Our First Solar School in the Philippines
How many great people have you seen in your life who shouted and criticized and pushed everyone around them? People who are lonely often lash out at those people around them which typically widens the separation between those they want to come closer. Too many people are tough on the outside, but soft on the inside when it should be the other way around.
It is why teachers are so important. A great teacher finds a way to balance kindness and compassion with discipline. There is a common misconception that teaching is about telling others what to do. This would make the students get used to being passive and to take direction from others. Good teachers use a variety of methods to help students learn. Good teachers are not looking for students to follow them. Good teachers are looking for students who may need a little help getting started, but who will move ahead on their own if given the opportunity. So many of you who read these blog stories are great teachers and we try and point you out as we can, but there are so many of you that will never get the recognition that you deserve. I know only the smallest percentage of teachers out there right now, but the ones I do know are so important to our collective future and without even knowing you personally, you must know how much we appreciate all you.
I believe Jameson Tan is also great teacher. I am sure none of you know Mr. Tan and probably none of you will ever meet him because he is a teacher at a school in the Philippines. Rather than describe how nice and kind he is, but how persistent he is to help his students, I am going to share with you one of the many e mails he sent us asking us to help his school get a solar electricity system.
Thank you for the interest in helping our school acquire a solar panel. It is our long cherish dream to be a solar school and we're hoping through Mr. Kizer this will soon turn into reality.
Our school's official name is Sitero Francisco Memorial High School, located at Sta. Monica Subdivision, Valenzuela City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Our telephone number is 00633-445-3903. It was established in 2002 and has been a consistent winner in various competitions in the division and regional level. We are the first and so far the only public secondary school in the Philippines who have conducted a computerized election for our student government.
We're offering complete secondary school from first to fourth year level (equivalent to grade 7 to 10 in US). The Philippines has the shortest basic education in Asia, with grade 1 to 6 to complete elementary and grade 7 to 10 to complete the high school. Our land area is 1,400 square meters. Negotiations are underway for the purchase of additional 2,000 square meters of land by the city government for our school expansion.
Our plan is to have a hybrid type of electrical service once the solar panel is with us. The majority of our electrical connection will remain on-grid while the small portion will be on off-grid utilizing the solar panel. We envision our school to be a model school introducing the potential of solar energy in the country among public schools as well as other institutions to contribute to the growing clamor to lessen the impact of global warming. We do hope that through the Foundation headed by Mr. Kizer and other concerned organizations and individuals this will soon come into reality.
Thanks and God bless.
James Tan
When I forwarded this e mail to my friend Daniel Li of Wanxiang Solar, his company Wanxiang America Corporation agreed to help us get a solar electricity system to Mr. Tan. When I talked to Paul Loeffelman of American Electric Power, he agreed to bring the school into AEP's Learning from Light Program and we have sent educational materials to the school that were created by another non-profit, the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED). There were so many people helping and also so many barriers because of shipping and government regulations, but in the end Mr. Tan remained nice the entire time and yet remained firm in his determination to get solar on his school. The pictures that are in this story show you that the solar panels are being installed finally. It literally took a village in the Philippines and four organizations in the US, and one from China, to get this done, but it all started with a very nice and kind teacher at a school in the Philippines who searched the internet and found our Solar Schools Program and decided he wanted his students to be part of the solar schools initiative. He has succeeded. And like so many great teachers around the world and all over the US, it is the students who will benefit.
I must also point out that none of this could have been possible without the help of my old friend Bill Manz who visited the school and met Mr. Tan and then came back to Ohio to talk to me at a Starbucks about why we should help this school. I have a picture in my office of Bill Manz and Jameson Tan with some other teachers from the school. Now I will add a second picture to my wall. A picture of Jameson Tan with the School Principal, Mr. Cesar C. Vilareal as the solar energy system is being installed. In case you never meet him, Jameson is the one in the blue shirt.
Principle and Jameson Tan
We will put up a page on the web site SolarSchools.org with a picture and the information about this project and with Mr. Tan's e mail in case you want to contact him about what he is doing at his school. It will be in the "Learning from Light" section. We have also asked Mr. Tan to write his own blog story about this project and he has agreed so stay tuned for his follow up.
Attaching The Panels
Solar Array
Solar Panel Construction
Battery Bank