Pitch (Not) Perfect: How the Synergeia team pulled off an imperfectly beautiful number

The Synergeia team led by CEO Milwida M. Guevara

By Manolo Serapio Jr.

Someone said it may well have been the perfect prelude to Holy Week. The collective rendering may be akin to what one hears in a pabasa, the chanting of the life and sufferings of Jesus Christ still practiced in many parts of the Philippines that usually starts on Maundy Thursday and ends before 3 pm on Good Friday.

Yet despite being off-key, the Synergeia team’s cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” was undoubtedly heartfelt and the perfect way to cap off the foundation’s first virtual education summit last week.

Where else will you see the economist and Synergeia Board of Trustees member Winnie Monsod singing along with Founding Chair Fr. Ben Nebres and Chairman Fr. Jett Villarin while a properly masked Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian mimed his lines?

And Synergeia mentor Jay Jalandoni passionately lip synching to the King’s version of the song’s chorus (prompting Facebook to briefly cut the audio during the livestream for copyright infringement)?

The order from CEO Nene Guevara to the staff was clear: sing at least two lines from the song, even if you’re out of tune. “The summit will not be complete without the staff being part of it,” she wrote in an email.

Somebody suggested a single musical accompaniment. No need for that, Guevara says. A cappella it is.

The major force behind Synergeia, Guevara usually gets what she wants especially when it comes to convincing mayors to reform education governance. Whatever it takes.

That meant successfully persuading Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto to recite a nursery rhyme in front of hundreds of teachers and parents. And Felipe Yap, mayor of Ivisan, Capiz to sing the folk staple “Leron, Leron Sinta” at a parents’ workshop amid a heavy downpour.

Split screen: Synergeia Board of trustees Luigi Bernas and Winie Monsod

‘The beauty of it’

When he listened to the individual video clips sent in by those who participated, each one was actually in tune, says Deivid Rioferio who, with the help of a friend, pooled all the videos together into the gem that it became.

“It naturally became off-key when everybody sang as a group,” he says. “But I guess that’s the beauty of it, it became happy and light. Exactly what we need in a pandemic.”

Of course, Rioferio purposely cut himself out of the final product, failing to be part of what may soon be a potentially viral meme.

More importantly though, the video captured how everyone in the Synergeia team was game enough to be part of anything for the children. After all, the 14th Washington SyCip National Education Summit focused on what can be done to address the falling competency of Filipino students amid a pandemic.

Pictures of the Synergeia team at work along with those of local government partners, teachers, parents and children were shown during the instrumental part of the song, evoking warm memories of the old normal, when social distancing was unheard of and masks were only worn in hospitals.

Isel de Guzman says she misses the in-person workshops the most, having been actively taking photos of participants during candid moments as they interacted and shared their insights on how to help children learn more effectively.

“I learned so much from those communities which showed their commitment in providing a better future for their children,” says de Guzman who is part of Synergeia’s communications team.

Never mind that the performance was preceded by a number from singer and songwriter Jose Mari Chan. It was imperfectly beautiful. Period.

Watch the video below and see for yourself.

Message of Vice President Leni Robredo during the 14th Washington Sycip National Education Summit

“Each of us is a stakeholder. contributing to this bigger project of nation-building. This is the spirit of Synergeia. At ito rin mismo yung paniniwala ni Jesse as one of its founding trustess. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. At sa larangang ito, Jesse belived that local governments can always do more.” – VP Leni

The Honorable Maria Leonor G. Robredo

Vice President, Republic of the Philippines

Good afternoon sa mga bumubuo ng Synergeia Foundation, sa mga government officials, school administrators at education advocates na nakikiisa sa 14th National Education Summit.  Thank you for all that you do to make sure that no learner is left behind during this  pandemic.

Medyo suki na ako ng annual summit ninyo. This year, hindi man tayo magkakasama physically, natutuwa pa din ako na nakagawa kayo ng paraan to come together and talk about the important tasks ahead of us.  Patunay dito yung napili ninyong  tema ngayong taon, “Learning  from our best to defy gravity”

Kasi totoo.

In the past year, we have been through so much, that it feels like that we have hit rock bottom. Covid-19 has tolled so much of our children’s education.  Homes have turned into classrooms. At talagang nakita natin kung gaano kahirap ang naging transition sa mga bagong learning modalities.

Sabi sa isang recent SWS survey, 89% of families ang mas nahihirapan sa blended learning  kesa face to face. We know how challenges to infrastructure, access to gadgets, and even capacity building for teachers have made life difficult for some more than for others. There have always been gaps that needed to be filled in our education system.  But now, with the pandemic bringing entire nations to their knees, fissures in society resurfaced and widened, impacting the most vulnerable even more.  

Questions persist. What lies ahead for the entire education system as we continue to reel from the pandemic?  How do we capacitate our teachers better and engage our students more, even at a time of physical distancing?  How will we cope, and how can ensure that no one is left behind in the process?  Walang iisang sagot sa mga tanong na ito.  Pero ang sigurado , palaging mayroon tayong  puwedeng gawin, dito at ngayon.

