I loved this article and I would like to share these to the people who are deciding which school to go to. Kung ang problema sa pagpili sa Ateneo ay dahil elitista ang mga tao roon at hindi ito “tunay na mundo,” I hope you read this. And if you want a copy of the entire article, I can type it for you or lend you this Guidon issue. Haha. It’s a wonderful article. And even if sobrang ikli pa lang ng stay ko sa Ateneo, I have come to agree with all that he has said kasi nakita ko na ang Ateneo na inilalarawan niya. =)
These are segments of a column that was published in the Guidon. It was entitled “To my colleagues: On the meaning of an Ateneo education” by Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez, Ph.D. who is a associate professor at the Philosophy department of the Ateneo.
And the statements in bold are those which I found most beautiful.
I know that many of the teachers complain that Ateneans lead a very sheltered life in this campus. In an infinite number of ways that is ridiculously true. And some even say that there are majors that reinforce this alienation. I could agree with that. Some even say that our students are not really given the chance to open to these realities with our token gestures of solidarity with the “mga poor ”like immersions or work trials. Perhaps, in the end, the Ateneo is the Ateneo: a separate world from the world of the margins. But what most people don’t understand about the Ateneo, including its own faculty sometimes, is that the Ateneo is not just about the majors or the specific programs. It is about a spirit that pervades among its best people.
And if you take Ateneo education seriously enough, and if you are open to its opportunities enough, it will lead you to that realization and it will lead you to your first opening to the faces that you will have to serve. At its core, Ateneo education is an apprenticeship in the work of being a Filipino for others. This is only a slogan so long as one misses out on the living examples of alumni, scholars, administrators, maintenance and staff who show us the way to realizing the truth of an Ateneo education. Open your eyes to those who serve radically and they will radically educate your heart. And if one is open enough one can see that such people dwell in this school because there is a spirit in this school that cradles them and supports their vocation. It is intangible, but it is a spirit that guides the best of us.
Some people feel that we are an elite school that cultivates an elite rationality. Radioactive Sago’s brilliant third album is entitled “Tang Ina Mo Ang Daming Nagugutom sa Mundo Fashionista Ka Pa Rin.” In one gig, Lord de Vera was plugging their album and he said “Bilhin ninyo ang aming album ‘Tang Ina Mo Ang Daming Nagugutom Sa Mundo Atenista Ka Pa Rin.’” I could understand his sentiments exactly. Just listen to conversations in the smoking garden where people bitch about the heat, their slow laptops and their old school phones and anyone who knows anything about the hardships in our country will easily agree with Lord. But then, if you think abouit it, although many of our graduates are oblivious to the suffering around them and even if the most of them do reinforce structures that exploit the suffering, there is that core of Ateneans touched by the spirit of this school who choose to genuinely build communities founded on justice, to found enterprises that serve true needs, to lawyer for the oppressed, and to doctor for the poor. Many innovations of justice building in our country arise because of their apprenticeships in the magis of our service. We just don’t hear about these things because they don’t find their way into our tarpaulins. But the spirit is there and it is the spirit that defines us more than basketball championships or the number of CEOs we produce. Somehow, because of our formation, Ateneans still tend to be idealistic about service. And so I say “Dahil ang daming nagugutom sa mundo kailangan mong seryosohin ang pagka-Atenista.”
Again, I did not write this. These are segments of a column that was published in the Guidon. It was entitled “To my colleagues: On the meaning of an Ateneo education” by Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez, Ph.D. who is a associate professor at the Philosophy department of the Ateneo. :D
3 comments:
this is so true :D but i guess the biggest problem is that not as many live by that spirit to effect the change for the nation. sana maabot na ang "critical mass" soon. parang pisay, not enough scientists but we have the best, kulang pa lang talaga. hehe.
at para ata sa pisay, mas problema ang fact na very versatile ang ateneo education, kung gusto mo lang talagang maging biologist o chemist buong buhay mo, mas magtthrive ka sa UP. pero if you want to be more, ateneo is the place for you :D
Um. Whatever Rob. I was actually agreeing with everything you said, until that last part. :P I will not be just a computer scientist forever. :P I will be a writer and a photographer and so many other things. But first kelangan ko muna yumaman with CS! :))
Aynako. Baligtad naman ang with UP. Everybody thinks na puro masa kami, when in fact ang dami ring elite dun. *cough*BA*cough* haha.
Oo nga, Ray2, there's something wrong with this: "kung gusto mo lang talagang maging biologist o chemist buong buhay mo, mas magtthrive ka sa UP. pero if you want to be more, ateneo is the place for you."
I've met so many people from UP who are more than simple scientists, doctors, and workers.
It's not the school, but the person, who makes the education worthwhile. Kahit small town second grade university pa yan, if the person is really serious about living and learning, then he'll make a big difference, no matter how small his action is.
Madami nga akong kilalang brilliant faculty members in our department who are neither Ateneo or UP grads.
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