Dr. Gerry Madrazo Jr. - Epitome of A Role Model for Immigrant Educators
By Carolyn Weygan-Hildebrand*
*Carolyn Weygan-Hildebrand is a guest writer for Hawaii Filipino Chronicle.

If there is an extraordinary star among current immigrant educators, he is the jovial Gerry Madrazo Jr.!  He was the second day plenary keynote speaker of the July 9-12 Pacific Education Conference that was hosted by Honolulu’s McKinley High School and attended by some 1,100 educators from US Mainland States, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Saipan, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Marianas, Marshall Islands, Yap, New Zealand and the Philippines.  It was a bit surreal for me to see delegates approach him not to ask scholarly questions but to seek his autograph!
There are no strangers amongst us, only friends we haven’t met.  He said in his speech and kept his audience at ease.   Our friends make us happy.  Some by coming, some by going.  He quipped and made his audience laugh.  I discovered later that witty quotes and humor are signature Gerry Madrazo- whether he was delivering a scholarly presentation or having a lunch conversation with friends.  It was easy enough to conclude that he reads, observes, and reflects a lot to be dishing out so much food for thought .

He exhorted the audience to make waves for the new generation of LEP students as the journey of educating them continues.  I understood from him that if we want students to learn and improve then we ought to be supporting a school culture that viewed LEP students as Language-Enhanced Pupils and not simply as students with Limited English Proficiency.  I gathered from his presentation that the largest LEP groups in Hawaii are Ilokano speaking students followed by Tagalog speaking ones.  Hence, Filipinos will gain the most from any improvement in school culture.  He stressed the need to develop a personal relationship with each learner.   One on one with students is most important and more important than any law, he reminded his audience.

The Journey of the Master Educator

Gerry Madrazo’s half-page biographical sketch in the 95-page conference program guide  impressed even before he spoke or was seen. Dr. Gerry Madrazo has been a teacher, educational specialist, director of instruction, assistant superintendent, clinical professor, international speaker and author. He is currently the Administrator for the Arts, Science, and Technology Section in the Instructional Services Branch of the Hawaii Department of Education , the guide said.  Dr. Madrazo grew up in the Philippines .  He received an A.B. degree, cum laude, in Biology and General Science, with minors in English, Spanish, Philosophy and Education from the Ateneo de Zamboanga University.  He earned his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in curriculum and instruction (science education) and education leadership and supervision from the University of North Carolina at Chapell Hill. Dr. Madrazo has been honored and recognized throughout his career.  His honors range from being named Teacher of the Year by his Graham High School students to receiving the Carleton Award for Distinguished Leadership in the field of Science, the National Science Teacher Association’s most prestigious award the guide continued.

He used his keynote address to be more personal with the audience.  He explained that his primary language is Chabacano and that this language is one of the 180+languages and dialects of the Philippines.  He related that he is the eldest of nine children and reflected a little bit about the culturally-expected roles and inherent learning opportunities of an eldest son.   Being the eldest is powerful . But just like Spiderman said, it is serious responsibility, he noted.  He recalled that his younger siblings listened to him but being responsible for them also meant caring for them.  He said that he did all things from marketing and cooking for the family to helping pay for his siblings’ tuition fees.

More Lessons by Examples

I wonder whether I can interview you later?  I wanted to ask you what to do to better engage our children in science and math. I requested after his keynote address.  He was affable but did not give me a crisp yes.  Instead, he wondered whether I had the time to attend his session that was set on the final day of the conference.  He said that it was on his current interest on brain research and its implication on our diverse learners.

On the last day of the conference, he already started his presentation when I tried to enter the classroom.  An attendant stopped me and said to wait until he can bring more chairs in.  The classroom was packed but more people trickled in after me.  By the end of the session, there were at least two teachers who sat on the floor.
During his hour and half-long session, each attendee participated in at least four different hands-on activities.  The simple puzzles and activities engrossed us.  The activities had us working individually sometimes, and in pairs or larger groups at other times.  We found ourselves actively engaged in guessing, inferring, observing, counting, double-checking, conferring, presenting, standing, and yes, laughing at our mistakes and aha moments.  Dr. Madra zo efficiently used the activities to demonstrate that the goals for studying brain research are realistic.  These goals include reaching as many children as possible, teaching to individual differences, diversifying teaching strategies, and maximizing the brain’s natural learning processes!

To stress the importance of learning methods, he cited results of a 1995 study on how we remember what we learn.  This study concluded that after 24 hours, we practically remember only 5% of materials from a lecture, 10% from reading, 20% from audio-visual, 30% from demonstration, 50% from discussion groups, 75% by practicing through doing, and 90% by teaching others or immediately applying what was learned.  

Aha!  I just realized that a master Science teacher engages through experiential learning and self-reflection not by spoon-fed answers.