From my column at the Business Mirror last Tuesday, 12.21.2010

Two recent events that I participated in made me really think hard of the education of my children. As a father of four, education has been a primary concern for my wife and me. My eldest is a sophomore in the university, my second is graduating from high school, my third is in second grade and my youngest in pre-school. I believe in education and I believe that it is one thing that my wife and I can give to our children that will make or break their future.

I was invited to attend a meeting being conducted by the Reedley International School. I have no plans of sending my kids to this school so I was not really interested in attending, but my friend Carlo Ople said that they only invited a few people for some good exchange of ideas and I am to represent parents of home-schooled children (our two youngest kids are being home schooled). I was glad I was able to attend the said meeting because I learned much about the school and more than that, that is has a very good approach to education.

I learned that Reedley has a very strong policy against bullying, even cyber-bullying. Bullying is so rampant in almost all schools and society has accepted this as an acceptable circumstance, even believing that it’s good training for a child. I have met people who are victims of bullying or were bullies themselves at one time in their life and I tell you, there’s nothing acceptable in such a behavior – it really is detrimental to one’s character.

Another trait I admired about the school was that they have a culture that should be replicated in all other schools – every single faculty of the school genuinely cares for their students. The school administration really emphasizes this culture and this determines whether a faculty will continue to be employed. The school believes that when the teachers really care for the student, they learn better.

Lastly, I like the fact that Reedley is a school that gives second chances to other students. I have learned that the school has become a refuge of sorts to students from prestigious exclusive schools who can’t do well in such an environment. The school believes there are no poor students and they take these students with open arms and show they can be just as good as, if not better than, those who excel in the prestigious schools; and they do learn and they excel. Proof of this is the school’s high passing rate to choice universities not only in the Philippines but also abroad.

Catch Part 2 of this column in two weeks as I write about my other experience in another event, the hybrid high-school home-school program.  The whole idea of this two-part column is for us to understand that while education has costs, we must know how to pay for the right price for it.

A Merry Christmas to all and let us always remember the reason for the season.

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). – Matthew 1:23, NIV.

In my many years in the financial services industry, the most frequent question I get is “what is the best investment” or “where is the best place to put your money?”  These questions will ellicit many answers that would largely depend on the preference of the ones giving the answers. If you ask these questions from a stock broker, his answer would be the stock market; someone in the real-estate industry would probably recommend a piece of land, a house or a condominium; an insurance agent would pitch for an investment linked life insurance policy; a banker would go for one or two of their trust products; and an entrepreneur will say going into business is still the best way to invest your money.

While I don’t argue that what I mentioned are great ways to create and grow your wealth, I would say that the best investment you can even make is by investing in yourself.

There are many ways one can invest in oneself and it all starts with education. Education remains to be the best way for us to achieve our aspirations in life. Developing and enhancing our skills can be achieved through proper education, both formal and informal ways. I find it absurd that there are those who foolishly claim that education is not necessary to be successful in life and they will state a couple of individuals who became successful despite the lack of proper education.

The experience of a few notable exceptions does not mean it becomes the rule of the game. The same notable exceptions would spend so much money in ensuring their children will get a good education, something they really put value to. Further, the said exceptions may not have received proper formal education but they received some other forms of education—through other people, circumstances and their situation.

However, I do not subscribe to the belief that quality education is synonymous to cost: the bigger the cost is, the better the education. We have seen countless stories of very victorious individuals who rose up the corporate ladder or established successful businesses without going through the “expensive” educational institution. Quality is a function of dedication-—of the educational institution, the student and the parent. The student can learn the theoretical knowledge from the schools and the practical understanding from the parent, which the student must be able to apply by himself.

Education is also not limited to the acquisition and retention of knowledge. The mark of a good education is in the learning of knowledge and the subscription to proper values. Formation of values is also a function of education— in the school, in the home and in the streets.

Let us invest in good education: one that makes us improve our skills and live our values so we can be what God created us to be, with Christ as our model.