SANGGUNIAN

SECRETARIAT

FACULTY DAY 2
Date: February 2, 2016

Room 200 MVP Student Leadership Center

Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights
sanggusecgen@gmail.com

Venue: Leong Hall Auditorium

Time: 9:00 AM 3:30 PM

AGENDA (underlined = to be continued, italics = postponed/deferred):

1) Part I: Core Curriculum Review Process c/o Dr. Josefina D. Hofilea
2) Part II: The Proposed Revisions to the Core Curriculum c/o Dr. Josefina D. Hofilea
3) Response: Summary of Concerns Raised c/o John Paul C. Vergara
4) Ignatian Pedagogy c/o Fr. Bienvenido F. Nebres, S.J.
5) Core Curriculum as Formation c/o Dr. Maria Luz C. Vilches
6) The Role of Interdisciplinarity in Jesuit Education c/o Fr. Jose Ramon T. Villarin
MINUTES
1) Part I: Core Curriculum Review Process c/o Dr. Josefina D. Hofilea
a. The presentation is made on behalf of the curriculum committee whose task has been to
undertake the review of our core curriculum, taking into consideration development within the
Ateneo and outside, and to propose immediate revisions upon such developments, while staying
true to our identity as a Filipino, Catholic and Jesuit university.
b. Looking Back: Where We Started
i. As early as 2012, several LS departments have been collaborating with their
counterparts in the Ateneo high school in developing the senior high school
curriculum.
1. At the same time, the 4 schools began piloting for the courses for the CHED
GE curriculum.
2. Departments and programs have begun to imagine the changes that would have
to be made to our current core given the changes in both basic education and
the CHED GE curriculum.
ii. Dr. Vergara began the interdepartmental conversations as a way of providing programs
with time and space to explore the development of interdisciplinary courses in
preparation for the interdisciplinary programs that are part of the CHED GE.
1. The interdepartmental conversations focused on getting immediate feedback for
specific proposals.
iii. Presentations were made through the school forum or the faculty day.
iv. During Summer of Fun, the proposal was to reduce 101 units of core to 85 units.
1. We looked at all the feedback and considered the key issues in the core
curriculum review.
a. Among them, who are the students coming to us? Particularly with the
new senior high school curriculum.
b. What is it that we want to achieve? What are our outcomes?
c. We looked at the core as expressing the identity of the Ateneo,
therefore we wanted to explicitate the framework of the core.
d. We felt that we needed to look at comments regarding the reduction of
units in the core.
e. We discussed interdisciplinarity and the review of the current core
courses.
f. There was a request for more consultations and more feedback.
c. Looking Back: Consultations
i. Consultations included community consultations with various sectors of the Ateneo
community, FGD with employers, an online survey for alumni, and the interdisciplinary
conversations.
1. Community consultations

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a.

Room 200 MVP Student Leadership Center

Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights
sanggusecgen@gmail.com

There were 82 faculty who participated, 14 administrators, 11

professionals. Included were 58 students. The students feedback on the
core was rather uneven because many of them were still on the process
of undergoing the core. (e.g. The freshmen could not really give us
feedback beyond what theyve taken during freshman year.) It was also
difficult to make conclusions from the 15 parents.
i. What does liberal arts education mean to you?
1. All sectors mentioned that the curriculum should be
balanced, and that it should prepare students for
citizenship and teaching cultural sensitivity.
ii. What skills should the curriculum address?
1. All sectors mentioned developing persons for others,
and ability to think critically.
iii. How should internationalization reflect in the core
curriculum?
1. There is a need for an operational definition, need to
benchmark, and the importance of local rootedness.
iv. What should be the balance between core and majors?
1. There is a need for integration, the need to improve
teaching methodology, the role of faculty as formator,
aligning curriculum to needs of different schools,
strengthening outer core and co-curricular programs.
2. Interdepartmental conversations
a. With Philosophy, Theology, OSCI, OCM
i. One point of concern was the unit reduction and what unit
reduction meant.
b. With SOSS and OSCI
i. Much of the discussion had to do with interdisciplinarity and
how it could still ensure depth.
c. With English, Filipino, FA, IS, and SA
i. The discussion had to do with place of literature in the core.
d. With SOSE (Natural Science and Mathematics)
i. Much was said about what was perceived to be the low regard
for Math and Science in the proposal.
d. Survey Results/Data Gathered
i. We divided the data into two main groups: data on undergraduate students while
theyre here and as they graduate, and data from our alumni.
1. Undergraduate Students
a. Who they are
i. Most grew up in Metro Manila, but 30% of SOSE grew up in
the province.
ii. An overwhelming majority are from private, exclusive,
catholic high schools.
iii. Majority identify themselves as Roman Catholic.
iv. Most classify themselves as either upper middle and middle
class.
b. What they families are like
i. 44% of students have Ateneo families, but fewer SOM and
SOSE students have Ateneo parents.
ii. 5% of students have at least one parent who is deceased.
iii. 18% of our students have parents who do not live together.

