By:ERIC CANETE
Bohol Tribune
Peripatetic’s Discourse
December 31, 2023
TRIBUTE TO BCES
(By: Alumnus Erico Joseph T. Cañete)
Built on the second half of the 19th century as “Escuela de Niños y Niñas”, the coral stone parochial school was a legacy of Spain where “Doctrina Christiana” was reverently taught. One arm of this rectangular school building was reserved for the boys, and the other for girls. The 2-storey Gabaldon building at the northern side (observer’s right), still stands today, was constructed in 1913 as an extension of the original school. A prefabricated Bagong Lipunan Marcos type school building constructed in the 1970s once stood in the southern side before it was replaced by a modern building.
There’s more to Baclayon Central Elementary School (BCES) than by just looking at it as a historical edifice. Reflecting on the moments of the formative years of our restless childhood, it was a place for leisure, nostalgia, and an institution where our intellectual, social, moral, and spiritual growth were transformed and developed.
BCES, a place for leisure:
The Greek term for ‘leisure’ is ‘schole’ which is obviously the etymology of school. Tracing the history of ancient Greece, school was regarded as a place where one finds leisure, that is, the delight in knowing new things.
By experience, leisure at BCES at our young age meant an appeal to the games we played at school like bihagay (to pull as much people from the other team), ibo-ibo biente lutos (hide and seek game), gira –gira (war games), luksu’ng tinik, bato lata ( throwing a slipper at a can with a player who attempts to guard) and, for the athletic ones; baseball, softball, volleyball and basketball.
During recess, we commonly had tira-tira candy, puto balanghoy (steamed cassava cake), mantika’ang saging (fried banana) and ice candy. We shared the food to our friends with the latter not fearing of contamination from a runny nose or cough of the giver. We drank at the school fountain and never inflicted with diarrhea or any infirmity. BCES was fun!
BCES, a place for nostalgia:
This school brings so many nostalgic moments in my life thru the medium of music. Down memory lane, I remember people – especially my classmates – places, events and moments everytime I recall the songs Pinggan Pinggan Pino, Inday Kururuchi, Nena, Philippines – the Beautiful, Si Felimon, Batang Gamay sa Bungtud, Bingo, Modern Math, the Bagong Lipunan Songs in the 70s etc.
BCES instilled in our hearts the value of friendship allowing our imagination to wander somewhere in timethe sweet memories our classmates and friends established.
BCES, a place for intellectual wonder:
Back then, we were like gold tested by fire. Our young ‘tabula rasa mind’(blank slate or empty tablet) was gradually transformed into a scientific, rational and analytic minds thru Science, English and Mathematics. The school taught us how to deliver ourselves from the bondage of the slavery of ignorance. It made us understand that the more we know, the more we realized that we don’t know hence, the need to develop more the sense of wonder in learning. “Wisdom always begins with human sense –wonder”, as an author puts it.
BCES taught us to keep on wondering. Keep on learning. Keep on positing a WHY for aptly, “He who has a WHY to live can bear with almost ANYHOW.” (Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche).
BCES, a place for social development:
The school year begins. Our teachers encounter 40 students with distinct personalities in the classroom, different talents and limitations towards studies. We encounter and interact with our classmates, play, study, and sometimes fight the bully. And quoting my mentor Dr. Torralba from UA & P, “Who knows by the end of the school year, we have the raw materials for 40 novels, full of human drama all with great potentials for becoming best sellers. The 40 novels nevertheless have 40 different plots, 40 different conflicts and 40 different climaxes.”
BCES taught us how to become synthetic, intuitive and affective. It was a place where the seed of our passion to need and the need to be needed were implanted. It was the second place where our social nature was enhanced.
BCES, a place for moral formation:
Teaching is a profession with the most sterling nobility. The phrase then came to mean a person of genuinely high quality or value, person showing high moral ideals. No doubt why teachers sanctioned us for concealing the truth of taking a bath in the sea during industrial arts class or behind time in the afternoon class with sagusahisleaves (used as sandpaper to clean desk) on our hands as an excuse, or cutting classes to gather bayabas (guavas), balingbing (star fruit), sambag (tamarind) or worst, hantak (game of head and tail by tossing coin) among others.
BCES, as a learning institution, collaborated with the family in teaching the tenets of morals. It helped us develop and strengthen the ‘semina virtutum – seed of virtue’ that facilitates us in knowing or doing what is good and knowing or avoiding what is evil. God implanted this to mankind during creation.
BCES, a place for spiritual growth:
As a government institution of learning, it did not bar religion teachers from the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) to teach the tenets of religion in the class. I remember we had a religion class once a week for 30 minutes. It supplemented my parents’ lessons about our Catholic faith. The scheduled Catechetical Day on March helped me develop the love of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
BCES collaborated with the family and the church to enable us to find meaning in divine delight.
BCES teachers’ reward:
Today, as we gather for our grand alumni homecoming, let’s shout out with prayers of gratitude for our former teachers (alive or deceased) who in one way or another sacrificed so much for us during our formative years helping us find meaning of our human existence. It’s not a coincidence then that Jesus Christ decided to be a teacher or ‘Rabbi’ and not any other profession. Our teachers are the sterling noblemen or noblewomen with lofty ideals who translated us to the realities of what we are today. Salute to them!
BCES today has produced excellent alumni in the ecclesiastical community, academe, world of politics and governance, business, varying noble professions, labor sector, etc. The school produced individuals who, in one way or another, contributed to the common good of society.
BCES, Thank You!
BCES, We Love You!