Perlas Advocates Child Centered Education

This blogpost originally came out at Ordinary People, Ordinary Day Blog:

"Education should be child-centered. We should not put the child into a framework early in his or her life," says Nicanor Perlas during the Youth 2010: Ako ang Pagbabago Presidential Forum.

Nicanor Perlas is one of the ten candidates for President of the Philippines. He is not that popular and has no machinery but has vast knowledge on various issues most prominent of which is the environment.


Little do people know too that Perlas is an advocate of Waldorf education. This educational idealogy is a pedagogy based upon the educational philosophy of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy.

Learning is interdisciplinary, integrating practical, artistic, and conceptual elements. The Waldorf approach emphasizes the role of the imagination, developing thinking that includes a creative as well as an analytic component. The overarching goals of this educational approach are to provide young people the basis on which to develop into free, moral and integrated individuals, and to help every child fulfill his or her unique destiny. Schools and teachers are given considerable freedom to define curricula within collegial structures.

Perlas added that if a child-centered education is done it is best to use regional language or dialects during the early stage of development, Filipino during the formative years from 8 and above and then English thereafter.

He stressed that most of us can readily learn local languages rather that focusing on developing a pure English-based education and curriculum.

In fact to back this up it was found out by the Department of Education that a Cordillera-based school outperformed any other school in the Philippines. This Cordillera school used local language in their curriculum development and classroom instruction.

When put at par with other candidates an education under a Nicanor Perlas administration will prepare a student for life and not only for work and for jobs. The student's skills will enable him/her to have excellent life skills rather than just work skills.

Why Nick? 20 Reasons...What's Your Fave?

On the PerlasCebu Twitter site, we posted the question, "Why Nick?" Easiest question to answer!

Filipino Writer did a very thoughtful, comprehensive and fun set of his responses, leading to great video clips and links. "20 Reasons Why I'm Campaigning for Nicanor Perlas for President" Check it out -- and click on the green links in each line to read more!


Here is the quick-list version. What's your favorite? (...or feel free to add your own!)

1. Realizing that ours is an agricultural country, Nicanor Perlas gave up his dream of becoming a physicist, and took up agriculture so he could help our poor farmers.
2. He helped the poor set up businesses via microfinance
3. He is honest, and has zero tolerance for corruption.
4. He has a holistic approach to our country's problems, seeing the need for the government (POLITICAL sphere), business (ECONOMIC sphere), and civil society (CULTURAL sphere) to work together.
5. He co-founded KARANGALAN which celebrates the various talents, achievements, and innovations by Filipinos.
6. He co-founded PAGASA which seeks to develop the spiritual and cultural well-being of the Filipinos, which will eventually make for a better country.
7. He warned us of global warming, climate change & supertyphoons, and the tragedies it would bring, despite being called a fear-monger.
8. He has a vision and a complete platform of what needs to be done. Included in his platform is to mainstream VISIONARY initiatives. In other words, he welcomes innovations and creativity, and will work to implement them on a broader scale.
9. He is very intelligent and well-read (and can allude to Joseph Campbell to George Lucas and to J.R.R. Tolkien and their works).
10. He has written an international bestselling book Shaping Globalization: Civil Society, Cultural Power, and Threefolding which has been translated into at least 9 languages.
11. He is recipient of the 2003 Right Livelihood Award (also known as the Alternative Nobel) "for his outstanding efforts in educating civil society about the effects of corporate globalisation, and how alternatives to it can be implemented."
12. In this campaign, he practices what he preaches. He sees the need for civil society as a collective institution to serve as a check to the excesses of government, so he didn't compel the organizations to which he belongs to join him. Instead, he left if up to them whether to support him or not.
13. He is the artist's candidate, because he sees the need for the CULTURAL sphere (meaning, the rest of us) to remind government and businesses of what really matters – culture and spirituality – and not just money and material things.
14. He promotes creativity in all aspects of life, and is very creative himself.
15. He includes everyone in decision-making. He listens to what everyone has to say and treats them with respect and as equals. He is a down-to-earth kind of guy, without airs, and you feel you can approach him anytime. He has a great sense of humor, and has an endearing belly laugh.
16. He is an athlete and practices clean living, doesn't smoke, drink, and eat meat.
17. You don't have to think of 'gimmicks' or tricks when trying to convince voters to vote for your candidate. You just let them know about Nick's achievements and the kind of person he is, and it's an easy sell.
18. He is the only candidate who inspires me and makes me get off my butt and campaign for him (even while I'm sick right now. :P)
19. Because this campaign is fun! You get to collaborate with very creative and passionate individuals, who like Nick, has a vision of New Politics and a New Philippines.
20. Because, this opportunity, to work actively for a vision of a New Philippines and with a visionary who has the track record to back it up comes along very rarely, and I don't want to pass it up.

