Thursdays with Fr. Jett

What sets the Ateneo graduates apart from the students of other schools? Excellence and passion, the true blue Atenean will claim. “That and arrogance,” would probably be the retort of students who go to schools sporting shades of red and green. I’m not one of those people who waste their time proving to others that his or her school is the best, but if I were asked the question at the beginning, I would adhere to a minority who claim that the secret of the Ateneo lies in the extra units they require their students to take — that is, a few of English and Filipino, some of core subjects like History, Nat Science and Math, a lot of Theology and Philosophy, and a peculiar subject called Science & Society, a.k.a. Sci 10.

Sci 10 is a requirement in the second year. The sophomores would look curiously at their registration forms and shrug upon seeing Science 10, perhaps thinking it’s just one of those subjects that could pull up your QPI. A few classmates and I were lucky enough though to have been given the tip to choose Fr. Jett Villarin, S.J. as our Sci 10 teacher. Absolutely having no idea who he was, I still chose him, thinking it would be cool to have my first Jesuit priest teacher.

I dare to say that perhaps, the one unique methodology that his Sci 10 students would never forget was his KQs — short for “kunwari quiz.” We all laughed at the novel idea of us having to answer an essay question before the start of each class and not even expecting a grade from it. Fr. Jett’s unassuming and gentle explanation of the KQs was enough to convince us though that it was his pretend quizzes, more than the graded ones, that would lead us to truth and wisdom.

Faced with half-philosophical and half-trick questions, we pondered if the poor were really the biggest polluters of our resources, the relevance of the Kyoto protocol, and if development is the enemy of nature and the environment. We had five minutes to painstakingly organize our ideas and think of the deepest possible answer to solve his hypothetical problems. Once in a while, he would give the half sheets of paper back with one-line comments that were certainly a welcome respite from the number of letters that could cause a lot of stress. At a time when blogging was just beginning to be a fad, we had fun writing about ecological and environmental issues. There were moments when we begged him to extend the time for answering his KQs, knowing that what we were doing was not even going to be graded.

And I think that was the secret of Fr. Jett, as well as of his other companions in the Society. They were able to ingrain in us the value of learning and inquiry over numerical grades and awards. Despite the pressure of requirements and exams, we looked forward to our classes, eager to learn something new just for the sweet pleasure of it. The boring theories and data we had heard since basic Ed were suddenly falling into place. “Hanapin ang kahulugan sa lahat ng bagay (look for the meaning in everything),” as my philo teacher would always remind us.

Since we were not science majors, we would not have the opportunity of encountering Fr. Jett again as well as his KQs, that became part of our lives every Tuesday and Thursday. Some, like me, would rekindle our minds by attending his Thursday Mass at the college chapel. Always short and sweet, his five-minute homilies would not only be convenient for the busy life of a college student, but miraculously provide enough time for everyone to reflect on God’s word and find strength to carry on for the rest of the day. At times, he would chance upon us leaving the chapel and still greet us by our first names. We would always be grateful to have known such a wise teacher who was, at the same time, an approachable and down-to-earth Jesuit who found the time to ask us how we were.

I was truly gladdened to read the news that Fr. Jett Villarin, SJ has just been elected as the new president of Ateneo de Manila. I’m sure all Ateneans are one in wishing him well and excited to experience the sublime type of leadership he is well loved for. The Jesuits have always taught us to seek God in everything. Fr. Jett has indeed been successful in leading his students towards that path, even to frontiers where God seems to be missing, such as science and society.