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iv. 69% of students live at home with their families, but the
percentage is slightly lower for SOSE students.
v. Students report high levels of parental academic expectations.
(Mean rating: 3.91/5)
c. How they view their spiritual life
i. Majority say they have a close relationship with God. Majority
say their spiritual life improved a little while in Ateneo.
ii. Family remains to be the dominant spiritual influence in their
lives.
d. What does this mean for us?
i. We have a fairly homogeneous student population, but we
note that the student profile of SOSE students is slightly
different.
ii. We should ask ourselves as teachers, what does this mean for
us, particularly for core curriculum teachers who handle SOSE
students? How does this affect how we teach them?
e. What stresses them out
i. Two highest have to do with academics and difficulty of
school work, and academic performance. Third is thoughts of
the future.
ii. Romantic relationships is rather low.
f. Why they (voluntarily) leave Ateneo
i. Highest reason was they chose another school and second
highest was financial, because of tuition.
ii. More than half said they were going to UP, and in some cases
they identified the course they were going to take in UP. What
we identified was that many of the courses they chose were
not available here.
iii. Their reason for withdrawing was to transfer to another
school, and a sizeable number said they were accepted in
schools abroad.
1. Our competition is not just local.
g. What they say about their Ateneo education
i. The OAA has a survey for freshman scholars: apart from your
scholarship grant, what made you choose Ateneo?
1. Two highest reasons were holistic education, and
academic excellence.
2. For SOH, it was inconclusive because of the small
numbers.
2. The ACES is a survey done in order to gather feedback and provide a relevant
career development program.
a. Qualitative section (Graduates of 2015 answered)
i. What competencies do you think were honed most? Critical
thinking. Least? Technical skills.
ii. What did they appreciate most about program, faculty, and
support services?
1. Whats highest consistently was approachable,
supportive, helpful faculty and/or staff.
2. In general, students love our department secretaries.
iii. What did you like least about program, faculty, and support
services?

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1. We couldnt use because either they didnt answer or

put none.
iv. Comments or suggestions?
1. With all these no answers, maybe its the manner by
which the survey was conducted.
a. It was conducted during the end of graduation
rehearsal. How much time do they have to
answer?
b. Are they in the proper disposition to answer?
Because for many of them, they just want to
graduate.
3. Survey based on the FGD conducted with employers
a. Most of the employer participants were HR personnel, who were deeply
involved in recruitment, so many of their comments focused on fresh
graduates rather those in top level positions.
i. Our graduates need to improve on emotional maturity,
humility, sense of purpose, working with others, risk aversion.
ii. They need to develop better work ethic, emotional maturity,
etc.
iii. Some recurring things include aversion to menial tasks, lack of
connection to the real world, need for better work ethic,
overthinking things (matagal magdiscern).
iv. Comments made by alumni:
1. Develop a sense of humility and openness to hard
work especially if it requires stepping out of the
comforts of an office. (BS MGT 1988)
4. Alumi survey conducted online
a. We conducted the survey covering batches 1980-2010 because we felt
that graduates of that year (1980) will by this time be in senior positions
in their careers, and thought of stopping at 2010 because we want a
good 5 years of our graduates being out.
i. Comments made by alumni:
1. The Ateneo education ephasizes so much on serving
others and this is what sets us apart from others. (BS
BIO 1997)
2. I like most that we were forced to think. I am only
appreciating it now years after I graduate. (BS AMF
2010)
3. The Ateneo did not teach me how to earn a living, it
taught me how to live. (AB LIT 1985)
4. My teachers in Ateneo fought for me. (BFA CW
2006)
5. Please lessen the core subjects [] Put more
emphasis on developing technical skills. (AB PSY
2001)
6. Courses are just not technical enough to be
considered skills after graduating. You know a lot of
stuff, but not stuff employers want. Employers want
skill, not holistic training. They just want workers to
work, being a person comes after. Maybe Ateneo