International Community Raises Funds for Perlas

Dear Members and Friends,

We would like to inform you about an initiative to support Nicanor Perlas for president of the Philippines.

As you may know, Nicanor Perlas has been working in the world out of Rudolf Steiner’s ideas on Social Threefolding (Biodynamic Agriculture) for many years. He has been a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prize) for his advocacy work on globalisation and sustainable development, as well as the UN Environmental Program’s Global 500 Award, amongst others. His campaign for president of the Philippines is an opportunity for these ideas to be practiced in the world on a large and visible scale.

He is now one of only 10 presidential candidates, and with support he has a very real chance at success.
His team needs $130,000US before February 8 in order to continue successfully carrying out the campaign. International donations can only be accepted before February 8 (in order for money to clear, donations should be made by February 5). After that time, all donations must come from inside the Philippines.

Imagine that 1300 people each donated $100US. Reaching the amount of $130,000US then becomes a real possibility. Your $100US contribution would be greatly appreciated. But, of course, donations of any size would be very welcome. To donate to the campaign, and to help bring Social Threefolding further on the national level, go to: http://www.facebook.com/l/a0db5;www.nicanor-perlas.com

To keep updated on the presidential campaign, visit A People for Perlas: http://www.facebook.com/l/a0db5;apeopleforperlas.ning.com

Please forward this email to anyone you think would be interested in contributing to this movement!

Also supported by:
Seth Jordan (ThinkOutWord, A People for Perlas); Elizabeth Wirsching; John Stubley, PhD (Threefolding for the World, A People for Perlas); Katie Dobb (Threefolding for the World, A People for Perlas); Caitlin Balmer (Threefolding for the World, A People for Perlas); Robert Karp (New Spirit Ventures, LLC); Valentin Vollmer (Idem – Identity through Initiative, Youth Ambassador of the World Wisdom Council); David Masuch (Idem – Identity through Initiative); Jannis Keuerleber (Engagement and Consciousness Training Weeks, Stuttgart); Dawn Stratton; Michaela Nijs, MD; Dave Luborski; Juliana Hepp.

Some of the many people who signed a petition supporting Nicanor’s candidacy:
David Suzuki, Manfred Max-Neef, Senator Bob Brown (Leader of the Australian Green Party), Ute Craemer, Orland Bishop, C. Otto Scharmer, David Korten, Enno Schmidt, John Beck.

Youth Leaders Speak Their Hearts Out to Nick

We prepared a space of warmth & beauty for the Student Leaders who were eager to meet this man, Nick Perlas. They heard he would be President!

We read poetry together. This one seemed to call out. It was written by my friend, poet, author, teacher Dawna Markova, "I Will Not Die An Unlived Life".

I will not die an unlived life.
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit.

They came with their most heartfelt Questions:

• How do we know who is sincere?
• How do we solve the ailment in our country of vote buying?
• How can we tell when a leader is running truly to serve people or only after their own agenda?
• Do I settle for the "lesser of the evils" or risk going against the grain of popular thinking?
• Why public office? The government is not to be trusted anymore to do the right thing, so why?
• How does a leader handle the diversity of cultures? Our country has such diversity.
• What is the need to advertise? They spend billions of pesos trying to compete on advertising, and we end up voting on the fanciest, not on the truth.

