KYTHING:

HEART-istry in Education
A Perspective on Rethinking the Purpose and Meaning of Education

Presented at One Nation Learning National Education for Life Conference Baguio Teachers Camp July 25-29, 2010
FATHER RODERICK C. SALAZAR JR., SVD Regional Secretary for Asia Executive Secretary

Office International de lEnseignment Catholique (OIEC) Office of Education and Faith Formation (OEFF) of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC)

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

I thank Henry Tenedero, our Conference

Director, for the invitation to join you, a dynamic group of educators, in this gathering called ONE NATION LEARNING, a National Educating for Life Conference. As we all know, today, President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III will be delivering his first State of the Nation address. What I have for you is no such SONA. But, given our own knowledge of SONE ( State of National Education), I will share certain ideas for us to mull over as together we re-think the purpose and meaning of education. And I hope that in this our conference we shall find not that our collective educational coffers are empty or near-empty as, it has been leaked, our national treasury is which some people say would be one of the things P-Noys first SONA would be mentioning. Rather, I hope that despite our problems and inadequacies, we truly believe and are one with the whole thrust of our conference: that we are not giving up on ourselves and our educational system; that indeed between despair and hope, EDUCATION, for us, is still the greater equalizer.

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For a start, let me offer to you three little cartoon messages. The first is from

yesterdays comics section of Hagar the Horrible (who, as some of you might know, is a Viking character). The second is also a Hagar presentation from an older time, and the third is from an undated presentation of Peanuts, featuring Lucy and Charlie Brown. First, Hagar the Horrible. The comics has a white-bearded professor in an academic toga wearing a mortar-board cap, standing on a pedestal pontificating thus: I know a

lot of people think: Do we really need philosophers ? Well, I can be very philosophical about this Ive devoted my life to discovering the basic purpose of life! Ive studied at prestigious universities and examined the writing of famous scholars the world over!
(and Hagar the Horrible has come with two others, the court jester and a court page, to listen to the academician. The professor continues: Ive consulted with And his three listeners are eagerly

philosophers, theologians, doctors, lawyers, politicians, and other learned people!! All my research has led me to this conclusion
asking in unison, What is it, Professor? What is it ? And the learned answer from the professor on his pedestal with mortar board cap on his head and an academic toga around him is simply, Everday, live it up a little. Heres the second cartoon. Hagar again, and the court jester. This time, they are

climbing mountain after mountain after mountain. Their goal? To seek out the worlds guru sitting and meditating on top of the highest mountain of the world, and to ask him about life. They reach the man, and they ask, panting, O great guru,

we have LIFE is a

traveled far and wide in search of the meaning of life? You have meditated long and hard on it. Pray, tell us, what is life? Life? responds
the guru.

magazine full of beautiful pictures and articles. And the two life-seekers who were
expecting a much more profound answer than this, look at each other dumb-founded and ask, You mean to say that we traveled this far only to get this kind of answer ? And the great guru shrugs his shoulders and says, Well, thats LIFE!

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Enter now Peanuts. Lucy is telling Charlie Brown, Life is like a deck chair.

Like a what? asks Charlie Brown. Like a deck chair, answers Lucy, Some people put their deck chair at the front of the ship so they can see where they are going. Some people put their deck chair at the rear of the ship so they can see where they have been. On the cruise ship of life, Charlie Brown, which way is your deck chair facing?
And poor Charlie Brown, ever the loser, ever the odd person out, says, Oh, I havent figured out how to get my deck chair unfolded. As we gather to consider the purpose and meaning of education, where is our deck chair facing the front or the back? How do we fit our understanding of the purpose and meaning of education with our understanding of the purpose and meaning of life? What is LIFE for us, a magazine with beautiful pictures or something else? Having gone through many years of study in various fields, what is our conclusion about education? Do we also conclude that in the end, we all really just need to live it up a

little everyday?
Let us consider who we are and where we are. Some of us are visionaries,

revolutionaries and creative thinkers and our deck chairs in the cruise ship of education and life are facing forward. Some of us have our chairs facing the rear. For we are traditionalists and seguristas and because we love and honor Rizal, we keep on looking back because we believe with our hero that kung hindi tayo marunong lumingon sa

ating pinanggalingan hindi tayo makararating sa ating paroroonan.

