much of France eventually. 

Perhaps this part of the talk touched my heart more than anything else because I, too, came from the poor, and was given a ticket out through education. I finished my high school to graduate school from scholarship, and I have personally experienced the rewards brought upon by the formal education that I received. Although I did not frame it in that context before, now I realized that, like De La Salle, I see the value of education in not only giving people knowledge and skills but also to improve their lives. I certainly will view my profession as DLSU faculty as a great opportunity to be able to help my students effect these changes in their lives. 

In one of the schooling moments, the outsider in me got pleasantly surprised that the DLSU I pictured in my head, one of tisoys and tisays and kids of businessmen, is not entirely correct. Bro. Michael stopped his presentation at that point to give us an important information and a valuable lesson. He mentioned that around 20% – yes, one in five – of DLSU students came from simple, humble backgrounds. As DLSU faculty members, it is our obligation to respect everyone, regardless of their backgrounds. He even related to us the sad story of a very promising student from a humble background who lost her desire to come back to school because of a bad treatment from her teacher. At that point, I told myself I will never be that kind of teacher. Instead, I resolved that my students will have a fun, memorable, and encouraging experience under my care. 

Another important take-home message was about the way I need to view my work. I am a physicists, and scientists like me are often accused of being in our ivory towers and not really in connection with the society at large. That’s why I find this quote from De La Salle very important in adjusting my worldview: 

“Make no distinction between the duties of your profession and those that refer to your salvation and perfection. Be convinced that you will never achieve your salvation more surely nor acquire greater perfection than by fulfilling well the duties of your profession.” 

Salvation and perfection are things we normally aspire for. Sadly, in the context of today’s busy world, these two things are sought outside of one’s profession. The profession is the day job, the boring part of life that one needs to get out of. But in De La Salle’s view, this profession, particularly, teaching, is one with these two aspirations, and is in fact a vehicle to achieve the other two. I will never look at teaching the same way again after this. 

During the discussion on the La Sallian Guiding Principles, I learned about the bigger meanings of Faith, Service, and Communion. The foundation of it all is Faith; it answers why we do the things we do. It motivates us to live a life of greater meaning. In response to it, we do Service: the things we do because of our faith. The presentation specifically encouarged us to act according to what is important to each one of us. In particular, teaching and research are forms of service that we can do well in the DLSU. Finally, Communion: answers how we go about doing what we need to do. It is important to work well with one another. 

In this part, I remember one of the side remarks of the speaker. In this judgmental world, we are always tempted to group one or the other, us and them. But the La Sallian guiding principle of Communion instead teaches us to look beyond the dissimilarities and find the common ground with different individuals. The pedicab drivers, the security guards, the vendors outside the gates: If we first attempt to get to know their stories, we will actually realize more commonalities, and we can avoid classifying them as different from us. That is a simple lesson I want to live by everyday. 

In summary, after the Reims Experience, I realized that I am in a very good position to effect changes in the way I approach my role as a La Sallian educator. Barely over a month after my hiring, the program made me reflect on the things I need to work on, and apply it to my teaching and research. Here are some things that I am committed to work on henceforth: 

1. Mental and emotional motivation. I realized that teaching should be my vocation. I have liked and loved teaching from way back, having been in this job for a good 12 years. But I realized that I have never really thought about it as a calling. But now, with De La Salle as an inspiration, I realized that I can do more when I view it as a way of life, not just a means to have a living. 
2. Treating the students well. Students are younger, and students come from different backgrounds. More often than not, I am the wisest person in the classroom – or at least I should be. What I say or do can help – or harm – these young minds and hearts. I should strive to be always mindful of this, and continue to show love. 

Wow… that was a good way to start. I learned a lot about La Salle and myself in just the first program of the ALDP. The outsider in me is just starting to get acquainted with my new home. 

 

Outcomes-Based Education and Philosophies of Education 

On 12 November 2018, the ALDP Batch XII had two sessions on (1) Outcomes-Based Education and (2) Philosophies of Education. 

Still viewing myself as an outsider, I joined the other batchmates in the second round of activities in the ALDP. In this session, we first had a discussion on outcomes-based education in the morning. 

This session really changed my view of teaching. From where I came from, there is a training for teachers on how to create a syllabus, but this is quite the opposite of what we were taught in this session of the ALDP. Whereas these training focus on specific but very technical points, in ALDP, we were taught to think in terms of specific life lessons. The speaker tells us that we should think of outcomes in the real-world setting. When our students get out of DLSU (and they will, eventually, of course), and they are asked about something they should have learned in school, they should be able to provide an answer that demonstrates a complete understanding of the topic. 

And that is something that is in line with my personal view of these things! Many teachers and students of physics have the uncanny ability to solve the most complex of problems in a myriad of the most mathematical ways. But, outside the halls of the university, when people ask them about what they do, they can’t seem to give a comprehensible answer. That’s when I realized that everything must be tied to how the teacher measures his/her objectives in teaching. And thus, the outcomes-based learning. 