They left with their most soulful Reflections:

• I assumed the election was over when the list of candidates came out. Now I realize the elections are not over yet. And that there is something I can do about how it turns out in May.
• I do not see other candidates be able to be in reflection as I see in you, Sir Nick. Makes me feel there is hope.
• I can see how what happens next is massive. I want to be a part of that.
• I have never been interested in politics because it doesn't really change anything or make a difference. It's all the same. Now having been in this morning's conversation with Mr. Perlas, I feel I have to look beyond the superficial to the deep side of politics.
• When I think of political candidates -- especially ones running for president -- I never dreamt I would be speaking to a real person, not just a politician trying to win my vote.
• I am amazed at how sitting here, how Sir Nick allowed what I and we know of leadership. He did not preach. He helped me to see what I know.
• Knowing you Mr. Perlas, I now understand and have a new perspective and respect for agriculture and how important it is in the making of not just the health of our bodies, but the health of our culture.
• Today I am inspired that I can make a difference. We talked about me and not just about only the candidate.
• I am inspired that I am powerful. Mura'g ako ug gamay nga suga nga na-on unya bright na kaayo karon. And I want to use that power like Mr. Perlas to do good for others. Not just think of myself.

And he said:
I am touched by the integrity of this group. You spoke your mind and heart openly. You verified that there is a deep longing for a new kind of politics. This morning, a flame was lit. It will pass on and continue to burn brighter and brighter. It is infinite.

May your light shine bright and forever!

The Next Buddha

They say the next Buddha will be a group. I have experienced this in all our Nick Perlas circles. I think it is why I choose to come, again and again.

Each time we gather to listen for what is ours to hear, attend to, speak and do — as long as we have sat down in circle, facing each other, taken a few deep breaths, opened a sacred space through poetry, song, prayer, deep breaths, and we speak and listen — again and again — from the Heart, truly and consistently, the greater truth and wisdom arises. Each and every time.

Last night’s circle was no different. Individuals came in from a long day of school or work, dinner mostly forgotten, some arriving after a 2-hour bus ride. Each time, the circle expanded by one, two, three chairs. Each time, we invited their speaking and storytelling. Each time we listened and nodded.....mulling over, chewing on what was being offered, from one heart to the heart of the group.

As the evening drew late, the conversation remained lively and thoughtful. As we’re learning about “how this works”, the circle process inevitably comes upon a snarl. Something being planned is not feeling right. Some confusion, some frustration is felt. Tiredness begins to set in. Flow is suspended as people venture to offer ways to untangle and clarify. Into the center, silence falls. Is allowed, welcomed.

And then, a few lean forward, and a new level of speaking begins. It is palpable. Something is arising, and members of the circle one by one sit up straight, listen, catch the energy drift of those speaking. And a new and clear way is open. The Buddha in our midst has spoken.

Why Nick? Because I like the company he keeps and the circle process we are learning to live by and the Heart that brings us our truth and wisdom. Each and every time.

You oughta try it sometime.

Journey Towards Your Choice for President

We all have our story of how we've come to the choices we've made. I read Miko Samson's beautifully-written post in The Misadventures of Wonderboy and His Broken Hearts, carefully outlining his own journey of assessing each of the presidential candidates. Alas, his conclusion was as follows:

All told, 2010 will be interesting because it is a year of change: The person in Malacañang will change. The way we do elections will technically change. But at the same time, some things indicate that things will stay the same: We still have a crop of candidates that do not have any indication of speaking very clearly to us about what change is supposed to mean and how they intend to bring it about. The way forward remains unclear. The tension and irony that we are faced with underscores the fact that 2010 will be an important year, regardless of what happens.

While I love the posts that ring the truth about Nick because of how they resonate with my own thinking, reading posts like the one above -- as long as they are not written by closed-minded, raving lunatics -- makes me pause longer. Forces me to STOP. Take deep breaths. Listen inside for how I am moved. And then move to speak from the heart. Here is the comment I left on his blog.

