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By Ruel S. De Vera Associate Editor I was always in awe of encyclopedias. As a child, having a set of reference books at home was an advantage for school work and fun whenever we got bored. My parents were helping out an uncle so we had several different kinds of encyclopedias at home; among our favorites were the Lexicon (great photos), the Encyclopedia of Science (great for homework), the Bible Encyclopedia (really unusual) and the Peanuts Encyclopedia (more fun than useful but super fun). We never did get the top of the food chain: the complete Encyclopedia Brittanica. We did have it in school, complete with dog-eared and even missing, torn pages (nothing like taking the reference home). Back then, the photocopier was still a relatively exotic piece of machinery so many students simply tore the pages and ran. My high school library kept my attention even beyond school work. There was an encyclopedia of the Wild West as well as reference books on the Second World War which I constantly referred to. In college, the library was useful for all the research subjects, be it abstracts or APA material. Whenever I got even more bored, I would set over to the bound periodicals where I discovered Sports Illustrated, a habit that remains with me today. Obviously, all this happened before the Internet. Back then, the only way to really do research was actually set foot in the library. We slaved over those books. We understood the value of long hours in the shhh-infused environment of the library. We don't discount the value of today's one-button search for what used to take us weeks. It's more about the loss of wonder and awe about books and what they contained inside. Leg work mattered. Everybody needed to crack open a book or two. Wikipedia wasn't the end all and be all. Today's children have the world at their fingertips with a single visit to Google being all it took. It's an amazing world, but surely one that could be enriched by understanding how the old fogies used to do it. Book and button together; that is a killer combination for research. Find out all about the Internet and our children today in the November 15, 2009 issue of the Sunday Inquirer Magazine.

By Ruel S. De Vera Associate Editor Heroes are a personal constellation. Every person chooses his or her own celestial bodies to revolve around. There are more public personages and more public allegiances—but even those are marked by personal commitment. Our heroes reflect what we aspire for, what we seek perhaps in ourselves, surely in others. The old heroes were a bit easier to spot. They were usually in front of an army, or in front of a court of some sort, or even in front of death. They were poet warriors and trailblazers, be it by leading a brave last stand at Tirad Pass or by refusing to get up from the seat of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. In these complicated times, even our heroes get complicated. But everyone should have a personal guide to personal heroes. Here’s mine: Whistleblowers: Definitely the most thankless kind of heroism, simply because it is actually much more difficult to not turn away from wrongdoing. Sometimes, or as recent history shows us, all the time, a whistleblower will wind up raised on charges, living in virtual exile, while those whose malfeasance was uncovered get off scot-free, even with ill-gotten gains intact. Just ask Jun Lozada, or, in a case of justice really miscarried, Acsa Ramirez. Martyrs: This is what happens when we don’t protect our whistleblowers. Yet many martyrs die for causes obscured by routine and duty. The soldiers in the Mindanao conflict never get noticed until they’re returning in flag-covered coffins. And that’s not to forget those who return maimed. A country can be a cause, and if one lived an entire life in the service of a nation, just like Cory did, then they’re martyrs in a very real sense. Inspirations: There are people out there who overcome mighty adversity. Just by their example, we find the strength to go on. They overcome everything from mighty odds to terrible sickness and even mind-boggling tragedy. They don’t have to be famous. They just have to live—and teach us by that living. Voices in the Wilderness: They speak even if people do not want to hear what they have to say. Sometimes, they are unpopular, but they are rarely wrong—and never rash. The Internet has made their voices easier to hear—but it’s also harder to find the true Voices. Gerry Alanguilan continues to treat Filipino comics as something important. Manolo Quezon thinks everything through for us. Conrad de Quiros says it with fire and ice. Mentors: This goes beyond teachers, though they are the perfect example of mentors. Mentors watch over us and direct us without killing our spirit. Quite the contrary, they fill us up with spirit. Sometimes just knowing that there is someone who really does believe in you will be enough. For me, it will always be my freshman English teacher, Doreen Fernandez. She taught me more than how to write. To this very day, I try to live my life based on what Doreen would have done. Who is yours? Read about Efren Penaflorida and other Filipinos who made us proud in the October 26, 2009 issue of the Sunday Inquirer Magazine.