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Room 200 MVP Student Leadership Center

Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights
sanggusecgen@gmail.com

should just add a year to all courses to focus on

technical subjects. (BS MGT 2001)
7. Nothing in particular stands out except for some
subjects that gave the impression that they were made
to be too difficult for difficultys sake. (AB DS 2003)
8. The lack of major subjects put me to a disadvantage
compared to students of other universities who had a
more specific skill set. (AB PSY 2001)
ii. Many of the comments contradict each other, and could be
due to the fact that assessment was based on the few
graduates that theyve handled (employers), and that theres a
rather uneven delivery of learning among our students.
iii. Many of the competencies that need to be improved can be
addressed by delivery and assessment of the course and will
require a more engaged approach from the faculty.
1. Activities can be better designed to connect them to
the real world.
2. Proposal to have an outer-core leadership course.
3. Proposal to more closely link with INAF.
4. While some courses do not seem immediately useful to
our young professionals, some of the courses are
meant to be part of the strategy of jesuit education.
2) The Proposed Revisions to the Core Curriculum c/o Dr. Josefina D. Hofilea
a. Context of the Current Curriculum
i. We noted how globalization has benefitted us through scientific and technological
innovation, economic growth, knowledge diffusion, and competitive integration, but we
also noted serious concerns about the degradation of the environment, financial crises,
persistence of poverty, economic and political inequities, deepening social exclusion
and marginalization.
1. We need to build competitive capacities and institute practices, structures, and
models of sustainability, democratization dialogue, and inclusiveness.
2. The easy access to opinion and data can lead to a globalization superficiality in
thought, vision, dreams, relationships, convictions.
3. The central challenge is to promote creative new ways the depth of thought and
imagination that are distinguishing marks of Ignatian tradition.
a. The crucial response is an education, which teaches critical thinking and
encourages development of mature moral values.
b. The mission of forming leaders who are globally attune and responsive,
but also deeply rooted in local tradition is a particular challenge in
Philippine society.
4. There is a need for leadership formation grounded in the history and culture of
the nation and local communities.
a. When marked by distortions and contradictions, they also carry the
potential for self-transcendence, missionary commitment, socio-politcal
involvement, and empowered citizenship.
ii. As we prepare our students to meet these challenges, we must remember that we are
doing this in the context of Jesuit education.
1. It is important to remember the core curriculum carries the mission of any
Jesuit school.

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Room 200 MVP Student Leadership Center

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a.

The ultimate goal of a Jesuit education is to inspire knowledge and love

for our Redeemer and Maker, contributing to the full growth of the
person which leads to action as a person for others.
2. Core vs GE
a. Core carries the connotation of being more directly related to
institutional mission and heritage, and is a smaller, more integrated set
of courses.
b. GE tends to be associated with acquisition of basic or foundational
skills and less connected to values and identity.
3. We define ourselves as being a Filipino, Catholic and Jesuit university.
a. Even among Catholic schools there will be distinctions, and what the
Ateneo distinct is our being Jesuit.
b. How do the characteristics of Jesuit education translate to the liberal
arts tradition that we are known for?
i. We seek to equip our students with the tools to know
themselves, to know others, to know the world.
c. Our responsibility as faculty is delivery of the core.
i. In revising the core curriculum, the focus cannot be on the
number of units and how evenly distributed they are among
the four schools, rather we were looking at the overall
configuration that we felt would be able to achieve the desired
competencies of an ideal Ateneo graduate, the delivery of the
individual courses, the relationship to non-academic
formation.
d. Our own core curriculum shares many common features with our
American counterparts.
i. We want to emphasize how important it is to understand
context.
1. What remains at the core?
2. What are the organizing principles?
3. What purposes do they serve in the mission of the
university?
iii. The curriculum committee proposes the creation of the office/coordinator for the core
curriculum.
b. Proposed Revisions to the Core Curriculum
i. Specifics will be presented in the disciplinal clusters for ease of comparison between the
current and the proposed.
1. Language and Literature Cluster
Purposive Communication English
Purposive Communication Filipino
Literature English
Literature Filipino
(Fil 14 - Survey of Philippine Literature)
Art Appreciation
Foreign Language and Culture

a.