I applaud the thoughtfulness and care with which you have considered both the situation of our times leading up to Elections in May 2010 as well as each candidate's situation/position in the race. At the same time, I would offer that while thoughtful and careful, it is not anywhere complete. Not that you promised that. None of us alone has the complete picture.

So, if I may offer that if you were interested in moving towards a picture more whole and closer to truth (I know, tricky-slippery concept), you might lean in a bit more and find ways to learn about the candidates beyond the debates and forums, TV ads and even surveys. Choose a venue you trust and (1) read in depth of their track record and how they have spent their lives as citizens of the country and see what alignment they have to their words/promises; (2) visit/listen in a venue like BlogWatch where they have invited each candidate, spending more than the two-minute flash-dance segments in forums and listen both to the answers as well as to the questions; tune into the energy of the conversation in the room. Sometimes, the greater truth will sneak in in the most unexpected places.

Finally, a word about change. Change has many many layers, from the most superficial to the most transformative and system-wide. What is our country in truth (there's that concept again) needing at this time and who among the candidates has the best understanding of this; has been able to see the vision of such a level of change needed and - most importantly -- has not been waiting to be given the post of presidency, to act on his vision, but is already, if I may, LIVING, exemplifying the change now. Finally, look to see who surrounds the candidate, who is starting to listen and sign up for not just the campaign to win, but sign up for a different life than the one we know and have today; and sign up for starting the change within.

As the CBCP entones, please look again and listen within the part of you and in all of us that already KNOWS what this country is crying and ready for. Therein lies the complete picture and the true candidate.

Thank you for the space to share.

Read his blog post and share your own thoughts -- here, there, everywhere.

Ticked off

by P. Z. Aberasturi

I do not like polls or surveys.  A poll or survey will immediately ask you for a Presidential candidate, and you, without conscious deliberation, will pick one. It robs a voter of the chance for an informed vote.
I just realized that I choose people everyday. Who makes breakfast?  Who watches the kids?  Who drives me to places? Who runs my shop? Who do I spend the rest of my life with? And how do I pick them? Definitely not through a list with tick-off boxes.  And definitely not only because everyone else said so.  It would be like going around the household, the office, or my little world, with a sheet of paper, my candidates lined-up and choosing the one with the most number of ticks. I will not have it. The ticks will have weight, but not bear its brunt.  My fortunate cook, nanny, driver, employee, and the unfortunate husband, have been chosen after insightful and earnest evaluation, and especially with as much freedom as I can muster.
Evaluations sheets.  That ought to be the cardinal way in choosing a President. The candidates are pitted against each other based on objective yet high ideals that you have set.  Your own criteria of what makes a perfect President.  Mine would be: (1) Wisdom; (2) Integrity; (3) Adherence to Truth; (4) Compassion; (5) Morality; (4) Competence; and (5) Past Record of Achievement. There might still be some element of bias, but the process allows more objectivity, and will especially require me to think/feel through my answers.
It seems foolish that we do evaluation sheets when we choose our employees or partners and yet have a different means for choosing our President.  Being swayed by surveys would be like choosing an employee or a husband, because everyone said so.  Would you choose an employee, based only on his popularity, his high marks, or contacts?  Will you be lured by his smile and promise that he will work his ass off for you? Of course not.  At a minimum, you will do a background check, and see what he has done in the past.  With a host of boyfriends, whom do you marry?  The one who everyone likes? A dashing debonair who’s all wit and charm but has nothing but a muddied past to show for? The millionaire who promises you diamonds, this and that? A boyfriend you once left because he hurt you? Of course not. At a bare minimum, you will give each boyfriend a fair chance and  apart from the promises of a happy life, you will know whom to choose by looking at what he has done for you all these years.
And yet, while we make informed choices in picking partners, our employees, even house help, we prevail on tick boxes and popular choices for our President.  Come on, this is the Presidency!   I truly hate surveys and polls. It’s an affront to human intelligence and freedom.