By Ruel S. De Vera Associate Editor I NEVER quite understood the saying “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” For one thing, I consider teaching on any level to be one of the most difficult disciplines to learn. Those who aren’t up to snuff simply will not last more than a couple of years at the job. The challenge isn’t just about instruction skill—though classroom presence and technique matter immensely—but about compassion. One of the most significant discoveries of teachers who endure is how to care just enough about the students. You need to care enough to want to see each one succeed, not let them get lost in the multitude of faces and students numbers—and yet not fall into the trap of taking each student’s story personally. There is no easier or quicker way to burn out than trying to be everything to all. The vocation of “saving” students is not exactly part of the job description. What should be is to inspire. I honestly believe that the worst students make for the best teachers, because they know what the students are really thinking, and not just the smart and eager ones. The unlikely ones often become the longest-lasting ones. Teachers get their techniques from all kinds of places. I think it’s invaluable to be interesting in the classroom, to be able to hold their attention. I found my style after perusing a lot of standup comedy, of Letterman and Leno, Robin Williams and Mitch Hedberg, and of course, the great Rex Navarette. A good grasp of “Shaider” and “Bioman” helps as well. I always thought the next step would be to learn to make balloon animals, do magic tricks and maybe eat fire. Let’s see the students sleep through that. Seriously though, people often develop their personal grasp on what teachers are and do from the movies they watch. Because of the nature of what teachers do, they are a favorite of movie makers. But the different movies often present different teachers and thus different teaching styles. Here are some examples: 1) “Dead Poets Society”: I put this first because it’s usually what other people mention as their favorite movie about a teacher. Sad to say, I have never seen it in its entirety. Yes, I know, horrible. But what I have seen tells me this Peter Weir opus is about inspiring boys with the possibilities of unfettered imagination and passion. As well as the benefits of standing on tables and reciting “O Captain, My Captain.” 2) “Stand and Deliver”: This 1988 project was the progenitor of the Tough Love style of teacher movies. Edward James Olmos is the curmudgeon Mr. Jaime A. Escalante who will lift the kids—and the young defiant Lou Diamond Phillips as Angel Guzman—by teaching them to stand up to reality. 3) “To Sir With Love”: Teaching the Other; that’s what comes to mind when I think about this 1967 movie directed by novelist James Clavell that features a lot of challenging British accents and the mesmerizing Sidney Poitier as the unforgettable Mark Thackeray. It also reminds us that standing straight, wearing suits and speaking in complete sentences will draw respect from any high schooler. 4) “Dangerous Minds” and “Freedom Writers”: These two movies are basically the same save that Michelle Pfieffer is a Marine and Hilary Swank is not. It’s about getting modern-day kids to trust that the teacher really does care, as well as how liberating learning to write can be for anyone. 5) “Finding Forrester”: This J.D. Salinger-like tale from Gus Van Sant has Sean Connery, basketball, the always excellent F. Murray Abraham doing Sallieri in the classroom and a manual typewriter. I can never think of this movie without hearing Connery’s inimitable brogue. It also has amazing insight into the writing process and a killer song in Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s plaintive take on “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” 6) “Remember The Titans,” “Gridiron Gang,” “Glory Road” and “We are Marshall”: Coaches are teachers in more than one way and these well-made true-to-life sports movies show just how much a difference they can make. 7) “Coach Carter”: Why separate this one from the others? Because the similarly true-to-life “Coach Carter” made a difference not just because of his offense-to-defense ideas, but because he stood up for the idea that grades are particularly important for athletes. Plus Samuel L. Jackson is electric in this. 8 ) “Mila”: The idea of the Teacher as Bleeding Heart isn’t new, but this Maricel Soriano starrer is a cautionary tale about how far we might go to save our wayward students. Soriano is really good in this Joel Lamangan tearjerker and a fine example on how saving others can turn into losing yourself. 9) The Indiana Jones movies, the Robert Langdon movies and “21”: These seemingly surprising addition shows the teacher as adventurer, possessing a truly practical approach to their teaching. Harrison Ford’s Jones is a treasure hunter, Tom Hanks’ Langdon is a symbologist/world saver and Kevin Spacey’s character Micky Rosa masterminds a team of MIT students in counting cards in casinos. 10) “The Sound of Music” and “The King and I”: What is a family-friendly fave from 1965 and Yul Brynner’s 1956 Oscar winner doing on this list? Governesses are teachers in many ways and here they brush up against authority and deal with it by song and affection. Plus the songs are really good. Let’s say you are the only person on the planet not to be charmed by Julie Andrews’ pixie hairdo, surely the magnificent Deborah Kerr will win you over. There are many more, of course, but this is how I would start. What about you? Never forget what “Dead Poets Society’s” John Keating said: I always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself. Read all about some amazing teachers in the Sept. 20, 2009 issue of the Sunday Inquirer Magazine.