Educators reaffirm commitment to character formation

MANILA, Philippines – Every teacher must be committed to the formation of character of every student. And to do this effectively, the teachers must work hard to become men and women of character themselves, teaching the students virtues first and foremost through the strength of their good example. This was the conclusion arrived at by the almost 200 School Principals, Officers and Administrators who participated in the seminar organized by CEP Philippines, the national advocate and leader for the character formation movement in the country. The conference entitled Transforming Schools to Build Character: Essential Tools for the Effective K-12 Teachers took place last Friday, February 27, 2015 at the University of Asia and the Pacific.

The first speaker, Dr. Ernesto Grio, talked about “Current Trends in School Improvement (Global Best Practices)”. Culling from various research works done all over the word, he highlighted the fact that strengthening character formation was a sure mark of any effective school improvement program.

Mann Rentoy, the Founding Director for Leadership of CEP Philippines, discussed the importance of empowering the youth and its essential role in making character education programs in schools effective. He presented the wide array of services and materials that CEP Philippines has to offer that can help schools, companies and communities push character formation.

The third speaker, Luden Salamat, a seasoned teacher and much sought-after teacher trainer, talked about “Raising Kids with Solid Character, Strong Minds and Caring Hearts”. Using his almost three decades of experience as Principal and school officer, he shared with the participants concrete strategies and tools that he found effective in helping parents, teachers and students develop character.

The conference was one of the major projects of CEP Philippines, an international affiliate of CEP based in Washington D.C., USA. It is a nonpartisan, nonsectarian coalition of organizations and individuals committed to fostering effective character education, serving as the leading resource for people and organizations that are integrating character education into their schools and communities. CEP focuses on defining and encouraging effective practices and approaches to quality character education and provides a forum for the exchange of ideas. This conference was part of the preparatory events leading to the First Ever Asian Forum on Character Education scheduled for 2016.

The event Transforming Schools to Build Character: Essential Tools for the Effective K-12 Teachers was co presented by Philstar.com and CATALYST (OLS) and was made possible through the generous support of Melters Steel Corporation, Asia United Bank, Mayer Steel Pipe Corporation, RCBC Wealth Management, Sahara Farms Corporation and Seaoil Foundation.

Schools, companies, institutions and individuals interested in becoming part of CEP Philippines may download the Membership Form from www.cepphilippines.com. The website also contains information on the various seminars and modules for in-house training activities that CEP Philippines offer. Schools that are interested to invite CATALYST Leaders to hold free leadership and values seminars with their student leaders may contact Patrick Lim, the Officer in Charge of CEP Philippines, through [email protected]. Other contact details are: info@cepphilippines; +63936 994-1771, +63922 255-5905 and www.cepphilippines.com