On the other hand, some of us do follow Rizal but ask, hanggang ganoon na lang ba

tayo, puro lingon sa likod at sa nakaraan? Iyon nga ba kaya ang ibig sabihin ni Rizal,
that not only should we look back to where we had started from but we must keep our deck chairs permanently facing the rear? And some of us, unfortunately, are like Charlie Brown himself. It is the 21st century but we still have not really figured out not just where our deck chairs should face but how to unfold our chairs in the first place.

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But this is the reality of our situation. We are in different places traveling at different paces. And some of us dont know where to go, not because we do not really want to move but we want to be sure of our direction. We hear people say that a journey of a hundred miles begins with the first step. But we also believe that the right direction is more important than even the first step. So some of us are stuck, even if we also learn that not to move forward is actually to move backward. To rethink the purpose and meaning of education, we need to look into ourselves and see what we believe. Then we compare our knowledge and beliefs with what others are thinking. Let us start with our very theme in this conference. The words in our brochures and invitations and tarpaulins invite reflection. ONE NATION LEARNING is the title of our gathering. Do we believe in that one-ness of our nation? Do we accept that one united nation, our country the Philippines, is and should be learning together, as one? What do we think of that learning? What is learning? How do we learn? What do we learn? When do we learn? The philosopher Martin Heidegger once defined teaching rather simply as to let learn. We understand the implications. Teaching is not the pouring out of our knowledge into the brains of our students, but more our facilitating the students learning. The e-ducere Latin root of the word education is more and more being emphasized, meaning the process of leading out the potential in our students. That, of course, still presupposes a sharing from the teachers part, a pouring out, if you will, a training, an e-ducare, but it is not all of education. The recognition of the innate abilities and varied abilities at that -- the multiple intelligences, as is our catch word these days -- of our students is meant to lead us to adjust our teaching styles and methods.

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The catchword in the subtitle of our conference is educating for life. Ours is a

National educating for life Conference. We are affirming that education is education not for the test not the quiz or periodical test, not the midterm and final, not the licensure examination. We stand for the principle that though there are tests which are needed for us to assess progress, and to award diplomas and degrees , the central point of education is for the student to know and to use that knowledge to know how to live. Education is for life and not for the degree. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), we remember, released in 1996, in anticipation of and preparation for the Twenty-first century, the work of an international commission on education titled LEARNING: The

Treasure Within. Chairman Jacques Delors explained that the title was inspired by the
fable of La Fontaine called The Ploughman and his Children. That fable had a ploughman, a farmer, tell his children as he lay dying, that there was treasure in his field. After his death, his children dug up the land in search of the treasure but found nothing. One of the children, though frustrated too, saw that in their search for the treasure, he and his siblings had practically plowed their fathers field. Smartly, he planted seed in the already-plowed land. When the harvest came, he realized what their father had meant by saying that there was treasure in the field. It was not ready treasure to be just dug up and found. It was treasure to first be sowed and planted, cared for and nourished, and only then found the fruit of ones labors. Shifting to education, Delors and his team said that Learning is the treasure within. They pointed to what they called the Four Pillars of Education: Learning to know, Learning to do, Learning to live together with others, and finally, Learning to Be. In the process of putting together the book, they first used the phrase life-long learning by which they meant that learning should continue for the length of ones life. They realized, however, that the phrase could be interpreted to mean not only that what one learns should last for ones lifetime but also that one could stop learning new things. Anyway, what one learned in ones early years one could use for ones whole life. So they changed the phrase from life-long learning to learning throughout life. Here is a subtle difference, we must note. The new term means that learning should be a

