This principal also moves up
The transition from elementary to junior high school is an exciting time but it may not always be smooth. Not only are the students on the cusp of a life event called puberty, these teens have to deal with a new environment, new teachers and new classmates. The result is an awkward young person with frazzled nerves. Call it luck or maybe even fate but when the Ateneo Grade School (AGS) Class of 2018 starts Grade 7 at the Ateneo Junior High School (AJHS) in June, a familiar face will be there to help them navigate this daunting and exhilarating period: Mr. Jose Antonio “Jonny” P. Salvador.
Salvador (GS’80, HS’84, AB Psychology 88 and MA Educational Administration ‘98) is making a big move from AGS where he served as its’ first lay Headmaster (2014-2018) to his new position as AJHS principal. Prior to being named Headmaster, Salvador was also the AGS’ Head Counselor, Assistant Headmaster for Student Affairs and Officer-in-Charge. Suffice it to say, Salvador knows how to soothe a student’s frazzled nerves.
“Junior High School life is an experience of dichotomy: You are no longer a child. Given this interior tension in our boys, I think it is important to remind them that to shed their childhood ways does not entirely mean leaving their childhood behind,” says Salvador. He continues, quoting Pablo Picasso, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century: “Every child is born an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
What is essential, Salvador says, is to spark their creativity and imagination so that even as adults, they will be able to “see the world with hopeful optimism.”
“In the face of global warming, terrorism and hate crimes, I think we need an abundance of optimism. We loosely use the notion of developing resilience in our students to mean being calloused or hardened but I am convinced that resilience is all about engendering in our students a strong sense of idealism.”
Creating an environment that will bring out a student’s energy and imagination is something that Salvador is accustomed to. He, after all, grew up in such an environment, having spent a big chunk of his life in an academic setting steeped in a tradition of excellence in academics and service.
“What I am today is a function of the habits, values and attitudes that I acquired when I was younger, many of which I learned growing up in this campus,” he says.
This collective memory has helped Salvador during his time as an AGS teacher: “Every nook and cranny in the campus has a story that takes me deeper back into my youth. This way of seeing things has helped me be in constant touch with the why’s of what we do as a teacher and as a community.”
“There are countless things that I will miss in a place that I have regarded as my second home. What stands out are the people-students, parents, co-workers and everyone else who helped build meaningful memories at the AGS,” he shares.
Nevertheless, Salvador is ready to tread new ground.
“I look forward to reuniting in AJHS with my former students, their parents and working alongside my new co-workers.”
He adds, “I cannot imagine anyone in this ministry thinking that there is nothing more that we can learn. This is why it is almost a necessity for me to constantly challenge myself to do something new so as to force myself to learn, relearn or even unlearn.” Helping adolescents as they transition into young adults is indeed a challenge but Salvador is up for the task.
“I’d like to get to know our students at greater depth. I am genuinely interested in hearing their stories, struggles and aspirations in life,” he says.
Communicating with a teenager may be a challenge but Salvador, a Sibolista (a term used to refer to a member of the Ateneo High School’s theater group Dulaang Sibol), has a few tricks up his sleeve.
“Well, I have an arsenal of guitars and stringed instruments that I enjoy playing. Who knows, maybe I can learn a riff or two from the students,” he ends.
