Few semesters ago, when Dr. Omas-as offered me the subject Public Administration and Social Change, my first question was: Is there a book that I could use as reference? She told me to ask Ma’am Nilds Cosare who handled the course the previous semester. Ma’am Nilds, bless her kind soul, gave me a photocopy of Stephen Vago’s “Social Change.”
As it is, Vago’s book is good because it draws attention to the characteristics, processes, and perspectives of social change. But the rub is, these exciting topics in Sociology are not linked with Public Administration.
Uh-uh!
That semester I taught PA and Social Change with eyes wide shut, groping for materials in the Internet that would help me and my students navigate through unfamiliar territory. I texted friends who texted their friends in UP and other SUCs for materials that I could sink my teeth into.
Zero. Nil. Zilch.
And then just like that I realized that the words creativity and improvisation were coined for a purpose. And just like that, me and my student stepped out of academic limbo, and into the light.
But until now, I still get this feeling that I could have done more. And Euli Ann, one of my exceptional students, echoed this sentiment when she recently posted a comment on my FB wall, thus: I can't imagine what the final exam for PA and Social Change be; kamatayon na ngani yadto sa una na waray klaro na reference materials, uno pa kaha kuman na pan Harvard?
But that’s getting ahead of the story.
Dr. Omas-as offered me again PA and Social Change last semester. Here’s my chance at self-redemption, I remember telling myself; eagerly I agreed even if it was in the time slot I eschew---1:00 to 4:00 PM.
And so it went that while my students reported on Vago’s first five chapters, I was busy befriending Google and coining every conceivable keyword before dragging the mouse.
Again, nada.
Time was running out. My students were already asking for their topics. And I began to feel the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in the heel of my palm.
Then one rainy afternoon, just when I was about ready to give up, Google smiled at me and gave me a book title: The Social Construction of Public Administration (Interpretive and Critical Perspective) by Jong S. Jun.
Immediately after the Google revelation, I sent text messages to my friends in the Metro to check if the book was available locally. It wasn’t. Not wanting this time to filch it from Torrent, I faced my FB wall and typed away my frustration. Five minutes later, a miracle happened: an angel from North Hills, California commented that all I needed to do was to say the word and she’d send the book pronto.
Well, I said the word.
Just a short digression: The angel’s name is Carol Macaranas. My classmate at the University of San Carlos, Carol has that rare combination of beauty and brain, with a heart as big as the State of Texas! She has also put some books about writing on my shelves and an oxblood Armani Exchange timepiece on my wrist!
Two weeks later, the book arrived. And my PA and Social Change class was never the same again!
My PA and Social Change class last semester will be best remembered as a motley group with intellectual gravitas rarely found in grad school. Take for instance Ernie Gultiano and Ronelyn Pinalba exchanging incisive comments, leaving everybody wishing silently for the two not to stop; or Eleonesto Dumagan needling the reporter for some contradictions; or Cheryl Elpa breaking into a smile before doing a rebuttal; or Francis Miranda mouthing legal jargons as though Mirriam Santiago were his Mom; or Ferdinand Denso doing a kilometric commentary in a voice so well-modulated it would make Mike Enriquez weep of envy; or Ermin Buhion hurling a couple of philosophical questions to nobody in particular; or Mr. Alas sharing his thoughts in an unassuming way that was his signature.
Gee, I loved that class.
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