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by: Carlo Brian Angelo S. Nerecena December 17, 2005 Ten years. That's how long it has been since four individuals - all mathematics educators from different schools - embarked on an endeavor that would showcase the skills of the Filipino youth in math and help improve the level of math education in the country. That endeavor has of course been embodied in the organization that we've come to know as the Mathematics Trainers' Guild. Since its inception in 1995, the MTG has made huge strides in accomplishing its goals. Its flagship program - the MTG Mathematics Challenge for Filipino Kids Training Program - continually trains the best young mathematical minds in the country to compete in international competitions. Then, the MTG has supplemented this by having given numerous training seminars for math educators around the country, to improve the way this subject is being taught here. With that, it just became quite fitting that the MTG celebrated its decade-long existence with a grand reunion for all those who have been part of this wonderful family for the past ten years. The MTG 10th Anniversary gathered past and present day MTG officers, trainers, trainees, and parents to a night of celebration and commemoration for ten years of unparalleled dedication in the uplifting of math education in the Philippines. It was held at the Century Seafood Restaurant last October 21, 2005. The Growth of the MTG Family A look at the people present in the occassion would suggest just how the MTG has grown for the past ten years. While some members of the current batch of MTG Kids are only in Grade 4, some members of the first MTG batch have already graduated from college - some are even university instructors already! This trend even holds for the trainers. Most of the original MTG trainers have since then moved on to pursue better opportunities. In their place are the new batch of trainers, most of whom, the author included, are previous MTG Kids themselves. And the case is similar even for the parents. While some have since then retired from being MTG mommies and daddies, others haven't even had their math whizzes born by the time that the MTG joined its first competition. Aside from the people in the celebration, another evidence of MTG's growth through the years can be seen on the attractive montages placed at the entrance of the venue. There were ten posters in all - one for each of MTG's ten years. They contained snapshots of the MTG Kids' experiences as well as news articles and other memorable items collected from those years. Some of these snapshots could also be seen in the souvenir programs that were given out. Adding some color to the festivities were were the international mathematicians who served as the event's guests of honor. They were at the country as they were speakers at the MTG-DOST-SEI Mathematics Conference held on the same weekend. They are: Dr. Andy Liu of Canada, Dr. Peter James Taylor of Australia, Prof. Sun Wen-Hsien of Taiwan, Prof. Pinky Leung of Hong Kong, and Prof. Qiu Zonghu and Prof. Tang Dachang of China. Some of them, like Prof. Taylor and Prof. Sun, can be considered as honorary members of the MTG family, as they have worked hand-in-hand with some of the MTG Officers on some endeavors in the previous years. Celebrating Ten Years The celebration itself was lively. The guests were treated to a Chinese Lauriat dinner while the main program went underway. MTG alumni Andrew Jonathan Co and Deborah Que acted as emcees and did a superb job in making the program flow smoothly. MTG President and founding member Dr. Simon L. Chua delivered a speech thanking all those who became part of the MTG family for the past ten years. This was followed by speeches from some of the guests of honor. Then, some of the former and present-day MTG Kids were also given the opportunity to speak in front and bring the audience to a trip down memory lane as they shared some of their memorable experiences with the guild. Aside from the speeches, special tributes were also given to the MTG family members. The MTG Kids from St. Jude Catholic School treated the officers and trainers with a special number. Sisters Audrey Celine and Carmela Antoinette Lao sang "There You'll Be" while the other Judenites handed out tokens of gratitude to their mentors. Then, the officers handed out placques of appreciation to the MTG parents for their immeasurable support. And then finally, the MTG Kids were made to go up the stage by batch to be given certificates of appreciation as well. In between all of these, there was also a raffle draw to keep everyone on the edge of their seats. At stake were huge prizes, including a trip to Hong Kong as first prize. Quite fittingly, the HK trip was won by one of the emcees, Andrew Co. Moving Forward With ten fruitful years already in the books, the celebration also became the perfect opportunity for the MTG to enter a "new age" and release its new logo. The new design pays homage to the old design, but was modified to better fit into the MTG's goal of "aiming higher". Keychains bearing the new logo were even handed out to the guests as a souvenir for this event. The evening was capped with a speech by MTG Vice President for External Affairs and founding member Mrs. Rechilda P. Villame. There, she even referenced to the popular Orange and Lemons song "Pinoy Ako" - a fitting piece to symbolize what MTG's commitment to not only uplift the level of Filipino math education, but also to showcase the Filipino's true potential in this field to the rest of the world: "Pinoy ako, Pinoy tayo. Ipakita sa mundo. Kung ano ang kaya mo. Ibang-iba ang Pinoy. Ipagmalaki mo." |