I was so pumped up that I was the first one to raise my hand and give an answer during our exercise! When we were asked about the specific outcome we would like to include in our specific classes, I remembered one of my special classes on nonlinear dynamical systems. This class will teach the students topics such as “chaos” which have technical definitions that are quite far from the layman’s definition. My specific example outcome for this class was thus: For the students to distinguish the technical definition of the term “chaos” from the ordinary layman’s definition. The speaker commented that it is a good example of a specific outcome with a measurable way of knowing if it got achieved in the end. Kudos to me! 

And now, for another schooling moment: The speaker gave us the figures about the state of research in the DLSU. According to him, the DLSU started to actively pursue measurable targets for research during the tenure of Bro. Andrew Gonzalez as University President. The original benchmark was the research output of the UP Los Baños, then the second most active producer of Scopus-based publications. Interestingly, the benchmark was breached in 2008! And, perhaps more interestingly, in 2016, the DLSU became the University with the most number of research publications! It overtook the UP Diliman as the major producer of quality research works. It was easy to fall for the external and the superficial; it is easy to get caught in reputations. I used to think that UP Diliman was still the most active research university. Again, the outsider in me was pleasantly surprised. Yes, the DLSU is not just for-tisoys only. It also happens to be THE research university in the Philippines. 

In the afternoon session, Dr. Raymund Sison gave us a discussion of the philosophies of teaching and learning. We even had tests about which philosophy we are most subscribing to, at least subconsciously (sadly, I forgot about my results, though). 

This part of the talk struck me the most in the whole ALDP (so far). We are not only being taught how to teach, but why we teach, and telling us about the philosophy of teaching. This level of teacher training is unmatched, I think, in all the other universities in the country. It made me proud to have made the leap to La Salle. I had a feeling that I am being taken care of and guided in my journey. 

So when Dr. Sison asked us about our own teaching philosophy, I was so creative, my mind was firing in all cylinders. The thing is, I looked at the picture of my original submission during that session and tried to reword it for this reflection paper. I couldn’t. All the words still ring true. So I leave the entire picture here to capture my original thoughts during that time:

 

In conclusion, this session is basically about teaching the teacher. In the morning session, we realized the effectivity of an outcomes-based education in the context of the 21st century classroom. In the afternoon, I had a personal reflection about my role as a teacher – not just as a job but as a molder of the next generation. I would say it was a very fruitful day. Am I still an outsider? Well, I still don’t know the ins and outs and all the details (more on that during the next session), but, I would say, I felt more closer to La Salle after this experience. 

 

Use of Technology in the Classroom and Integration Activity 

On 19 November 2018, the ALDP Batch XII conducted a session on the use of technology in the classroom and an integration of the things that were discussed during the term. 

For our last session for the term, I got my schooling moment early on. Just look at how gorgeous this classroom is! Swivel chairs that have wheels on them, two huge TVs, sleek glass board. All in a nice fresh green color scheme! 

Turns out, this room is still being tested, and it is envisioned to be the classroom of the 21st century. What a nice venue for the topic at hand: the use of technology in the classroom.

The nice, futuristic room is a good venue for discussing the use of technology in the classroom. Photo by the author.

In the accompanying presentation, we were exposed to the lots and lots of resources online to be able to integrate the technology in the classroom. The sepaker discussed the need to integrate technology in the classroom. He argues that this generation are technology “natives”; they were born with these technological advancement already in widespread use. As teachers, on the other hand, we are technology “immigrants”: we have yet to perfect these technology, and we have lived our lives without it, so we don’t see the need for it. The talk is filled with nice tools and tricks: from online surveys, word clouds, online quizzes, and even online randomizers! 

As I reflect on this part of the session, I realized that DLSU is also a trailblazer in terms of these kinds of things. Of course, it starts with having the money. ☺ But more than that, it is also embedded in the attitudes of the administrators. The administrators are determined to be working on 21st century education, for the benefit of the global learners – both the teachers and the students. Again, this is something I have not seen from where I came from. 

I am determined to incorporate these tools, and to learn more about them. I intend to join the more detailed seminars that they conduct on these topics. 

Finally, on the last session in the afternoon, we had a mini-game. We were grouped into fours with just one task: to write the mission-vision statement of the DLSU. 

Ooops. Yeah, that reminded me of my outsider status. ☺ 

My group was not able to write down the DLSU mission-vision; in fact, only one group was able to do so! This, I think, is a good way to end the ALDP sessions for this semester. This gave us a reminder that, in spite of all the impressions that we had about the DLSU and the La Sallian culture, we still need to learn more. Fr. Nelson reminded us of our responsibility to delve deeper into the DLSU, its history and practices, and be aware of our place in this inclusive community. What a fitting reminder before we bid goodbye to each other for the term! ☺ 

After the session, I hurried back to the William Hall to fetch some things. I noticed a board outside the conference room. Still inspired by the culminating activity earlier, I smiled and took a snapshot.

I have a long way to go, but the outsider feels welcome. And it’s so nice to be in. ■