If this pandemic has taught us anything, it is ultimately, our lives are intertwined.  Each of us is a stakeholder, contributing to this bigger project of nation – building. This is the spirit of Synergeia.  At ito rin mismo yung paniniwala ni Jesse as one of its founding trustees.  As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise  a child. At sa larangang ito, Jesse  believed that local governments  can always  do more.

When he was Mayor of Naga, Jesse reformed the local school board and broadened its membership and functions.  He wanted local leaders to play a more active role in strengthening basic education by developing a more inclusive education reform agenda.  The education of our children after all rests not only on the shoulders of the academe.  It is a responsibility shared across entire communities.  Sa harap ng anumang hamon, lalo na sa edukasyon, coming together in the spirit of Bayanihan is what will see us through to a better normal.  Sa ganitong pagkilos, rest assured, hindi kayo nag-iisa.

Saksi kami dito. Sa mga partners at donors na nagpaabot ng resources, sa mga volunteers na dumagsa sa OVP at naglaan ng talent at panahon para tumulong ng pro bono, malinaw na malinaw na buhay ang diwa ng bayanihan sa puso ng Pilipino.

Kaya nga rin angkop na angkop yung pangalan na Bayanahihan E-skewela initiatives natin. From gadgets, to community learning hubs, to instructional videos on  how to do blended learning at home, to teacher training programs, nagiging possible lang ang lahat ng ito dahil sa pakikipagtulungan ng napakarami nating  mga kababayan.  Indeed, the only way that we can overcome this crisis is to respond to it as one.

Malinaw din na just as we have to get input and feedback from all sectors para matugunan ang hamon ng pandemiya, hindi rin uubra ang one size fits all solution. We have to be agile, flexible and nimble enough to pattern our response to the realities we see on the ground, to find the gaps and fill them, and go where we are most needed. Our recommendations stand:  establish more learning hubs near community schools, provide training to teachers, explore conducting face to face classes in areas where there is no community transmission, invest more in technology.  To this end, more work needs to be done.

According to a recent World Bank  and NEDA study, the country is lagging behind its Southeast Asian neighbors when it comes to adapting digital technology to business, governance and education.  In terms of digital competitiveness, the Philippines slipped further last year, ranking 57 out of 63 nations when it comes to using digital technologies for economic growth. Government, then, should make  sure that digital infrastructure is in place so we can fully transition to online learning.  We have to adapt, speed up and scale up because this is the future.  And if we don’t act now, we could continue to fall behind, leaving our teachers and learners struggling.

These extraordinary times make solidarity imperative.  The greater the challenge, the stronger the call for all of us to come together and help each other.   All hands on deck lang tayo.  Bridge the gaps and do what needs to be done here and now.  Create more linkages, share more knowledge and resources, accelerate your learning curve and build permanent systems of cooperation and feedback between public schools, private schools and the larger system of education.  Forge new pathways where old ones seem blocked. Be creative, think out of the box.  Find certainty in every sure step.  Always moving forward.  Facing each day not only with hope but with grit and deep resolve.  This pandemic may have turned our worlds upside down and the challenges and uncertainties can be overwhelming.  To find anchorage, we need to look beside us, sa mga kasama nating tuloy tuloy na nagsisikap at gumagawa ng paraan.  Continue listening to  and empowering each other, so that we widen the path for others to follow.

Kasama ang Synergeia at ang buong bansa, tiwala ako na bubuo tayo ng isang tunay na  better normal, isang lipunan mas patas, mas makatao at mas mapagmalasakit.

Isang mundo kung saan walang kabataan at walang gurong maiiwan.

Muli, maraming salamat at mabuhay kayong lahat.

The Word from the Chair

Fr. Jett Villarin S.J. thanked everyone for being Synergeia leaders who believed that ‘we can defy gravity’

by Father Jose Ramon Villarin, S.J.,

Magandang hapon po sa ating lahat. Isang maligayang bati sa ating mga local chief executives, sa ating mga partners dito sa ating summit – “Learning from our Best to Defy Gravity.”

Ang gagawin ko po ay uunahin ko na ang aking opening remarks, and we will end with a prayer and begin with our summit as well.

Pinili ko po yung background na nakikita ninyo ngayon.  Iyan po ay litrato na kinuha ng isa sa mga estudyante namin. He kept vigil for several hours one evening just to take this picture.  Maybe, you’ve seen similar pictures before.  It is a picture of the Milky Way – that cluster of clouds and stars and planets.  It is not exactly accurate as it is hard to picture the Milky Way because we are inside it.  And if you see pictures of the Milky Way, you may ask “Paano nga ba nakunan yun eh hindi naman tayo nasa labas ng Milky Way?”  Actually, my background is the picture of the center of the Milky Way and we are in one of the outer edges of this big galaxy of about a hundred to two hundred billion suns or stars.

