Taken from Malaya. May 2, 2005
Original URL: http://www.malaya.com.ph/may02/metro2.htm
Once upon a time, two fans of Hans Christian Andersen came
FROM the land of Hans Christian Andersen, two Danish college students chose to have their six-month practicum at the Sacred Heart Academy schools in Retiro, La Loma, Novaliches and Pasig City.
They are 22-year-olds Danes Marie Louise Kathrine Aasborg Martekilde and Marie Isabel Valentin Pedersen, both taking up an interdisciplinary course called Paedagog, which covers social work, child education and psychology.
“We actually had no idea where the Philippines was,” Marie Louise said. ‘We only heard of Vietnam. When we were looking for a school of our choice where we can have our practicum, we wanted something different, where there is no snow and all things we can find in Europe.”
As fate would have it, the guidance counselor they consulted happens to be a distant relative of Josephine Zabarte, the lady honcho of SHA schools. Zabarte belongs to a centuries-old clan called Kierulf, who trace their origin to Denmark. The Kierulfs can now be found all over the world.
The two Danish would-be teachers arrived in March and have visited the three SHA schools. They gave lectures, mingled with the school children, graced important occasions and did lots of what the most famous writer from Denmark had been known for—storytelling.
“What else are we going to read to the Filipino school children but the stories of Hans Christian Andersen, our country’s number one and enduring ambassador of goodwill,” Marie Isabel said.
Lucky were grade-school pupils who had experienced listening to the enduring stories like The Ugly Duckling, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Little Eda’s Flowers, among others, straight from these ladies who grew up reading, hearing and watching the TV adaptation of Andersen’s tales.
“We believe that in any part of the world, Andersen’s fairy tales are known to connect well with children. They learn lots of moral lessons from which they can develop virtues they will use as they grow older. Andersen’s stories are the perfect ice breaker, especially if we meet people who have no idea where Denmark is or what Danish means,” says Marie Louise.
Conversely, the two observed that SHA students are very much disciplined learners.
“The curriculum in the Philippines is aimed to discipline the child. That is what’s lacking in the Danish educational system. Back there, a child is molded to hone his special talents or skills at an early age. They are encouraged to hone individuality. Sometimes, a child loses respect for teachers and elders because of that kind of training. They tend to become too individualistic, self-centered. We need the kind of discipline that your educational system is using, as what we observed in the Sacred Heart Academy,” Marie Louise said.
They said they noticed how orderly and peaceful the students are inside the classroom. Everyone’s attentive to their teachers. Even outdoors, the students follow instructions well.
Being courteous to elders and being respectful to other people are also among the virtues honed in the SHA schools. First-time visitors like the two Maries are greeted in almost every corner of the campus they go to. Everywhere you go, there will always be a child getting your attention with, “Good morning, Ma’am! Peace be with you!”
Besides character building, over the years, SHA students have consistently shown excellence in the fields of sciences, math, language and sports. Just last year, 17 grade-school pupils in SHA-Novaliches were division finalists in the Metrobank DepEd Math Challenge. In the storytelling interschool competition, Edrick John Berganos (grade 4-B) brought home the gold medal. In the National Taekwondo Interschool Competition, Danielle John Lagman (grade 4-A) brought home two gold medals. In several swimming competitions, Deanne Lu (grade 6-A) won gold, silver and bronze medals.
In the high school level, among the achievers were taekwondo gold medalists Elaine Petonio (4th year-C) and Silver medalist Fe Marie Ann Pera (4th year-G). Dave Catorse (3rd year-A) was elected scout representative to the Quezon City Council executive board during the BP Camp at Balara Filtration Center in Quezon City. Scout Sil-Jan Salazar (3rd year-A) was elected representative to the NCR Scout Youth Forum.
Early this March, seven seniors passed the highly competitive University of the Philippines College Admission Test. They are Camille Joan Cadut (Agriculture), Veronica Puda (Architecture), April Rose Pazcoguin (Business Administration), Maria Zelina Baluyan (Biology), Divina Angela Genuino (Chemical Engineering), Camille Narag (Computer Science) and Ejae Mercado (Conservatory of Music).
The SHA schools were founded by Miss Zabarte’s mother, Luisa Faustino Kierulf after World War II. The pioneer was the SHALL- Retiro, La Loma school, followed by the SHAN-Novaliches and SHAP-Pasig City.
Naakit siya ni Richard sa showbis dahil bata pa siya’y hilig na niyang umarte. Wala lang siyang paraaan para pasukin ito. Kaya heto si Richard sa kanya na magga-guide sa pasikut-sikot ng showbis. Isasabak siya ni Richard bilang pa-sexy sa mga drama at comedy movies. Balak din siyang ipasok bilang TV host.