Units
3
3
3
3

3
3
18
Seeks to sharpen basic language skills both in English and Filipino, to
deepen knowledge on various types of literature shaped by different
cultural contexts, students are trained to think critically and to
communicate effectively.

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b. Under the foreign language cluster, students are able to initiate and
engage in everyday conversation employing the foreign language of
their choice, demonstrate basic knowledge of vocabulary and proper
grammar.
c. Through the art appreciation course, students can appreciate various
forms of art both in aesthetics and context through the lens of the
Filipino, recognize the importance of art in our culture, tradition and
history, and articulate its impact in ones own life.
d. Students can practice a whole range of writing from the communication
course. The literature courses can focus on the best works of literature
from both the Philippines and around the world.
2. Natural Sciences and Mathematics Cluster
Natural Science, Lecture & Lab
Science, Technology, and Society
(revised Sci 10)
Applied Math 1: Math in the Modern World
(revised Ma 12)

Units
4
3
3
10

a.

In the natural sciences course, our students should be able to apply the
scientific method to approaching and solving a problem, and articulate
the role of science in everyday life, as well as national development
i. Sci10 will be revised.
b. Through the mathematics course, students should be able to argue
about the nature of mathematics, use different types of reasoning to
justify statements about mathematics and mathematical concepts,
discuss language and symbols, and apply these.
i. Ma12 will be revised.
3. Social Sciences and History Cluster
Understanding the Self (Psy + SA)
The Contemporary World (SA + History)
The Economy, Society & Development
(Econ + SA)
Politics, Governance & Citizenship (POS)
Rizal (History)
Readings in Philippine History
a.

Units
3
3
3
3
3
3
18

The social sciences contribute to a multidimensional understanding of

the contemporary world. Provide theoretically informed and empirically
based understanding of human society.
b. The history courses focus on understanding contemporary society
against the background of the past especially as this past is recorded in
the form of narratives.
i. We recognize the need for our Philippine history courses to
be reviewed and redesigned particularly in line with the
absence of a high school level Philippine history course in the
reconfigured K-12 basic education system.
ii. What we assume as general historical knowledge may thus no
longer hold.

Room 200 MVP Student Leadership Center

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4. Philosophy and Theology Cluster

Units
Philo of the Human Person and Human
Society (Ph 1)
Philo of Religion (Ph 2)
Ethics (Ph 3)
Faith, Spirituality & the Church (Th 1)
Marriage and Vocation (Th 2)
Catholic Social Vision (Th 3)
Discerning Life Questions
(Integrative Theology-Philosophy course)

3
3
3
3
3
3
3
21

a.

This cluster remains the center piece of the core curriculum. It is

continually challenged to be at the forefront of dialogue and growth in
the university.
b. Philosophy not only trains students in the systematic means of reason
in facing foundation issues, but also introduces them to the tradition of
wisdom.
c. Theology deepens the faith of students by giving them an integrated
understanding of its beliefs and a solid foundation in Scripture and
church teaching.
5. Interdisciplinary Electives (along the lines specified in CHED-CMO 2013)
a. One should be a course on leadership and sustainability, customized
according to major and school.
b. The courses will be classified and offered by the department/school.
c. The courses will use catalog numbers such as: IE-English, IE-History,
IE-Chemistry.
i. A student may not take an interdisciplinary course offered by
his/her own department except for the leadership course.
ii. Interdisciplinary electives 1 and 2 must also be taken from
different schools.
iii. The proposed office for the core curriculum will determine
which courses will qualify as an interdisciplinary elective.
ii. The proposed core curriculum totals to 76 units.
Current Proposed
Disciplinal Clusters
Core
Core
(Units)
(Units)
Languages and Literature
24
18
-6
(including Art Appreciation)
Natural Sciences and
17*
10
-7
Mathematics
Social Sciences and History
21
18
-3
Philosophy and Theology
24
18
-6
Discerning Life Questions
0
3
+3
(free)
Interdisciplinary Electives
9
+3
6
Total
92
76
-16
* Based on a Math load of 6 units; for some majors, the Math load is 9 or 15 units.
c.

