I woke up this morning fumbling around for a word. I couldn't think of the word if my son's future depended on it and nearly gave up, reminded of the fact that those days when I could recall words from my vast storage bin in a flash were long gone. Then, as I stepped from the new Stearns and Foster pillow-bed down to the carpet (my wife and I invested a fortune on our new S & F bed on the theory that after more than 40 years slaving in America I deserved an S & F bed) I suddenly remembered the word.
It is "scold."
I worried over the last couple of days that I might have become' a scold to my friends and people I communicate with on the Internet. I've had this tendency to look at the glass as half-empty rather than half-full. And I suspect that I may have been a stern taskmaster, trying to win people over to my point of view.
While nobody I was aware of among La Salle alumni was worked up over the fact that La Salle is now in fourth place among the four Philippine universities that made the Top 200 list of Asian universities, I decided last week to be that lone voice protesting La Salle's relative dismal showing.
My recently launched book, "Out of the Misty Sea We Must...Blueprint for a New Philippines" has strong words against the establishment in the Philippines. I recently lambasted the Philippine Senate as a useless institution that must be abolished. I've been a harsh critic. I worry that I have become a scold.
It doesn't matter if a scold is right or makes a lot of sense. People simply tune him out because he is a scold.
It's like a priest-retreat master sermonizing a flock of Catholic faithful who are on holiday in Las Vegas. They are in Church because it's Sunday. They're not there to listen to a guy talking about the fires of hell and eternal damnation.
When I opened my email this morning, lo and behold I found an email from one of the more revered professors at La Salle informing me that he is forwarding my latest rant to the highest officials of the school.
Now we're talking. I'm not a scold after all.
The first order of business is to make sure that the people assigned to fill out the forms for the THES - QS survey of Asian universities are well trained. They must be sent to the headquarters of THES (Times Higher Education Supplement) to pick the brains of the executives there. I believe THES is a supplement of the London Times, but I cannot get confirmation of this. The La Salle Brothers, however, are surely aware of all the beans on THES.
Meanwhile, the alumni associations worldwide should be commissioned to conduct an inventory of accomplishments of La Salle alumni. What is the contribution of La Salle alumni to the Philippines, Asia and the world? This inventory process will answer that question.
If the school can come up with a list of outstanding and near-outstanding Lasallians in various fields, this list can be one of the focal points of the centennial celebrations next year. It can also be used as an argument for ranking La Salle ahead of Ateneo, or even U.P. and U.S.T.
Most people in the Philippines are probably aware that La Salle alumni occupy dominant positions in business and commerce there. How extensive that control is probably is not known to them.
Most people are probably unaware that past and present La Salle alumni have excelled in public service.
There are highly accomplished writers and artists among La Salle's graduates. There are famous lawyers and bar top-notchers who grew up in La Salle. There are top entertainers and actors among La Salle alumni.
It's important that La Salle the institution takes an inventory of its graduates. A university's raison d'etre is to educate students to become leaders and nation-builders. After 99 years in business in the Philippines, what are the kinds of men and women that La Salle has graduated? That is the question that must be answered by tihis inventory of La Salle graduates.
Our approach will be two-pronged: we will prove that we have some of the best resources, facilities, staff and faculty in the Philippines and in Asia; we also will prove that the school produces many of the outstanding people in the Philippines and Asia, ergo it must be one of the truly outstanding universities in Asia and may be the top university in the Philippines.
We have one year to get this done. The alumni office on Taft Avenue should be put in charge of this massive project. They can break down the job among the various alumni chapters around the world. Each chapter will be assigned the task of compiling a list of its members and those members' life accomplishments.
We know that many of the truly outstanding people and some of the richest in the Philippines grew up in the La Salle system. Many are probably unaware that Lasallians who chose to live abroad have also made a name for themselves and are considered pillars in their professions.
It is easy to explain the success of La Salle alumni in the Philippines. La Salle is to the Philippines what University of Southern California (USC) is to the U.S. West Coast. USC graduates take care of each other. If given a choice, they will hire other USC graduates. No questions asked.
La Salle alumni are also like that. They hire other La Sallians, no questions asked. That explains why La Salle graduates in the Philippines are doing so well financially and career-wise. This, however, tells only a part of the story. Connections can get you in the door, but what you make of the opportunity is the true test of your talents. La Salle graduates have excelled not only in entry-level positions but all the way to the top and beyond.
Having said this, a truer measure of the success of the Lasallian educational system is how La Salle graduates have done in foreign countries. I believe that when all is said and done, we will think more highly of La Salle because many of our graduates rose to the pinnacle of their professions and were highly successful in business even without the benefit of a protective and nurturing alumni association.
If La Salle the institution conducts this inventory, it can alert the THES people that we have launched such a project and are prepared to argue that the accomplishments of La Salle alumni in the Philippines and abroad must be given more weight than it probably is in developing THES rankings. We have everything to gain, nothing to lose.
For what good is a school that has the best celebrated professors, the most modern equipment, the most published dissertations, etc. yet produce fewer truly outstanding graduates than other universities that produce more? And I'm not even throwing in the concept of holding a school accountable for the scoundrels, thieves and corrupt public officials that some school systems produce.
La Salle must take the lead in seeking a change in the way universities are ranked. It must argue that the quality of graduates should be given more weight than it probably is being accorded.
There must not be a one-size-fits-all approach in the THES rankings. In the Philippines, where the biggest headache is finding jobs for its exploding population, the schools that produce the most businessmen and entrepreneurs who employ the greatest number must get a special bonus that figures in the rankings.
Philosophically, if a university in a country where job-creation is the biggest challenge is producing the most number of job creators, isn't that university more important to that country's society and the region than a university that has the most Ramon Magsaysay awardees and PhD dissertations?
La Salle must be prepared to argue with the THES - QS people. Those people did not start out by being infallible. They are learning as they go along. That is why the rankings of some universities such as La Salle and U.P. are all over the map from year to year. La Salle can take a leadership position by arguing for a change in the way the universities are ranked.
I grew up in La Salle being brainwashed by the Brothers that we can change the world. If we can do that, it would be child's play trying to change the way THES - QS rankings are done.
ERRATUM: In my previous post, I stated that Augusto Syjuco, Jr., father of celebrated Filipino novelist Miguel Syjuco, grew up with me in La Salle. This was wrong. Augusto attended La Salle college but did not graduate. He transferred to University of the East midway thru college and earned his B.S. in Commerce degree from that school. Augusto graduated from Ateneo High School and probably went to Ateneo grade school as well.