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process that must continue for as long as one lives. It means retaining what one learned in ones early years, but it further means learning ever new things as well as unlearning bad things of the past. When we re-think the meaning and purpose of education, are we rethinking in this direction? But even this work of UNESCO though projected for the twenty-first century in which we now live, was published in 1996, 14 years ago. Are the thoughts still relevant? That is up to us to determine. Some good things last. But some other good things, Barbra Streisand sang, never last. How is it with the Four Pillars of Learning? We can place our deck chairs facing the rear, we can also make them face the sides and the front. Let us try the sides, here around us, in our country. As you know, for They are a group called Education some of you may be part of it, there is a group that has already been thinking about the meaning and purpose of Philippine education. Nation. This group affirms the four pillars of learning that we have just mentioned, but adds a few more things relevant to our country. On May 18, 2009, at the University of the Philippines, they released this statement: WE ARE EDUCATION NATION ! Affirming that education is the most powerful means out of poverty, ignorance, exclusion and war; Believing that every Filipino must have access to quality education an education founded on the four pillars of learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be; Recognizing that the Philippine Education Systems cannot be left to government alone, as it takes a village to raise a child; Understanding that education reform, though an urgent need since the 1970s, has failed to deliver the desired and sustained learning objectives as reform efforts have largely been project-ized and crisis-reform-driven; and Understanding further that politics has often been the bane of education reform, as political considerations have poisoned education polices and decisions time and time again;

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We have banded together to form Education Nation. For we believe that: The Philippines must become an Education Nation where every Filipino demands quality education for all, where a systems of education ensures our countrys global competitiveness, and where every election makes education a priority agenda. Our government must become an education government that makes education the national priority and key strategy to combat poverty, that provides the needed resources for the right inputs, and that ensures transparency and accountability in education governance and financing

Our next President must become an education President one who shall lead a sustained education reform effort with learning and the learner at the center one who shall appoint education managers who truly understand the education system and are committed to genuine reform, and one who can create the conditions for our educators to perform better, aspire higher, and deliver continuous improvements. Thus the statement of Education Nation released just over a year ago. Can we identify with what they said they want to do? We now have a new President of the republic. He will be addressing the nation today. Is he an Education President? Is he the Education President we have been longing for? Or, in the words of the disciples of John the Baptist who asked Jesus, Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another? This, of course, remains to be seen. President Aquino has chosen what we believe to be good education managers, and there is a team of dedicated and sincere people in his government who, we think will help achieve the goals stated. Are we an education nation? Are we prepared to follow the recommendations of the group that wants us to be on par with the rest of the world with twelve years of basic education? Or do we say as many are already saying, But its expensive! Of course, reforms will be expensive. But if we dont want to spend, then, lets stop talking about it. For, as the phrase says, We have to put our money where our mouth is. If we dont want to, then for goodness sake lets stop talking about it. expensive; but try ignorance, and see if it is not much more. Education is

Beyond our country, with all our problems and dreams, what do we see, education-wise, so we may adjust our deck chairs accordingly? Let me mention three or four movements that may be worth considering. First, there is a group called GATE: Global Alliance for Transforming Education. In their statement called Education 2000, they define their perspective as Holistic.

Their preamble

says that they are educators, parents, and citizens from diverse They say that our systems of education are

backgrounds and educational movements who share a common concern for the future of humanity and all life on earth. anachronistic and dysfunctional. In sharp contrast to the conventional use of the word

education, we believe that our culture must restore the original meaning of the word
which is to draw forth. In this context, education means caring enough to draw forth the greatness that is within each unique person. Can we identify with this preamble? What about their ten principles? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Educating for Human Development Honoring Students as Individuals The Central Role of Experience Holistic Education New Role of Educators Freedom of Choice Educating for a Participatory Democracy Educating for Global Citizenship Educating for Earth Literacy

10. Spirituality and Education Without my mentioning the specifics of each principle, by hearing the principles, can we identify with them? perspective. Let me, however, tease out what they mean by holistic

