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  1. Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    6,105
    #1
    GAWAD HAYDEE YORAC
    [SIZE="5"]Bohol couple’s passion: teaching physics[/SIZE]


    MANILA, Philippines—This couple, both physicists, quit their promising careers at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, and moved to the literally greener pastures of a far-flung town in Bohol.

    In 10 years, they “double-handedly” transformed the way physics, mathematics and other tough subjects are taught to high school students in the small seaside town of Jagna and many other places beyond.

    For their efforts, Christopher C. Bernido and Ma. Victoria Carpio Bernido, the president and principal, respectively, of the Research Center for Theoretical Physics, have been conferred the Gawad Haydee Yorac. They are the first couple to be thus recognized.

    “This comes as a total surprise for us,” Victoria, 47, said upon accepting the award on Wednesday night at the Meralco Theater in Pasig City.

    Said Christopher, 52: “[This award] appears to be bigger than anything good that we might have done in the past. So how can we really pay back those people who have made this marvelous miracle?”

    Now on its third year, the Gawad Haydee Yorac honors Filipino leaders who have shown outstanding public service and are shining examples of everyday heroism.

    The award is handed out annually by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) in collaboration with UP and the Yorac family.

    Haydee Yorac was a UP alumna who once served as legal counsel of Meralco. She was also director general of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, chair of the Presidential Commission on Good Government and chair of the Commission on Elections.

    She died on Sept. 13, 2005.

    Strengthening basic ed

    In the early 1990s, the Bernidos headed UP’s National Institute of Physics—one of the most prestigious science institutions in the country—with Christopher serving as director and Victoria as assistant director.

    But having seen the need to strengthen basic education from their experience in teaching college students, the couple left the Diliman campus and moved to Jagna, their hometown, some two hours away from the Bohol capital of Tagbilaran.

    “I remember from my days as an instructor in UP Diliman, I was always saddened when I heard stories of students failing in math and in physics,” Victoria said.

    She said even some students from good schools like the Philippine Science High School inexplicably failed in algebra, trigonometry, calculus and physics.

    “It always bothered me. Some students even seemed brighter or more intelligent than I am, but they failed. Why?” she said.

    The Bernidos eventually came to the conclusion that the best way to produce good college graduates is to produce good grade school and high school graduates.

    Physics workshops

    The Research Center for Theoretical Physics, which the Bernidos founded under the Dynamic Learning Program of the Central Visayan Institute Foundation, is a private school in Jagna.

    Since its inception, the Research Center has been hosting physics workshops every three years, drawing experts from around the world. Two of them—Gerard t’Hooft and Frank Wilczek—are Nobel laureates in physics.

    The workshops connect the physics departments in the Philippines to the global community, providing the faculty and graduate students the chance to network with fellow scientists abroad.

    At the Research Center, the Bernidos also pioneered the “Learning Physics as a Nation” program, which limits lectures to 20 minutes and devotes 40 minutes to individual or group work.

    The students are given no homework “so they can still do chores and have family time,” according to the citation prepared by the Gawad Haydee Yorac board of judges led by Washington Sycip.

    The program is beginning to “revolutionize high school education in the country,” with over 30 high schools from all regions adopting it in their curriculum. It is also supported by the Department of Education’s Fund for Assistance to Private Education.

    Walking the talk

    UP president Emerlinda Roman commended the Bernidos, both UP alumni, for their “strategy” of simplifying the teaching of physics by limiting teacher participation to only 30 percent of the process, with the remaining 70 percent devoted to learning activities independent of instructors.

    “Carefully designed materials and simplified materials allow high school students to learn physics on their own,” Roman said.

    Roman commended the couple for walking the talk instead of just making complaints.

    “The couple realized something was wrong with the country’s basic education, and rather than ranting about it, they went to Bohol to do something about it. Not only did they have a job to do, but they had a mission to fulfill,” she said.

    Sycip, in his congratulatory message to the couple, said: “How [the Bernidos] both devoted their life, uprooting from the comforts of the city and moving to Bohol to serve the marginalized communities of Jagna, is a choice of courage.”

    Game of relay

    Christopher said he and his wife had realized that history “is like a game of relay where an athlete runs as fast as he can before he passes the baton to his teammate.”

    “Our generation [has] to run as fast as we can and work as effectively as we can before we pass the baton to the next generation,” he said.

    Christopher cited an Indian saying: “We inherited the earth from our parents, but we are borrowing it from our children.”

    He added: “One of the best gifts we can give a child is education. No one can steal it, and the child can bring it wherever he or she goes, so for our generation, one of the best gifts we can give to the succeeding generation is quality education for the rich and the poor alike.”

    Said Victoria: “My husband and I disagree on many things but we agree on a few things, and one of them is our passion for physics. But there is a corollary: There is also a passion, a shared passion, for teaching physics.”

    Indeed, after eight years, the students of the Research Center have begun passing the UP College Admissions Test, according to the citation.

    “[The Bernidos] addressed a grassroots issue, and had the courage to blaze new science trails in their home province of Bohol, in isolated and marginalized communities, demonstrating that there are no constraints or limits to achieving the lofty vision of building a nation when courage, commitment and intellectual experience are applied to the task,” it read.

  2. Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    639
    #2
    I fervently hope that more people will help uplift the plight of our poor students in the countryside.