Many New Photos of Perlas on Our Facebook Page

  

We've just added a number of new photos from some of the many events Nick Perlas and our Cebu Volunteer group have been involved in -- on our Facebook page.



To give you some examples, the first picture shown here (at left) is from the wonderful dialogue Nick Perlas had with some of Cebu's student leaders in a very special event on Friday, January 22nd.

A second picture from the collection, shown at right, is from Nick's historic meeting with the Tribal Leaders of Bohol just days ago.  People from the tribes also came from all around for the opportunity to meet with this very different Presidential candidate.









Click this link to go directly to our facebook photo page and see all the pictures. And while you're at it, please sign up as a fan, participate in our discussion section, tell your friends, and contact us at perlascebu@gmail.com to find out how you can get even more involved in this Campaign of a Lifetime.

The Kosmos Supports Nick Perlas for President

Kosmos Founder & Editor Nancy Roof wrote:

How wonderful to know we are all on the same page when it comes to supporting Nicanor – one of the first new consciousness people to have the courage to run for office. We are all rooting for him...what a coup this would be.

Warm wishes to all!

"Kosmos Journal: the journal for world citizens creating the new civilization" published a thought-provoking feature article on the emergence of values-driven leadership. Who else should they call on but Nick Perlas?

The piece is called, Nicanor Perlas, Presidential Candidate, Philippines: An Interview with Nicanor Perlas by Nancy Roof published in their Fall/Winter 2009 issue. (Click on title to read.)






Read it! And let us know of the insights, questions, dreams that got evoked. Take the conversation forward, into your own circles, homes, gatherings...we are here to listen and join with you.

A Balikbayan's Letter to Her International Community

Dear Friends mostly outside Philippine Soil,

As many of you already know, the rest of my life when not focused on my mother’s final stages of her life’s journey, has been a rather surprising engagement with another campaign for presidency...this time in Philippines. (On the periphery of the international scene, but oh, what a space & true potential we hold!).

Go to www.nicanorperlas.com to understand the man we are behind. And to www.apeopleforperlas.ning.com, the community gathering internationally to support his candidacy. And a new twitter that Brad, I and few others just started and will be gaining momentum soon: twitter.com/perlascebu. We are taking on an area of the Philippines that includes my hometown of Cebu — about 2.5 million voters — and are being invited to take on the larger Visayas Region of some 10 million voters. (I know, I know, mindboggling and insane on one hand, but totally natural and fulfilling on another. Go figure. Actually, don’t! ;-D)

Anyway, picking up on the international thread, I wanted to alert you to this growing body of international volunteers who have started websites, blogs, and more recently Skype calls — from France, Germany, Canada, India, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, US, Belgium & other places I don’t even know about — to engage in strategic thinking to support Nicanor Perlas’ campaign for presidency. If you check out their developing campaign strategy, you will see high involvement among Anthroposophists and Waldorf School leaders. So you know the heart and the principles that this movement for new politics and a new Philippines shares with each of you.

I understand that there is in particular a 3-week period starting now in which international donations are allowed. After that, we’re on our own. The dollar goes a long long way in the Philippines. Things I am asking you to consider doing?

• Read the above sites & blogs, especially Nick's, and his growing community of ALL VOLUNTEERS.
• Go tell your buddies in education and social transformation (the kind we all aspire and are dedicated to) that there is a man running for president who has the mind and heart of an educator you would love to start an educational revolution with, a love and passion for the environment, a dedication to right governance, the vision for a new civil society (see his three-folding writings) and now a dear friend.
• Join A People for Perlas and/or be in touch with Seth Jordan who heads the group (I’ve copied him here) and listen for what you might be able to give to support this huge and beautiful endeavor.
• Contact your own Filipino friends — in the North & South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, etc., even back here in the Philippines -- and share this.
  

THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNATIONAL — YOUR -- VOICE: Early in the filing of candidacy, the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) denied Nick Perlas his candidacy because he had no money, no political machinery, had not run for political office (his real track record for what he has done instead with his life is in his website) and not a descendant of a political clan. An immediate response worldwide rippled through the cyberspace and in two weeks some 2,000 petition signatures from 44 countries were signed, and letters to COMELEC by the Green Party in Australia and France and other Green Parties arrived. The international presence and voice is well heard and paid attention to here in the Philippines. COMELEC rescinded their initial decision and put Nick Perlas as an official candidate for President of the Philippines in the Election on May 10, 2010.

Thank you beloved community for all you are and continue to be for me, for the work and for our beautiful planet.

All Love, Always, and In All Ways,
Your Tressa

Calling All Cebu Youth Leaders: Meet Nicanor Perlas on January 22

For all Student Council and Youth Group Leaders of Cebu City:

On Friday, January 22, 2010, from 9 to 11 AM, you will have the rare opportunity to meet Presidential candidate Nicanor Perlas up close and personal here in Cebu! We are looking to gather young leaders from across the city to talk about what matters most to them in this extremely important election.

Would you like to have your voice heard about what matters most to you for the future of the Philippines -- and what you would like the next President to take on as most important? Are you interested in getting involved in the "New Politics" of Nicanor Perlas in a big way?

If so, this is your event -- and we want you there. You will be with others just as interested as you are in making a major change for the future of the Philippines, when election day happens on May 10, 2010.

Seats are limited!

Please click here to email us, learn more about this event, and get signed up!

On black swans and things impossible

Our friend and Projek Samadhi member, Arjun, pasted an Adidas magazine ad on the door of 577 (PS Headquarters). It says:

P.R. Sarkar has encapsulated this thought in one line: ‘As you think, so you become’.

One of Papa’s books I read when I was a little girl, says ‘Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind of man can achieve’.

Bestselling book The Secret discussed the Law of Attraction. Attract and it will happen. Much like the pious saying, ‘Lord, I claim it and it’s mine.’

In the movie ‘What the Bleep do we know?’ Quantum Physics is defined as the science of possibilities. Basically it says that we have the power to choose among infinite possibilities what to make of ourselves and our lives. This is not very easy to digest, since we have been indoctrinated from childhood that our life has been charted for us despite our so-called free will.

The conditioning we receive from birth until we become old enough to think for ourselves makes it very hard for us to accept that the reality we thought IS, could ever be changed. That is why we are shaken when something unexpected happens. We are pushed from our comfort zones, unbelieving of the new reality that faces us.

All our choices are happening now, that is why whatever we choose is destined to happen. This choice may be in thought or deed or both. Our choice becomes our experience, which is our reality. With an understanding of this, it seems not so hard to appreciate that we can choose our own reality. In fact, we can make our own reality. In believing, half the battle is won.

Indeed, the impossible is possible. If we don’t know something, or if there is no proof (yet) of its existence, we believe that it is never going to happen. Black swans used to be an impossibility until one explorer saw an actual black swan in Australia. Like many other things impossible before it, it opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Remember when people believed that the world is flat?

In the book The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, Nassim Nicholas Taleb writes, ‘We concentrate on things we already know and time and time again fail to take into consideration what we don't know.’ Maybe because of this, we fail to see the infinite possibilities out there.

Maybe we just need to accept the possibility of the impossible to realize the fullness of our being, the infinite living within us, and the Divine that can make everything possible.

Am I hardwired like everybody? Is it not possible for me/us/our country/our world to realize my/our full potential? Yes, I am/we are hardwired, but it IS STILL possible for me/us to be our highest possible self/nation/world. In believing so, half the battle is already won.

Now it's Joey!

my cebuana friend tapati who is with bagong lumad texted me the other day saying joey a and band mate onie badjang is supporting nick's candidacy. i would not be surprised. nick=new politics, joey a=bagong lumad...get it? a cosmic convergence of artists as ordered from the cosmic creator! heee haaaa!!!

artists are coming together to support nick perlas and new politics. our design group projek samadhi works for his campaign designing info and campaign materials. MORE>>