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We believe that education for this new era must be holistic. The holistic perspective is the recognition that all life on this planet is interconnected in countless profound and subtle ways. The view of Earth suspended alone in the black void of space underscores the importance of a global perspective in dealing with social and educational realities. Education must nurture respect for the global community of humankind. Holism emphasizes the challenge of creating a sustainable, just, and peaceful society in harmony with the Earth and its life. on the planet. It involves an ecological sensitivity a deep respect for both indigenous and modern cultures as wells as the diversity of life forms Holism seeks to expand the way we look at ourselves and our relationship to the world by celebrating our innate human potentials the intuitive, emotional, physical, imaginative and creative, as well as the rational, logical, and verbal. Holistic education recognizes that human beings seek meaning, not just facts or skills, as an intrinsic aspect of their full and healthy development. highest aspirations of the human spirit. Holistic education is not one particular curriculum or methodology; it is a set of working assumptions which include the following: Education is a dynamic, open human relationship; education cultivates a critical awareness of the many contexts of learners lives: moral, cultural, ecological, economic, technological, political; all persons hold vast multi-faceted potentials which we are only beginning to understand. Human intelligence is expressed through diverse styles and capacities, all of which we need to respect; holistic thinking involves contextual, intuitive, creative, and physical ways of knowing; learning is a lifelong process. All life situations may facilitate learning; learning is both an inner process of self-discovery and a cooperative activity; learning is active, self-motivated, supportive, and encouraging of the human spirit; a holistic curriculum is interdisciplinary, integrating both community perspectives. We believe that only healthy, fulfilled human beings create a healthy society. Holistic education nurtures the

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Thus the group called GATE: Global Alliance for Transforming Education. Again the question, do their thoughts and principles echo in us, such that we are helped in our questioning of the meaning and purpose or education. Lets look at another group. In 2004, Mike Seymour who has for several years directed the Heritage Institute , a progressive/holistic program of continuing education for teachers in the state of Washington in the United States sought out some of the most thoughtful, insightful people involved in education that he knew and with them published a book titled Educating for Humanity: Rethinking the Purposes of Education you note, precisely our topic at hand. Book reviewer Ron Miller writes that this group presents visionary thinking in five crucial areas: 1. Reconnecting to self, community, earth, and spirit; 2. Educating for self: being called into life; 3. Educating for authentic community: holding space for the heart. 4. Educating for the earth: future generations and all of life; and 5. Educating for spirit: the quest for heart, character, and meaning. Ron Miller continues, Educating for humanity, as opposed to merely educating to

meet standards or to prepare students for the workforce, means going deeply, to the roots of our existence, to profound questions about the purpose of life, with an awareness of its multifaceted complexity. It means educating the It means compassionate heart and not simply the calculating mind. cultivating character, rather than only developing competence. In Educating for Humanity, Mike Seymour and his circle touch on virtually all of the important issues that the literatures of democratic, progressive, and holistic education have emphasized over the years. They ask educators to recognize the many different ways that people learn and the personal dreams and meanings that every child brings to his or her learning. Pointing out that we must no longer train young people for

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narrow-minded versions of citizenship, they draw attention to the multicultural, multi ethnic nature of society in the global village. They address the meaning of spirituality in human development, distinguishing it from religious traditions but also showing how it challenges the materialism and consumerism of secular culture.
Mike Seymour himself writes: Every epoch of human history has its own lesson for

humanity to learn. In our time, humanity is trying to learn that all life, human and other-than-human, is one interconnected whole. This perception invites us into an experience of the sacredness of everything. Understanding ones connections to the whole brings an inner realization that each person, animate and inanimate thing has an essence of its own, and a vital role to play in the web of life. With this comes a deep sense of respect, relationship, and personal responsibility to the whole.
Educating for Humanity. I must admit that many of what the group is saying resonate with me. What about you? Lets look at a third development . This one is a book by Peter Senge called The Fifth Discipline. The author details his model of what he calls a learning organization which he defines as an organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create

its future. A learning organization, he says, excels at both adaptive learning also
known as survival learning and generative learning. My guess is that Peter Senge has read, as I am sure, many of us have, Howard

Gardners Five Minds for the Future. But Senge offers his own views of what can be added to the intellectual universe where we are in. Gardner, we recall, offered for our consideration five kinds of mind that he says we need to cultivate for the future: the Disciplined Mind, the Synthesizing Mind, the Creating Mind, the Respectful Mind, and the Ethical Mind. I will not expand on Gardners ideas as they have already been discussed in many a conference.

