A commentary on the current Presidential election

Eddie Calderon Class 1956

By Jun Landicho


Even after many decades removed from the campuses of their high school years, there's still a certain fascination among former QCHS students to find a way to get together whether via internet chatrooms, e-mails or the more up close and personal – class reunion. They love to talk about their beloved alma mater and the bygone days in the school campuses as if those days happened in recent terms.  For the last few years, this fascination has picked up several notches.

“Welcome to the QCHS 10th General Assembly and Alumni Homecoming”. Each year a general alumni homecoming party is called and organized by the host class, usually the jubilee class or batch (25th year from graduation).  With the speed of e-mails and, text messaging, communication between these “exs” has become high speed and instantaneous as well.  For them the small world has become smaller.

Planning is crucial for such an event to have any hope of success.  Some batch members start communing a year or two in advance -- not that they need such a time frame but more of getting geared up and excited hoping that in one way or another they will be part of the big event.  Judging by the e-mails and the website linkages budding all over the place, the excitement builds up especially among the organizers and then hits fever pitch heading into their big day.  They pay attention to details.  Stage presentation is looked upon as a friendly competition pitting the current host batch to the jubilarians of the previous year.  Then the time has come -- after days, weeks and months of planning -- the stage is set and ready to rumble.

Memories abound, drinks overflowed as digital cameras flashed to capture their smiles reminiscent of the friendship back in those years. Their favorite and not-so-favorite teachers were seated next to them. They treated each other with mutual admiration and fondness in place of the disciplinary teacher-protégé approach. For a moment they were back in time.

As the clock ticked well past midnight, once again everyone had to say goodbye, and once again, at the exit doors -- although this time -- not on foot -- no rolled-up piece of paper in their hand -- but in their shiny Pajeros or in bright-colored two-seater Mercedes Benz.

The morning after the night before, all evidences would lead one to believe that the exs have had a great time. So far no stories of party getting out of hand or any form of violent behavior.  Perhaps twenty-five years later, the sins of the school days are long forgotten and more importantly, forgiven. Another successful night, the host batch might declare. But the true measure of success is not what was seen on the stage, but what they have felt.  The months of communication and the interaction that the exs thought would be gone for good right at the exit doors of the Roces stadium, or wherever their respective graduation site happened to be, were there again.  Thanks largely to the age of information technology.  To them the computer is like a time machine.  But still only a machine -- the “hard drive” required to run this machine is the spirit -- the QCHS spirit that is still alive and well.

The other good thing that comes from this annual celebration is the awareness factor.  They get to see the current state of affairs in QCHS first hand.  The gap between the public and private school systems in the country has widened to a point that the standard of teaching in public schools is perceived to be very inferior compared to its private counterpart. In most two-tier system anywhere, the better-funded system in almost all cases will come out having a great advantage -- fair or unfair.  It's strikingly ironic that while the exs still cherish the years at QCHS, most of them would choose not to sent their own kids to their beloved alma mater. The fluidity of the economic landscape and the ever-increasing population nationwide has a profound effect on the standard of education especially in public schools like QCHS.

But life goes on in QCHS. Despite the need for structural improvements or better teacher-student ratio, it remains a vital institution in Kamuning and its surrounding community. The school is holding ground on its own but welcomes any kind of support from fund-raising efforts by various alumni associations or batch groups. But should these separate QCHS alumni association and batch groups consider banding into one big conglomerate in order to become a bigger benefactor -- like a charitable foundation?  Think about the potential membership of such an organization.  Most of the original graduates (circa 1940) are still around.  The potential membership could be in the thousands.  Could a more concerted fund-raising effort by such an organized international group make a significant impact in the standard of teaching -- perhaps help acquire new books, computer equipment, build buildings or retain competent teachers -- in a sustainable manner?  Can they make QCHS one of the best “semi-privately” funded high schools in the country -- and make the future exs wanting to come back for their own 25th jubilee?  Is there enough Ex-factor to make it happen?  I believe there is.