Next Steps
i. Presentation to the School Council
1. After it is approved, we have to do a review of all our curricula.

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ii. Final Questions

1. Where will the freed units go?
a. The committee is certain that there will be many degree programs that
in the efforts to comply with CHED requirements, will propose
additional major courses as the units for the core curriculum are
reduced.
b. We hope that the answer will be made by the departments collaborating
with one another and in the process reformulating what we mean by a
service department.
i. Any department can be a service department.
c. Re-definition of service department what do your majors need
outside the very strict margins of your discipline? How can other
disciplines enrich your own?
d. The revisions to the core will truly necessitate a careful and deliberate
view of the majors.
2. Why is there less literature on the core?
a. There is also the potential of literature courses offered as
interdisciplinary electives.
3. Why is there so little science and math?
a. Depending on the students major and the thrust of your department,
yes, some students need more science, but the science will be more of a
specialized kind. Not the basic science expected in the core.
4. What about competitiveness/CHED Compliance?
a. We believe the core and major are not in opposition to each other. The
core enriches the major, not diminishes it.
i. The strength is not solely on the quality of our major subjects
nor in the competence of our faculty; the strength is also in
the depth and reflection of thinking, the formation of the
mind and the heart that results from the integration of the
major curriculum and the core curriculum.
b. We should be thinking beyond the graduates first job. Yes, they need
practical and technical skills, but we are not only preparing our students
for their first jobs, we are preparing them for their last.
5. What assurance can you give that the core curriculum being proposed will
produce the ideal Ateneo graduate?
a. Honestly, I dont think we can give that assurance now. This is just a
piece of paper to work, we have to bring this curriculum to life.
Through effective teaching and assessment instruments, through the
commitment on our part as faculties, through the openness of our
students.
b. We can hopefully take comfort in what our former students say.
i. Ateneo should keep the basic foundation of subjects, but
present them to a new generation in a more interesting,
meaningful and relevant way without compromising its Jesuit
and Roman Catholic values to a politically correct secular
thinking.
ii. I know todays world requires a different set of skills. I hope,
though, the liberal arts foundation that Ateneo is known for,
isnt thrown out the window.
iii. The core subjects are exactly what make an Ateneo education
different form other universities, and what sets its graduates

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apart. It is the discipline that I learned from these different

courses that enabled me to excel in whatever assignment was
given to me despite lack of knowledge and training.
3) Response: Summary of Concerns Raised c/o John Paul C. Vergara
a. Weve had the interdepartmental conversations for 2-3 years and for the last few sessions, the
context was the core curriculum.
b. I could group the concerns in the following categories:
i. Compliance vs choice
1. At the end of the day, this also describes the different tensions.
2. I remember the very first question: Do we have to follow this CMO? Do we
have to comply with that? But I notice its not only that, the departments are
already poised to revise their curricula.
3. Theres compliance within. Whenever we propose to the curriculum committee,
we make sure theres the right sequencing of courses.
4. But at the end of the day, whats most important is what we think as Ateneo is
the right core and majors curriculum.
5. I tried to look at it from the context of our current curriculum (i.e. in Computer
Science). Its not easy, but there are ways to deal with it. I would also argue for
more space for innovation and formation when we talk about revisions in IT
degrees.
a. There is some cross between core and major happening already, and
thats something that can help us with the reduction of units.
b. Its a bit tight. Theres little freedom. I would argue with them that 90
[units] is not the minimum, that they should give more space for higher
institutions to be more innovative.
c. If there was no CHED, what would we do? At the end of the day, we
have to confront it, but we can ask the question: what is a blank degree
if you ask the department?
6. When we talk about compliance, lets also talk about choice. Lets talk about
mission as well as what the department thinks their curriculum is all about.
a. We are also part of CHED.
ii. Positions on pedagogy
1. Tradition of rigor in the liberal arts
a. Whenever theres a little reduction, our alumni will feel bad.
b. Look at whether it continues to serve its purpose and how we can do
better.
2. Balance between core and major curriculum
a. Lets not just talk about heres how the core looks like. Lets also talk
about heres how the core is in relation to majors.
3. Discipline vs medium/tool
a. What is that [course] useful for?
i. Theres this little tension. Are we teaching discipline or are we
teaching as a tool for the major?
4. Importance of disciplinal grounding vis--vis interdisciplinarity/outer-core
a. There should be some space for variation and movement within the
core.
i. I dream of a core curriculum na may Philo of Science, History of
Computer Science.
5. Importance of flexibility in the core curriculum
a. Its a one size fits all kind of attitude.