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Senges learning organization model consists of the following five disciplines: 1. Systems thinking. Senge says that we must look at the patterns that connect the larger system. Systems thinkers cure headaches by removing the cause, rather than simply ingesting aspirin. They pay careful attention to how different tasks and functions interact. Systems thinkers believe that by examining these patterns of interplay, we can better pinpoint the important issues. 2. Personal mastery. The author stresses the significance of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, focusing our energies, developing patience, and seeing reality objectively. 3. Shared vision. This discipline is called the picture of the future. A shared vision is intuitive and instinctive; its not something thats learned by rote. A shared vision is also a collective experience . It is the cumulative total of each participants personal vision. 4. Team learning. Any groups collective IQ will always be much higher than an individuals IQ. The only way to begin building group IQ is to open the channels of communication within the group and start talking to one another. 5. Mental models. Senge defines mental models as the deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, and even pictures or images that influence how we understand the world. Since how we act is based on our impressions of our surrounding environment, it is imperative that we recognize and re-evaluate our mental models and preconceived assumptions. Senges five components of a learning organization are all interrelated. But systems thinking, is the cement that holds it all together. integrated with one another. In order for the learning organization to work, each of the five disciplines must be developed simultaneously and

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To his thesis that systems thinking is the fifth discipline, Senge adds what he calls its 11 Laws: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Todays problems come from yesterdays solutions. The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back. Behavior grows better before it grows worse The easy way out usually leads back in. The cure can be worse that the disease Faster is slower Cause and effect are not closely related in time and space Small changes can produce big results but the areas of highest leverage are often the least obvious. 9. You can have your cake and eat it too but not all at once. 10. Dividing an elephant in half does not produce two small elephants 11. There is no blame. If we applied Peters Fifth Discipline of Systems Thinking and its 11 laws to our quest for meaning and purpose of education, what do we find? So far, I have shared with you examples of how people individuals and groups have questioned the meaning and purpose of education and have offered solutions: Nation Learning, Education Nation, Global Alliance for Education, Education for Humanity, the Fifth Discipline. Each one urges us to check what we are already doing and what we can perhaps do differently or for the first time so that what we conceive education to be can be achieved in our schools. Absorbing the good points of what I have shared with you, my personal take on the purpose and meaning of education is this: The heart of education is the education of the heart. By this I mean not that what we are already doing is wrong. Maybe I do not demean intellectual, academic habits or some of them are, and if they are, then we correct them. But there is a lot of good already going on in education. vocational, technical skills. There is room for all these in education. But the heart of education is the education of the heart. HEART-istry, I call what we need to do in education, and with this word I also offer for our consideration the word KYTHING. One Transforming

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KYTHING comes from an old Scottish word, kythe, meaning to make visible. Author Madeleine LEngle used it to describe a type of communication, in a sense like telepathy, found in several of the books in her Time Quartet, particularly in the 1973 book, A Wind in the Door. As Madeleine LEngle used the word, it meant a sort of wordless, mind to mind communication in which one person, in essence, almost becomes another, seeing through their eyes and feeling through their senses. Taking that word, Louis M. Savary and Patricia Berne, wrote a book with it as title: KYTHING, the Art of Spiritual Presence. While we all know what it means to be physically present to someone, and many know what it means to be psychologically present to another, fewer are aware of the possibility of soul-to-soul- or spirit-to-spirit presence. KYTHING. This is what Savary and Berne present in their book under the title Communion, they say, is spirit-to-spirit presence. This word, to kythe,

rhymes with the word tithe, and it means to show your soul to another or to

show your true self to another.

Savary and Bernbe give many examples of the ways in which kything may be used to promote healing. One of the most natural contexts for kything is in the family, where it can promote love, sincerity and openness. Kything may be used in physical healing, therapy, and relaxation techniques, in providing emotional support, and dealing with loneliness or grief. your commitment to spiritual values. Savary and Berne list three essential steps to the process of kything: Step One: Get Centered. Since kything is a spiritual process, it is important from the start that you be present to your own human spirit. The simplest and most sure way of doing this is to get centered. Centering is a holistic process and means quietly focusing the attention of your body, mind, and spirit on yourself. When centered, you are able to say, I am present to myself. Kything does not require you to use any particular centering technique. You can practice what you feel most comfortable with. It can affirm and It can increase strengthen your courage, self-esteem, and capacity for compassion.

