Smart holds ‘Why Not?’ forum for SWEEP partner schools

Smart Communications Inc. recently sponsored a Why Not? Forum for its partner schools under the Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP) in Luzon and Metro Manila.

“Why Not? Forum 5.0: A Yearning for Learning” is the fifth installment of The Why Not? Forum (www.whynotforum.com), which is inspired by TED-Talks (www.ted.com), a venue for leading thinkers and doers around the globe to share their thoughts, ideas, dreams, and experiences, which are then posted on the web for all the world to see.

Hosted by TV host and Microventures Inc. president Bam Aquino, the Why Not? Forum gave some 200 school heads, administrators, teachers and students at the forum a fresh take on the state of education and the many innovative ways to ensure a yearning for learning.

Speakers included former Education Undersecretary and current president of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction Mike Luz, Multiple Intelligence International School principal Joy Abaquin, R.A Gapuz Review Center founder Ray A. Gapuz, Smart Wireless Consumer Division head Danilo Mojica, Learn.ph Foundation president Fr. Jomar Legaspi, and Cahbriba Alternative School Foundation Inc. board trustees Cielito and Pilar Habito.

Citing statistics, Luz revealed that only a quarter of those who enroll end up with a college degree. “We are fast becoming a nation of underachievers. We need to start changing the way we deliver education,” he said. He encouraged the audience to look at what works in the academe and replicate it on a bigger scale.

Abaquin pointed out that at the basic level, students can be taught “to use their intelligences to make a difference.” Since everyone has several intelligences — linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, naturalistic, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal, she said, educators must “offer a wider menu of strategies so students can learn.”  

Gapuz shared that the success behind his nursing review center is getting students to learn complex concepts by breaking them down into functional concepts and giving them test strategies and confidence boosters. To prove his point, he engaged the participants in a series of test questions which left the audience inspired to employ the same teaching methodology.

Elizabeth Calub, assistant dean of ECE at the University of Baguio raved, “It was very enriching and worth it.” She was impressed by Gapuz’s examples, noting that the creative approach works. “Concepts that will aid students pass board exams are helpful.”

As a part-time teacher for some 10 years, Mojica inspired participants by sharing his experiences as an educator and parent. “Why not eliminate some very traditional aspects of early age learning like ‘wrong spelling, wrong’? Why not focus on rules that encourage learning rather than those that don’t?” he asked. He challenged educators to break the rules and find ways to teach children without making them feel inadequate in the process.

He also cited the role that technology plays in enhancing education by citing how access to the information superhighway through devices like the Smart Bro prepaid plug-it can help increase people’s knowledge and understanding of the world. “I am not making a sales pitch,” he smiled as he pulled out the device. “To prove it, I will not tell you how much it costs — only that you need a load of P30.”

Fr. Legaspi pointed out that little attention is paid to individual differences when it comes to education. Students, he said, are measured by grades, which do not really reveal what they know and do not know. 

“You get a 1.5 at the end of the school year but what does that mean?” he asked. He cited situations when left to their own, students and teachers came up with amazing results that clearly indicated understanding and learning. “Open access can mean open education,” he said.

Cielito and Pilar Habito delved into the socio-emotional aspect of learning and the importance of starting with the young in building the nation’s character. Education, they said, need not be expensive as they cited how they make do with what’s available in the community to teach science, math and reading concepts. They urged participants to start helping others less fortunate.

“The talks were timely and encouraging since we are now spearheading e-learning in our engineering department,” said Teresita Reyes, ECE dean of Saint Mary’s University in Nueva Vizcaya. “We need to innovate or we would be left behind.”

The Why Not? Forum is envisioned as an open-source innovation that will hopefully inspire other Filipinos to take action and challenge the inertia of the status quo. Hence, the lectures are posted at www.whynotforum.com as a free online resource.

Smart also plans to replicate “Why Not? Forum 5.0: A Yearning for Learning” in Cebu for SWEEP and other partner schools in the Visayas and Mindanao.

SWEEP is Smart’s program for selected colleges and universities, which is designed to raise the level of technology and engineering education in the country. To date, Smart has 40 partner schools nationwide.