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At table one dinner time, my nanay and natay were discussing how Nanay's family were having problems with the division of their tatay's kabilin or inheritance. Nanay explained how her brother so and so used this scheme to get a better share of the inheritance, or how sister so and so used a different tactic to receive a bigger part. And then suddenly after a brief pause in Nanay's long narrative, Tatay turned to us, saying his most memorable line in Cebuano, "We don't have millions in cash and property to leave to you. The only thing we can leave you with is education. So do your best to educate yourself."
Tatay here was putting into words everything that he had done non-verbally in the past years. Even long before this table discussion about inheritance took place, he has been teaching us to value education and learning--deliberately on his part and we, imbibing his teaching unconsciously.
I can still remember when I was still in my early years, Nanay and Tatay would buy us children's books and would read them with us. My brother, sister and I learned our first ABCs and first 123s from my mother, even before we went to formal kindergarten school. Our parents were already teaching us to value education even before our pre-school years.
Then we went to pre-school and grade school. Nanay and Tatay were still showing their support for our education. Nanay made us stick to a strict program for each day. After classes, we were to have playtime. Then we washed up and prepared for supper. Study time came after dinner. Then we slept early after studying, except on Friday evenings when we could watch TV after studying. We always followed this schedule until I reached fourth grade. Nanay used to write the schedule in big, broad and even strokes on the back of an old calendar and made us sign at the bottom. She hung the calendar on the refrigerator door where all of us could see it. There were times when we got lazy in doing school assignments, and Nanay was there to make sure that we could not watch TV on Fridays unless we kept up with the lessons.
Onwards to primary school I went. Having gained relative independence regarding schoolwork, Nanay and Tatay allowed me to make my own study schedule. My school also reinforced Tatay's value for education. It even expanded my idea of what education is. In school I learned that education happens not only by reading books, but also by doing things and by interacting with people. The school offered me the best of these three.
So I found myself reading good and not-so-good books, books about school stuff, books for self-advancement, books for recreation. Our school library was a spacious one loaded with books of all kinds. In school I also participated in clubs and organizations that allowed me to interact with other students. I joined the Little Missionary Club and went on trips to a nearby public school to teach basic catechism.
Next came secondary school--the most exciting and the most well imprinted in memory. As expected, my Nanay and Tatay were still supportive of my education. They always bought books, even those that were not related to the basic subjects I was taking. Our favorite source of good books was the M/V Doulos, an internationally sailing book-selling ship. The books on M/V Doulos ranged from African to Zimbabwean authors, and topics from A to Z.
High school further reinforced my parents' value for education. It expanded the basic knowledge and values that I learned from home and grade school. While in grade school we learned and did things and interacted socially a lot, in high school we learned more, did more things and widened our social circles. In high school, I confirmed to myself my conviction that education is not so much of a burden as an enjoyment. Without the support of my parents during my growing years, and the reinforcement of grade school, I would have thought otherwise.
It was also in high school when I felt the strong influence and benefit of my peer group. I would say that I belonged to a rather colorful and interesting peer group. My peer group was not the sporty type, so we don't usually hang out to shoot hoops. My peer group in school was composed of wide readers, aspiring writers and spiritually-conscious persons. Since most of my constant company were members of the Campus Student Ministry and of the school paper staff, our topics for discussion centered mainly on school and contemporary issues, religious and spiritual matters, philosophy, etc. We equally praised and criticized fearlessly our school and its administration. We proposed better ways to address student needs and facilitate education.
High school also provided us with all-expense paid trips to other places for educational advancement. So I found myself in Dumaguete, Sibonga and Bulacan for regional and national conferences of student writers. I also joined, using school funds, the thousands of young people throughout the world who converged with the Pope in Manila for the 10th World Youth Day.
These, of course, besides the normal day-to-day classroom interactivities for the different high school subjects. Throughout my high school experience, I welcomed every learning opportunity. When a chance for me to learn came my way, I'd say, "Sige, go!" instead of mumbling that another load is placed upon my tired back. I learned, through my family, school and peer group, two things--that society values education so much, and that education is an enjoyable and a rewarding experience.
I am in college now. And I'm still enjoying my learning and education. I have formed the habit of reading every single page that I can lay my eyes on. For almost three years after high school, I studied for Bachelor of Arts in English at a residential university where I found myself limited to what the teacher can finish discussing within a semester.
There I discovered the irony of "Christian" education. Can you imagine an institution that values freedom and education and yet limits their students' self-expression? The limitation can be as simple as stipulating what is modest from what is immodest attire. And yet, my experience and conviction tells me that education is supposed to be a liberating experience--something that enables a person to be who s/he is and express his/her being creatively. In that school I found modern facilities and strategies for archaic and Draconian concepts. Another thing, this school teaches that freedom is a cherished value in the Church and in society, but they sanction students who publicly say anything hurting to the school's image. I sensed the dichotomy between theory and praxis in this school.
So I transfer to UP Open University, where I have to finish learning an entire syllabus within the required time. I never have to bother with uniforms and modest and immodest attire, because we are free to be who we are in this school--education is also self-expression after all. I never even have to worry about classrooms and boring afternoons in class because we don't hold classes within a conventional classroom--the classroom is wherever I and my book are. My teacher teaches me through my books.
Most rewarding of all, I learn my subjects independently and without waiting for the "lazy or slow ones" to fully understand the lessons. This is very exciting and most challenging for me. Besides, I have more time than ever to socialize with various people, not just with fellow college students as any residential college usually affords. I have more time to do outreach and engage in volunteer and community projects.
My formal and non-formal education will go on until I stop breathing. I learned and am learning a lot of things about myself, others, and my world. I think it will take more than one lifetime to learn all those stuff. But happily, the more I learn, the nearer I become me--which is what education really is: a process that facilitates every human being's unfurling.
For me, education is going back to who I really am--a human person who is gentle and peace-loving, who loves, who is free and responsible, who is just, and who desires to live in harmony with other human persons. If one day in this lifetime you came across such an Elmer, then you'd know that my education had been perfected--and I would have already been the perfect me. But what a long way have I to go!
Reflecting on why Tatay deified education so much, I realize that all he really wants is for us to be free, responsible, just and loving human persons--to be who we really are. All he wants us to do is to go back to who we really are. Tatay simply uses the umbrella term "education."
