Onofre R. Pagsanghan

Onofre R. Pagsanghan (born June 12, 1927) is a renowned educator in the Philippines. He graduated from high school at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1947 and also earned his AB in Education in 1951 and MA in English literature in 1984 from the same university. He started his career in the university's high school department in 1951 and has taught the English and Filipino languages ever since. He married Florinda Duran in 1960 and had three children named Stella, Joel and Sylvia. The Tanghalang Onofre Pagsanghan theater was named after him in honor of his then 45th year of teaching service to the university.

"He has lectured extensively throughout the Philippines, literally from Aparri to Jolo, on education topics, specifically on “Teaching as a Vocation.” He is a regular lecturer for the Department of Education. He has authored Hasik, Layag, and Makabagong Pilipino, three textbooks used in several high schools. He has also written two other textbooks for high school use, Reaching Out and Sagwan. In 1997, he founded the Sibol-Hesus School, a free tutorial school for public high school students.

Mr. Pagsi, as his students fondly call him, has utilized and continues to utilize the theater as a means to teach not just English and Filipino but Christian values as well. He began “teaching” theatre as moderator of the Ateneo High School Dramatics Society in 1956, managed its transition into Dulaang Sibol in 1966, and has won recognition as a playwright and director in the succeeding decades."

Mr. Pagsi teaches the class of 1A as their homeroom adviser and English teacher. 1A has been handled by him since the 80s. His MP or "Memorable Passage" for this school year is "Love one another as I have loved you."

Mr. Pagsi is currently serving his 60th year as a teacher.^{[citation needed]}

Memorable Passages

Other than his yearly "MPs", Mr. Pagsi also puts up a different Memorable Passage (also an "MP") at the beginning of every week.

Here is a list of his "MPs" for the school year 2011-2012^{[citation needed]}

"You are what you do repeatedly, excellence is not an act, it's a habit."-Aristotle

"To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail."-Anonymous

"Many people sit on their butts, they've got the dream, but not the guts."-Liza Minelli

"The secret to success is on the treadmill, because if you say you will run 5 miles, and you only run 3, I have nothing to fear from you, because when I say I will run 5 miles, I run 10. With that mindset, it is difficult to lose."-Will Smith

"Each man's life touches so many other lives." "No man is a failure who has friends."-from Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life

"The unexamined life is not worth living." - Socrates

"What the wise do in the beginning, fools do in the end." - Warren Buffett

"There are three words I like to repeat to myself, glass half full, just to remind myself to be grateful for everything I have."-Goldie Hawn

"There is enough for a man's need. There is never enough for a man's greed." - Gandhi

"You can get through life with bad manners, but it's easier with good manners." - Lilian Gish

"Face the light, and the shadow is behind you; turn your back to the light and the shadow will always be in front of you." - Anonymous

"Ang masakit at mapait ay nagiging kaakit-akit depende sa bakit." - Fr. Francis Alvarez, S.J.

"You can always tell a real friend when you've made a fool of yourself, he won't feel you've done a permanent job." - Lawrence Peter

"Effort only fully releases its rewards after a person refuses to quit." - B.C. Forbes

"My basic principle is that you don't make decisions because they are easy; you don't make decisions because they are cheap; you don't make them because they are popular; you make them because they are right!" - Theodore Hesburgh

"I've missed more than 9000 shots, I've lost almost 300 games. I've failed over and over again in life. And that is why I succeed." - Michael Jordan

"Their plans falter for them to see if their cause is still worth fighting for." - Lois Lowry's The Giver

"The first rule for holes, when you're in one: stop digging" - Anonymous

"Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last lesson he learns thoroughly." - Anonymous

Scholarships and Grants

Ford Foundation Grant to observe educational television in the United States (1963)

UNESCO and British Council Fellowships to observe theater in the United States (1971)

Japan Foundation Scholarship to observe the Japanese system of education (1981)

New York University Scholarship on American Culture (1986)

Teaching Awards

• Order of St. Michael the Archangel by the Holy Angel University (2011) ^[1]
• Bayaning Gurong Pilipino Award from the ABS-CBN Foundation and UGAT (2003)^[2]
• Gawad Paz Marquez Benitez for outstanding educator in literature from Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (2002)
• The Outstanding Filipino Award by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Senate Philippines (1996)^[3]
• Metrobank Outstanding Educators Award for excellence as a high school teacher (1985, the first year of the Metrobank Awards)^[2]
• E.A.G.L.E. Fund Teacher Award for excellence in the teaching profession from the Ateneo de Manila University (every year from its inception in 1980 up to the present)
• First Irwin Memorial Award for excellence in the teaching profession from the Ateneo de Manila University (1977)
• Ozanam Award for Outstanding Service as a Catholic teacher from the Ateneo de Manila University (1970)
• Citizens’ Award for Television, Best Educational Television Program, for a televised series of lessons in Filipino (1964)

Cultural Awards

• "Yes The Filipino Can!" award by the RFM Corp. (2008) ^[4]
• Centennial Honors for the Arts (Theater) from the National Centennial Commission (1999)
• Gawad Manuel L. Quezon from Quezon City and the Taliba ng Inang Wika (1996)
• Gawad CCP para sa Sining (Dulaan) from the Cultural Center of the Philippines (1992)
• Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas from Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (1992)
• FAMAS Best Musical Film Award for Sinta (1976)
• Patnubay ng Kalinangan Award for national contribution in the field of theater from the City of Manila (1970)
• Gawad Balagtas for significant work in Philippine theater from the Surian ng Wikang Pambansa in (1970)

References

1. ^ University to honor top Catholic lay educator, Sun.Star, February 7, 2011
2. ^ ^{a b} August-September 2006 Arrupe News, Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP). Accessed July 26, 2011
3. ^ Onofre R. Pagsanghan TOFIL Awardee for Culture and Arts, 1996, Junior Chamber International (JCI) Senate Philippines. Accessed July 26, 2011
4. ^ Yes The Filipino Can! awards launched. The Philippine Star, October 11, 2008

• Fatima Parel, ONOFRE PAGSANGHAN: THE PASSION OF PAGSI, Philippine Headline News Online, September 27, 2008. Accessed July 26, 2011
• Dennis M. Arroyo, Onofre Pagsanghan, 'merchant of dreams', Philippine Daily Inquirer, February 16, 2002
• http://web.archive.org/web/20091027132629/http://www.geocities.com/vonjobi/pagsicv.htm

Persondata
Name	Pagsanghan, Onofre R.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 12, 1927
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death