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c.

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iii. Questions on relevance

1. Are the core subjects useful?
a. This is in relation to subjects as tools for something.
b. In theory you can answer why theyre useful, why theyre helpful for
your last job, but do the students get it?
2. Do they really matter to our students?
a. Sometimes you dont know yet.
3. How do we know? How could be know?
a. How do we measure? Could we find out?
b. At the end, its always challenging, but maybe what matters there is that
were always open to trying out and revising it.
iv. Interdisciplinarity
1. Interdisciplinarity crosses every question or item just enumerated.
a. Its obviously there in terms of what matters to us as Ateneo.
2. Interdisciplinarity as a concept is contentious.
a. There was an argument raised that weve had interdisciplinarity since
the 70s.
i. I cant claim that were doing it well already.
ii. Theres still a lot of work to be done. Lets dive in and try to
make it work.
b. Its something you have to struggle with. Entering someone elses
discipline is something we have to do nowadays.
i. Making the connections for the student is something we need
to learn from a pedagogical stand point, something we should
look into.
3. Interdisciplinarity in the LS.
a. Have we actually been engaging in it already?
i. If youre looking at from the standpoint of compliance, you
can see it as creative counting.
ii. If youre looking at it from the standpoint of being
completely, genuinely effective with what we deliver here, it
might be a way through.
iii. Dont look at it from a standpoint of reduction of units.
iv. If we find that a lot of it about is integration, then maybe it
can work.
1. There will be courses that will remain unique in their
disciplines, there will be courses that will need to
cooperate, there will be more courses where the
majors curricula will coordinate with disciplines
outside their major.
Core curriculum and major curriculum
i. They are necessarily intertwined.
1. The principles guiding the core is related to the students field of interest.
a. Its not just technical stuff, its learning how to learn, its critical
thinking.
2. I know at the end of the day, it boils down to restrictions on units.
a. We should be more deliberate about it.
b. As a department, Id like to challenge you how you can be part of it.
ii. Core curriculum statement
1. It leads to a statement (explicit or implicit) on our majors curricula.
a. The departments know their constraints, so to speak.

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b. Im hoping for a more inclusive attitude making the departments

responsible for the core as well.
2. Guided by shared institutional positions on mission, tradition, and pedagogy.
d. Next steps
i. Feb - May 2016: Finalize core curriculum
1. Go through LS/ADMU approval process.
ii. Make official communication with CHED about out core
1. Statement about core curriculum
2. Statement on consequences on majors curricula
3. Statement for the CHED TPs/TCs (issue of over-prescription)
4. Autonomous status and academic freedom
a. Im hoping that could be our basis just in case theres tightness in the
prescriptions of our respective technical panels.
b. We could use it as a basis for deviating a little bit.
c. At the end of the day, we just have to confront it, and struggle with the
consequences.
iii. SYs 2016-2018
1. Pilot new core courses
a. We can do it already in the context of our current curricula.
b. I hope we can use those two years to see how well we could do it.
i. In the next two years, because of the K-12 reform, theres a
lot of college teachers who will not be loaded sufficiently, and
CHED is responding by loading them for possible training.
1. I hope Ateneo will play a major role in helping out.
2. Revisions for majors curricula
a. Not all technical panels are equal. As they come, I know well be busy
carrying out those revisions.
b. The center of attention should be the non-core offering departments in
the next interdepartmental conversations.
i. Trying to figure out what it means for them in the context of
the new core. We invite those delivering the core to help out
in the revisions of the majors curricula.
4) Ignatian Pedagogy c/o Fr. Bienvenido F. Nebres, S.J.
a. Context is the most complex. The way we respond will depend on how we experience context.
i. There is a connection of compassion.
ii. From compassion to action what shall we do about it?
1. Immerse. Simply be there and live just like the poor.
a. Invite our students to look at the context, and begin a response by
getting to know and immersing yourself.
2. Cura Personalis.
a. God has a particular mission for all of us. Were not cookie cutters.
b. Discern and define what is this call for us.
i. The call, as faculty, is to try as hard as we can to see each
student (or even fellow faculty member) as a unique person.
b. What experiences can help our students learn the importance of competence and getting things
done and done well?
c. What kind of experiences will lead to compassion/emotional connection?
i. Just knowing a problem will not force them to solve the problem. We must be
disturbed by the problem because that will move us to solve it. Emotional connect is
very important.

