Notre Christi Academy of the Philippines was conceived by the inspiration of its founders’ belief in the supremacy of wisdom stated in Proverbs 4:7. Wisdom, as we understand, is the application or practice of knowledge. But human knowledge is so immense and you may ask, “Which one?” or “Where do we begin?”
Here’s what we found:
“Wisdom is supreme so acquire wisdom, and whatever you acquire, acquire understanding. – Proverbs 4:7 (NET)
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…” – Proverbs 1:7a
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” – Proverbs 9:10
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6
And that is where we believe best to begin. We teach first the fear of the Lord because one who fears God will gain understanding, good judgement, and discretion as he or she increases in learning and stature. We could raise up men and women of integrity who would not be easily swayed by fame, power or vain self-glory. This is in contrast to what an adapted quote which says, “Teach a person all the knowledge and skills without building his character and you would end up raising a wise criminal.”
The Bustos culture believes in the importance of education as the best legacy that parents could offer their children, far better than riches. Most households of the NCAP founders have adopted, practiced, and proven this to be true.
Therefore, NCAP believes in a holistic education which seeks to engage all aspects of the learners’ being, including mind, body, emotion, and spirit. Giving children the right (holistic) educational foundation will give them a greater chance to develop into dedicated teachers, scrupulous businessmen, honest government leaders, thorough economists, caring doctors and nurses, impartial judges, truthful journalists, diligent chemists, assiduous scientists, creative engineers and computer experts, productive farmers, and many more ethical members of the work force and society. They would be prudent and of strong resolve, able to face challenges even in times of crises.
NCAP also believes in a famous African proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child“. Times are a changing but this old adage still applies and most especially now, with the remote/on-line teaching- learning system, where teamwork and cooperation among the community of teachers, parents and students are of utmost importance.
Finally, NCAP still believes and will endeavor to achieve its goal of producing a new breed of learners who are globally- competitive, environment-friendly, patriotic and God-fearing individuals, even at this time when online and distant learning is the trend of providing education due to the pandemic crisis.