SPEECH ON THE OCCASION OF THE 2011 ANNUAL EDUCATORS CONGRESS (AECON)
Sponsored by: REX BOOK STORE, INC.
(September 1, 2011 8:00 AM, 1Esplanade, Pasay City)
Atty. Dominador D. Buhain
Chairman & President, REX Book Store, Inc.
Good morning to our esteemed educators/, our beloved partners in education. I am deeply honored to stand here in front of you today/ as we gather once again/ to take part in another exciting undertaking in the field of education.
Before anything else,/ I would like to officially welcome you all to the Third Annual Educator’s Congress./ This annual gathering has served as the venue to introduce, discuss and share the latest trends and innovations in education.
Allow me to share with you how all of this came into existence. The congress was inspired by our personal commitment/ to provide you with the best in educational tools and resources./ The idea that fueled this event/ came from one simple yet invaluable concept/ – that is partnership. The partnership fostered between Rex Book Store and you,/ our dearest educators/ who are the prime movers of Philippine education.
This partnership is further solidified by our shared aspiration/ of providing the Filipino youth with excellent education/ and driven by mutual trust and collaboration./ As a result,/ the Annual Educator’s Congress,/ also referred to as AECON,/ was born.
The inaugural congress started in 2009 as Rex Book Store helped introduce the Understanding by Design framework to the top educators in the country. Spearheaded by Ms. Rita Atienza,/ who worked directly with UbD proponent Grant Wiggins,/ our partners got firsthand information from known UbD experts and practitioners/ and even got the rare chance to interact with Mr. Grant Wiggins himself through a live webcast.
The overwhelming success of the first congress prompted us to continue/ while at the same time look for ways to outdo ourselves./ The 2nd AECON took us deeper into UbD and reinforced it with UBD stage 4,/ assessment,/ and Schooling by Design. This time/ we brought in international curriculum expert,/ Mr. Greg Curtis,/ to lead us into the topic. The event was made even more special/ when UbD proponent,/ Mr. Jay Mctighe,/ personally addressed and delighted the audience through a live webcast.
You might notice from the two previous congresses/ that Rex Book Store would not offer you anything less than the best/ and the authentic,/ evidenced by the support and the active participation of the Understanding by Design proponents,/ Mr. Jay Mctighe and Mr. Grant Wiggins,/ as well as the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)/ who has been instrumental in the development and promotion of those breakthrough concepts.
AECON 2011,/ ladies and gentlemen,/ is no exception. This year’s two-day Educators’ Congress/ promises to be another event full of significant learning/ as we take UbD several notches higher. The theme of AECON 2011 is Understanding by Design + Differentiated Instruction = Linking Content and our Learners./ If you would notice around you,/ and in our event logos,/ we have featured lots of different colors./
The colors in the logos signify the differences between each learner/ in terms of learning styles and modalities./ And that is exactly what we will talk about/ in the next two days. We will find out how the concepts UbD/ and DI/ come together and complement each other in classroom instruction./ This will be shared to us/ by no less than established experts and practitioners/ Ms. Nanci Smith and Ms. JaniRay Smith,/ both from ASCD.
And so I urge everyone to give utmost attention and enthusiasm for the next two days. We assure you/ that at the end of this convention,/ you will once more find yourself empowered,/ as you go back to your respective schools and face your students,/ more equipped and more confident.
So without further ado,/ I would like to declare the 2011 Annual Educators’ Congress open./ May you have an eventful experience as we embark on another journey/ towards higher learning.
Thank you and God Bless you all.