Parents in a Flurry

And, no, I didn't mean little squirming moms and dads in a cupful of McFlurry.

Last night, I attended a parents' meeting at Victory Christian School's Fort branch (my son Keoni goes to the Pasig branch). I was 30 minutes late, had no idea what was going on, and the scene I had entered was, yes, of parents in a flurry. Although I had missed it, I think the mom who hosted the meeting started it the wrong way by assuming that everyone knew what the issue was about, thus causing a flurry of emotional reactions. So, Cito Beltran (whose daughter Hannah went to the same school) took over and began explaining the situation from the start.

The issue was: the school was going to be privatized. The next school year would be used to transition from the current (which are pastors) to the new management, whom we don't know yet. Currently, there are 3 groups -- all are also from our church, Victory Christian Fellowship (also known as Every Nation Leadership Institute) -- who have offered to take over the management and financial situation at the school but the Board has yet to hear the proposals and make a decision. It appears that, well, the school has been running on deficit, there's no school fund, and the church can't financially support/subsidize for the school's tuition anymore. What happened was, pastors and parents -- 10 years ago -- had a vision about a school but weren't ready to keep it running past the Grade 4 level.

It's a very long and messy story actually, won't waste your time reading all about it. As it turns out, some parents (like Cito) have been following this saga for the past 2 years, which was around the time when the school added the 5th to 7th grade levels. And all the while I just thought, man, the school's management is really bad (I could think of worst adjectives but let's not get into that). Most, if not all, the parents were complaining about how disorganized they were. But, wow, the problem's deeper pala.

Hmmm, well, at least now I know why my son's tuition is 20-30k less than other school's...

Anyway, I was just sitting there and listening and observing for 2 hours (yes, Beng, I kept my big mouth shut) while all the other parents were debating and offering suggestions or airing out their feelings.

I don't know why I felt bored. I felt a bit guilty for feeling bored. I was like, what's the problem ba talaga? What's with all the emotion? Get a grip will ya??

So what if the school's changing management? It's not closing down. And buti nga Christians din yung mag-t-take over. Things could've been worse, you know. Like at my high school, magkakapatid yung owners tapos pinag-awayan nila yung pera ng school. It went to court, and the Chinese community knew all about the family feud. And those guys were supposed to be Christians! Ergh, can you say "hideous"? Kadiri talaga.

Cito and Pastor Ron (whose daughter is in Kinder) made a very good point when they said, in the end, a school is a business and you need money to keep a business running. And we don't have to be nervous about the new management, because they're from the same church, they know the same God and the know the same Bible, and they have the best of intentions for the school. These are professional educators who know the business and can do it better than our pastors (who've done a good job as well) can. If it would make the parents feel more secure, they could schedule a panel discussion with the new management so we'd all get to know them and their plans better.

But, moreover, it's the parents' responsibility to train up their children in the right way -- not the school's. The children is a reflection of the parents, not of the school. And besides, even if the school management changed and the name was changed, so what? It's the same foundation.

Pastor Ron also said, it's time that parents chip in and help out in whatever way we can, by praying for the school, for the management, by trusting its leaders and, most especially, trusting God's plans for the school. In the closing prayer, he said that God loves our children more than we do, and that God definitely knows what's good for them, so we just need to trust Him.