Redefining Teachers' Training for the 21st Century

Chairman, Victor OrdoNEz, Reforms, Presidential Commission On, Manila Bulletin

IT is with an unusual sense of anticipation and nervousness that I approach the podium this morning. It is true that giving speeches is not new to me, for one of the occupational hazards of my previous job with UNESCO was having to both give and listen to numerous speeches, many not as useful as others. But today I stand here for the first time in more than ten years speaking, not as an international diplomat of the United Nations, but as a private Filipino citizen. And today I speak on a topic, teacher education, that as I will try to show, is more important now than it has ever been.

I have returned home at a crucial time in the history of our country. And it is my deep concern for our country that has made me abandon my usual presentation style of international comparative analysis and statistical visual presentations to speak to you today from the heart.

This is neither the time nor the place, nor am I the person, to provide you with a political analysis of the current torrents besetting our nation. But as I reflected on the theme of teacher education for this conference, and on what I might usefully contribute to that theme, I saw the fundamental link between what we will be discussing over the next few days and the crisis gripping our country. Let me explain.

Clearly a nation cannot prosper, or indeed long survive, with a citizenry drained of moral fiber and driven to helplessness, despair, indifference and ultimately moral bankruptcy. Clearly, if our nation is to develop and prosper, a fundamental shift in the mindset of its citizens is imperative. And this is where I see …

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Publication information: Article title: Redefining Teachers' Training for the 21st Century. Contributors: Chairman, Victor OrdoNEz - Author, Reforms, Presidential Commission On - Author. Newspaper title: Manila Bulletin. Publication date: January 10, 2001. Page number: Not available. © 2009 Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp. COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group.

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