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Step Two: Focus on the Other. Once centered in yourself, you can shift your focus

of attention to the person with whom you want to kythe. You begin to center on the other person. This is a state of consciousness they call being lovingly single-minded or single-focused on an object. It is a holistic state in which you hold your kything partner in contemplative gaze. If the person is physically present, you may quietly and lovingly gaze at him or her until you can say, I am present to your spirit. If the person is not physically present, form a picture of them in your imagination. Look at the image lovingly until you can say I am present to your spirit Step Three: Establish Connection. You establish a spirit-to-spirit connection so

that the two of you become joined freely and lovingly to each other at level of spirit. When this step is complete, you will be able to say, We are present spirit-to-spirit or we are in communion. Kything. Now I understand that this can sound strange, weird, eerie, and out of this world. But I mention this as a way of looking not just at one another but at education itself, and at what education is meant to teach us. I am not saying that kything is easy or that it is to be included in our curriculum. I am offering kything as the word that we can pursue, if not yet in relation to education itself, at least to the developments arising in education. If you consider what we have been discussing so far, the movements mentioned are all, each in their own way, talking about unity and connections. One nation learning, education nation. Education for humanity, the synthesizing mind of Gardner, the systems thinking of Senge. Connections. In the internet, itself an instrument of connection, a well-loved feature is Face-book. What is this except more connections. Some academics in the web have what is called Tuned-in, where one tune in on academic developments. Connections. Connections. Kything is connection. When we consider it, then we hopefully realize the meaning and value of what I earlier mentioned: HEART-istry which is really the artistry of the heart. It is what happens when we learn to integrate our intellectual and academic habits with our technological and vocational skills, our psychological and emotional states with our spiritual

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dispositions, and we relate person to person, human to human in our respective social situations. When we are able to do that, we will have achieved what education was for from the start. This is why I said that the heart of education is the education of the heart. A heart that knows how to relate, a heart that understands that my knowledge, my degree, my title do not entitle me to look down on others or take advantage of them. We miss this in our country today. We may be an educated nation, perhaps, but I fear not yet an education nation -- because we have not used our education to establish better communities whether economically, politically, or spiritually. We need to shape our hearts, soften our spirits, learn to reach out to one another more and more each day. Our conference here affirms that spirit: we are invited to accept that in the midst of all our problems Education is still worth pursuing. For as I submit, the heart of education is the education of the heart. Once upon a time, the colors of the world started to quarrel. All claimed that they were the best. The most important. The most useful. The favorite. Green said: Clearly, I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I

was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority.
Blue interrupted: You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It

is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing.
Yellow chuckled: You are all so serious. I ring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the

world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me, there would be no fun.

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Orange started next to blow her trumpet: I am the color of health and strength. I

may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and papayas. I dont hang around all the time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you.
Red could stand it no longer as he shouted out. I am the ruler of all of you. I am

blood lifes blood. I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy.
Purple rose up to his full height. He was very tall and he spoke with great pomp: I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen

me for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me. They listen and obey.
Finally, Indigo spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but

without me, you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace.
And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightning. Thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly. close to one another for comfort. The colors crouched down in fear, drawing

In the midst of the clamor, Rain began to speak: You foolish colors, fighting amongst

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yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Dont you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me.
Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands. Rain continued: From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in

a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace. The Rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow.
And so, goes the story, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a Rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another. Education, like friendship, is like a rainbow. day. Red like an apple, sweet to the core.

Orange, like a burning flame, never dying out. Yellow like the sun that brighten your Green like a plant that keep on growing. Blue like the water that is so pure. Purple like a flower that is ready to bloom. Indigo like the dreams that fill your heart. But, dear ONE NATION LEARNING, you and I know that we dont have to wait for the rain to come, for us to become a rainbow of hope for our country and the world. We know that if we kythe with one another, and develop heart-istry in education, the purpose of education will have been achieved, and its meaning reached. KYTHING. HEART-istry in Education.

***** FATHER RODERICK C. SALAZAR JR., SVD July 26, 2010 Baguio Teachers Camp