COMMUNITIES

See It Half-Full Instead Of Half-Empty

An Interview with the Prefect of Discipline

David Jason Tan (G7A)

Posted Friday, 28-Jul-2006 11:23 AM

              Once again, we’re back in school. This isn’t just a regular year; it’s the 50th Anniversary of Xavier. There are once again new things to talk about. More changes have been made, but though our school is expanding in terms of academics, curriculum and many others, very few can say they have been all around Xavier in their career. One of them is the new Prefect of Discipline, Mr. Francisco Maramag.

              Though he may be a new face to some of us, he has been with Xavier for quite a long time - around 30 plus years. In that time, he has been a teacher, a coordinator and a prefect. It is also not his first time to be the “head honcho” of the ODS; he has held that position before for 7 years. Since the last time he was the Prefect of Discipline, he says that students now have become more articulate and more open about their feelings.

              “It’s an honor”, he says, on becoming Xavier’s “Jubilee Prefect of Discipline.”  He wants to continue to help the students become true Xaverians, who are said to be those who embody the 6 C’s. He also says that he doesn’t look at anything in his work with difficulty because this isn’t just work to him - it is his life and he enjoys it. It makes him feel fulfilled as an educator and as a person.

              As the head of his department, his mission and vision for the school is to have all students develop a sense of responsibility, to go to school, to be punctual, to respect rules and regulations as well as others. In addition to those, Mr. Maramag emphasized the need to be responsible for oneself, for their language, for property, may it be theirs or not, and to keep the environment clean.

              To the students, Mr. Maramag wants us all to see school as a friendly place.  He wants us to feel that we belong and are important, which are some of the things that fall under our current school thrust, Cura Personalis. If we all care for each other, everything else will follow and we will be a better community.  According to him, we must also see things half full and not half empty for it is important to see the brighter side of everything. An example of this could be our prefects. Some students are even a bit scared of the student prefects but Mr. Maramag tells us that we shouldn’t be and that prefects are actually the most caring people on campus. We see them everywhere, but that should not make us afraid.  It should make us feel secure, as it is their job to ensure that we are all safe.

Take it from Mr. Maramag, one of our school’s most experienced educators, let us all try to see things half-full before seeing it half-empty.

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