INTRODUCTION:
In the Ratio Studiorum of the Jesuits (Jesuit Plan of Studies) of 1599, Eloquentia Sapientia and Eloquentia Perfecta were among the humanistic aims of Jesuit Education. The Ateneo de Zamboanga University Grade School, as a Jesuit school, strives to develop in the students the ability to express or verbalize their thoughts and feelings for the service of the society where they live in.
In fulfillment of the provision of the Ratio of the Jesuits, the institution provides its students the necessary exposure and training to sharpen their minds and their oral communication to attain eloquence of speech. The elocution program, for many years, has been the answer to the quest for eloquence of speech. Indeed, the goal for which this program was primarily conceived served only about 15 to 20 percent of the student populace.
RATIONALE:
How does the school intend to take care of the 80 percent of its population? Some students are extremely shy. Some have not mastered enough confidence to stand and much more to recite before a large audience. Some of them have stage fright. A good number of them just need a break. They can comfortably recite together with their classmates for a start and eventually recite all by themselves.
The English department of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University Grade School then, thought of a Choral Recitation Program/Speech Choir Program as a measure to remedy this situation. Through this program, it is hoped that all students can be cared for. This program would complement the elocution program. Through these two programs, “Cura Personalis” (personal care for students), a principle characterizing Jesuit Education, would be given to each and every individual student in the grade school.