How do we know, then, the shape of our galaxy? Well, it is because of a neighboring galaxy.   We have a kapitbahay na galaxy and its name is Andromeda.  Sa sentro ng galaxy na ito ay may isa daw blackhole na malakas ang gravity, malakas ang hatak.  Lahat tayo ang patungo doon pero huwag po tayong mag-alala. It will take several billion years before we end up into the center of that galaxy.   

The reason why we know the shape of our galaxy is because of our neighbor Andromeda. And let me  begin there my remarks. 

We actually need our neighbor.  We need others to mirror us to ourselves.  We come together to learn about ourselves and to learn from each other.  We need our neighbor to infect each other, not with the virus, but with goodness; to replicate, not the bad, but the good; and share and make many copies of the good.

Dito po sa summit na ito, marami po tayong matututunan.  And I hope that you will copy these. Ito lang po yung summit na pwede tayong mangopya.  

This pandemic in a way is a dry run. It is a dry run, a test of what we do in a time of scarcity and wants. Sa panahon ng kasalatan, ng kakulangan.  When there is a scarcity of good or of health resources, a scarcity of medicines and vaccines, what do we do?  Pagdating po ng pagbabago ng klima, there might be a scarcity of natural resources like water or food or energy.  In poverty, sa panahon ng kahirapan, at nasa panahon po tayo ng kahirapan, what do we do when there is a scarcity of capacity, of financial resources?  Sa edukasyon, when there is a scarcity of education, what do we do?  McKinsey came up with a study and their conclusion is something that we know already, that learning loss has been global in this time of pandemic. Education has been set back several months to a year.   And so, this pandemic is really a test, a dry run of what to do.  Do we isolate or do we reach out?

Itong panahon ng vaccine nationalism, magkakanya-kanya ba tayo or magbabahagihan?   Will there be vaccine globalism?  Do we protect our own or do we go out and protect the common good, the greater good? Or is this a false dichotomy knowing that protecting the greater good redounds to ensuring our individual welfare as well?

If this pandemic is turning out to be a disaster, it will be due to a failure, not in science, but a failure in politics. Politics, not science. Science has accomplished much in record time.  Someone wrote science has done this because “Scientists cooperated globally whereas politicians tended to feud.” Yung mga pulitiko tended to quarrel pero ang mga “scientists” came together.   This is a warning shot to all of us.  The former populist president of the US and Brazil have just gone into denial and blaming others.

But all of us here are leaders of Synergeia.  Our role as Synergeia leaders is to act as a catalyst.  A catalyst stimulates action that pulls us together and pushes action from inside ourselves. It brings together our individual work and energy to come up with something bigger than our individual efforts combined.

Halimbawa, ang ating mga RECs, this is a wonderful development where we are coming together regionally to create these new bonds – community bonds that are so important.  We also want to stimulate action from the inside and thus, reduce dependence on interventions from the outside.  Kasi po, kung aasa lagi tayong lahat sa labas ng ating sarili, hindi po iyon sustainable.  

Kaya muli po, gusto ko po magpasalamat sa lahat for being such Synergia leaders, for believing that we can defy gravity, for demonstrating that we can defy the downward pull of the pandemics and every kind of plague if we pull together and push action from inside ourselves.

Let us end with this prayer, to begin our summit:

Lord of life, we ask You to help us to listen to what You are telling us this past year. Lead us to know what You are asking of us in this storm.

You are inviting us to leave familiar shores while the waves are high.  You are asking us to make this  crossing to the other side while the horizon is dark.

We do not know what this other side holds for us.  We are afraid.  You know our fear.  

Give us faith to see You with us now in this boat being tossed by the waves.  Give us hope to hold on to when life rolls sideways and the lurching becomes unbearable.  Give us love to give to each other when our hearts break, when we are tired from rowing against the wind, when we are hungry, and lost, and alone.

Please give us enough light to keep us going, enough silence so we can listen to how You are asking us to take heart, to keep together and not be afraid.

Our old plans are shot.  Our dreams, disrupted.  Bring Your dreams then closer to ours.  Turn our lives so that Your longing becomes our longing.  

We are made in the likeness of You.  You are the Lord of the waves, the wind, the Giver of life, the Conqueror of death.

Lead us to draw boldness and creative power from Your limitless love.  Empower us to find our strength in You. Help us to be brave.

We take the words of Sir Francis Drake to our prayer today:

Disturb us, O Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we dream too little; when we have arrived in safety because we have sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, O Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the water of life; when having fallen in love with time, we have ceased to dream of eternity, and in our efforts to build the new earth, have allowed our vision of the new heaven to grow dim.

Stir us, O Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms shall show Thy mastery and, where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.

In the name of Him Who pushed back the horizons of our hopes and invited the brave to follow Him,

Amen.