Wanted: really good school heads (1)

NEXT WEEK, students in the Philippine public school system will take a week off to allow for the holding of in-service training for teachers both at the elementary and secondary level. The official school calendar for 2006-07, compulsory among public schools, can be found here.

Mariano de Guzman, my favorite high school principal and a few years' senior, spent most of yesterday afternoon at the office while waiting, upon instruction by their chief of party, for the cash advance that will fund the Naga delegation's participation in the ongoing Student Technologists and Entrepreneurs of the Philippines (STEP) regional meet in Tabaco City.

It also gave us the chance to discuss my beef with the kind of training that the Naga Division wants to implement, judging from the design it submitted yesterday, five days before training starts. This morning, I fired a memo addressed to Mayor Robredo outlining my concerns about the events lined up that will just be "more of the same." I am still hopeful something good will come out of it.

Mr. De Guzman can be as emphatic and passionate as I am in making his points, and in defending his organization. There are many times we do not agree, but these are always on matters of principle, and not on personal biases. Unfortunately, he is turning out to be more of the exception rather than the rule.

All these led me to think: why do our public schools seem to be scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to good school heads?