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Room 200 MVP Student Leadership Center

Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights
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ii. Is there a way to experience INAF in such a way that the students will have a personal
encounter within themselves?
1. Consider immersion experiences where they can experience poverty, but also
encounter transformation.
iii. There is a need for a personal encounter that gets them out of themselves and connects
them emotionally with the other (a real poor person).
1. A personal encounter that leads us and our students to ask of themselves, of
Ateneo, of leaders in government and business.
a. What have we been doing to respond to Pope Francis call of going to
the peripheries?
b. What more should we do to respond to his call?
d. We want to connect immersion experiences to service learning.
e. Our hope is that students will feel impelled to go beyond knowing to action action for the
welfare of society.
f. Can we find away to do periodic evaluation of our students growth in attitude, priorities, and
actions consistent with becoming a persons-for-others?
i. Evaluate their progress in character, competence, compassion, drive to action.
ii. This can lead to a feedback cycle on our academic and non-academic programs.
5) Core Curriculum as Formation c/o Dr. Maria Luz C. Vilches
a. Creating an atmosphere where students are provided with incentives, challenges, inspirations to
be better than who they already are that is what the core curriculum is supposed to do.
b. The core curriculum is not just a menu of courses, not just a way of making us think within our
individual disciplines, not just a set of general education courses.
i. It is our interpretation of our brand of the liberal arts in Jesuit education through
choice of course, choice of the specific content, sequencing of this courses, ways of
proceeding in teaching-learning.
ii. Think formationally.
6) The Role of Interdisciplinarity in Jesuit Education c/o Fr. Jose Ramon T. Villarin
a. Interdisciplinarity is not just multiple disciplines coming together. It is a mindset, an openness to
see the world from another perspective, to learn from each other.
i. The consequence of interdisciplinarity is not shallowness. I dont think there is a
dumbing down, but a translation that happens an interlanguage endeavor to help
each other see what you see.
ii. The potential to generate new knowledge and to integrate knowledge in action comes
from insights and innovation to be found at the interfaces, boundaries, perimeters.
b. The mission of interdisciplinarity is to form leaders, and not just people who are good in their
disciplines.
i. Leaders are not just discipline-based.
c. Interdisciplinarity is not just depth in ones discipline, or the depth in ones capacity for
reflection.
i. I hope we can see Philosophy and Theology in our core as integrating instruments.
1. We have to ask our Philosophers and Theologists here: to what extent have we
interfaced with the natural sciences, neural sciences, social sciences, and the
management sciences?
a. You cannot integrate in isolation.
2. Integral formation is all-person formation.
a. Mens Sana in Corpore Sano because we believe that a sound mind is as
important as a sound body.

SANGGUNIAN SECRETARIAT

Room 200 MVP Student Leadership Center

Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights
sanggusecgen@gmail.com

b. Cura is care for the entire person, not just the intellect or spirit or body
or whatever compartments we have created in ourselves.
3. God sees the whole person, the desires of the whole person.
a. A God who sees our sorrows, which are individually linked to our selfconflicted alienation and fragmentation.
b. A God who desires and resolves to heal the fragmentation and
disconnection.
d. We do not just graduate interdisciplinary students or economists or physicists or expert
technicians or professionals; We graduate the entire person loved fully and loved enough to
want to become a person, hopefully, for others.

PREPARED BY:
Neicy Marie F. Pilarca
2 SOSE Executive Officer
SOSE School Board
Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral ng mga
Paaralang Loyola ng Ateneo de Manila