XAVERIAN'S CORNER

Tough Challenge for All
Lance O. Co Ting Keh, 6D

Posted Tuesday, 26-Oct-2004 7:34 AM

     A school without a thrust is just like a ship without a compass. This is the reason why the school administrators, teachers, and staff got together last summer to discuss the school thrusts chosen for the year -- discipline and simplicity.

     According to Fr. Go, there are two kinds of discipline. The first is external discipline, which means following the rules and regulations of our school. The second more important one is self-discipline. It is being able to take responsibility for ourselves and choose to do what’s right even when there are no rules and regulations, or when there are no teachers watching.

     Discipline is an important value all Xaverians should have because with discipline, you automatically develop CHARACTER, the self-mastery expected of any mature person. At the same time, you can achieve COMPETENCE because study and any kind of self-development require discipline.

     This thrust is clearly emphasized in school through the different discipline plans being implemented. Inside the classroom are very clear rules, rewards and consequences that accompany desirable and undesirable behaviors. Another set of plans is currently implemented for assemblies and other out-of-the-classroom activities.

     Given the big pull of consumerism all around us, Fr. Go has seen it fit to add simplicity as a major thrust for the year. He explained that because wants multiply all the time, we are never satisfied because there’s always something new to want. According to him, we should just learn to count our blessings and not join the race of keeping up with the Joneses. We must live within our means and concentrate on needs, not wants.

     Given that most of the Xavier population comes from those who live the not-so-simple lifestyle, the school is faced with the challenge of making the students imbibe the value of simplicity. This task of putting words into action has fallen onto the shoulders of the GS Assistant Principals.

     For the little ones, Mrs. Arlene Choo, AP for EED said that the students are taught to be simple in their words, actions and in the things they bring to school. Teachers and students are encouraged to reuse and recycle materials. Elaborate birthday celebrations with loot bags and giveaways are not allowed. Students are encouraged to give simple birthday cards to the celebrants instead. Canteeners are asked to bring plastic containers so that leftovers can be brought home.

     In the same light, Mr. Marc Magsalin, AP for Primary, said that the Grades 2 to 4 boys are asked to be conscious with how they speak and deal with others. They are reminded not bring too many and too extravagant materials to school. He also mentioned that students are told to bring money only for emergency and for food.

     On the other hand, Ms. Estrelle Nabua of the Intermediate Grades, explained the importance of parents’ participation in implementing the thrusts of discipline and simplicity. She met with the parent representatives and gave out copies of the discipline plan and discussed with them their role in the success of the year’s thrusts.

     As Mrs. Nabua has pointed out, parents play a big role in the choice of values their sons imbibe. Even as the principal, assistant principals and teachers do their best in trying to instill in us the values of discipline and simplicity, we will not live these values unless these are also found in our homes. How can parents help their children if they themselves do not practice discipline and simplicity? Can they be credible models of simplicity if their sons see them buying a new car every time a new model is released? Will Xaverians be content in not having the latest model cellphone if their parents keep replacing theirs with the most expensive ones?

     Let’s face it. We Xaverians live in a privileged world where everything we want and ask for is usually given. The worldly things that we are pampered with have blinded us and made us forget that we have less fortunate brothers and sisters who do not have anything at all. Our lifestyle has made us comfortable and we often forget that we need to do more so that we can be more. Fortunately, we have Xavier School to constantly remind us that there are more important things in life than possessions. Xavier School, with its thrusts of discipline and simplicity, shapes us into being men fully alive, endowed with a passion for justice and the skills for development.

     I challenge all Xavier students to exert a conscious effort to help the school in forming us into men for others!

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