Ateneo valedictorian shares love of math through teaching

MANILA, Philippines – Most people cringe and wince when you talk about mathematics, but not Daniel Joseph Benito. The 20-year-old valedictorian of Ateneo de Manila University’s Class of 2016 grows animated when he talks about one of the most universally-feared subjects in the world.

Benito, who came from Marikina Science High School, leaned towards the sciences when he first mulled his college applications. But it was the joy of problem-solving that led him to take up his course in Applied Mathematics, major in Mathematical Finance in Ateneo.

“Feeling ko ma-eenjoy ko ang math. Gusto ko mag-solve kaysa magsulat ng papers related to science. May ibang joy sa pagsasagot ng math, ‘pag nakuha mo sagot sa problem,” he said, before apologizing for being “overly excited” about the subject. (I felt that I would enjoy math. I wanted to solve problems instead of write science papers. There’s a different joy in solving math problems, when you figure out the answer to the problem.)

Daniel isn’t just passionate about math – he’s made it his personal advocacy, one that he lived out in his work teaching children of urban poor communities as member of student organizations Alay ni Ignacio (ANI) and Ateneo EDGE.

Most members of these social development organizations join out of a love for teaching, or an idealistic streak to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged kids.

For Daniel, it was being exposed to ANI’s work that led him to want to be part of it when he entered Ateneo.

When he was a high school senior, he was recruited to join the summer classes and workshops of Pathways to Higher Education, the parent organization of ANI. Watching his ates and kuyas devote their time to teach junior and senior high school students made such a mark on him that it eventually became one of the reasons why he chose to study in Ateneo.

But while Daniel admitted that joining ANI in college was his way of giving back, he stayed because of his belief in the organization’s cause.

“In the beginning it was more of giving back. I saw the experience of my ates and kuyas, and thought that maybe it’s fun to teach and be an ate or kuya to the lower batches. But throughout my stay in the organization, my belief in the advocacy also deepened, that eventually it became more than just giving back. What the organization is fighting for – it becomes part of you,” he said in Filipino.

Personal advocacy

Even before college, Daniel had always warmed to the idea of teaching, so spending countless hours every week teaching the kids of Marikina and Quezon City came easy for him. It also gave him a channel to push for his own personal advocacy: trying to get kids to enjoy math.

“I’m a math major and I love math, so I feel bad when kids are afraid of it. I see them looking at it as an obstacle, and they feel overwhelmed. How much more when they’re confronted with other problems?” he said.

For Daniel, math is more than just crunching numbers and arriving at the right answer. It’s the critical thinking process that’s more important, he said, because it can be applied to other problems that are not necessarily numbers-related.

“The beautiful thing about math is it’s more than just solving the problems. It trains you to think critically, and the necessary skill set needed for problem-solving can be applied in many problems in society. That’s what’s important, the critical thinking and the self-confidence that you can create solutions,” he said.

His students may not always get the right answers, but he considers it a job well done when he gets them to be a little more confident and are encouraged to try harder to solve the problem.

One of his proudest moments was when he received a Christmas card from a Grade 10 student, thanking him for helping her love the subject and overcome her fear of math.

“’Yung goal ko more than anything else, gusto ko magtiwala mga bata sa sarili nila,” he said. (My goal, more than anything else, is to get the kids to believe in themselves.)

 

Commitment to the cause

But as much as he loves math – and loves the challenge of sharing his passion with kids – it’s not always easy to get his students to pay attention.

Many times, the kids would ask for piggyback rides instead of sitting down to solve the problems. Daniel said he’s often wondered whether he was being an effective teacher, constantly questioning himself why the children could not seem to grasp his lessons.

Most volunteers would probably pack up and leave, or write the kids off as hopeless causes. It’s a constant problem in these kinds of organizations in Ateneo, which not only face smaller member pools, but an even bigger challenge of keeping them committed and dedicated to the cause.

But what kept Daniel returning week after week was a sense of unfinished business, knowing that it would take more than just a day to help the children realize their potential.

“Hangga’t di ko natuturo mga kailangan kong ituro, ‘yun din ‘yung bagay na nagpapabalik sa akin. May kailangan pa rin akong ituro sa kanila. Hanggang di ko nagagawa ‘yun, babalik at babalik ako. Paulit at paulit akong susubok na mabahagi sa kanila ‘yung kailangan nilang malaman,” he said.

(Until I haven’t taught what I need to teach, that’s exactly the thing that will keep me coming back. I still need to teach them, and until I haven’t achieved that, I’ll keep coming back. I’ll keep trying to impart to them what they need to know.)

One of his friends from high school, Roel Yerro, said Daniel has always tried his best to help others help themselves.

“Tinuro niya sa akin ‘yung collective growth. Sobrang naniniwala si Daniel na magaling lang yung isang tao pagka kaya niyang gawing magaling yung ibang tao,” Yerro said.

(He taught me about collective growth. He believes that a person is excellent only if he can make others excel too.)

In his work with kids, Daniel has learned to adjust, trying to balance playtime with study time. And while they may not be able to get through all of the lessons for the day, this doesn’t mean that his visits to the kids’ communities don’t have any impact.

“I feel that we also have a different impact on the kids, like companionship. They have someone to dream with, someone to go on the journey with them,” he said.

 

Keeping the idealistic streak

Four years later, Daniel is leaving Ateneo with several awards under his belt – the most prestigious, of course, being the valedictorian of his batch.

Daniel said he didn’t quite expect it, at one point thinking that he didn’t deserve the honor, especially since he didn’t have such idealistic goals when he first entered Ateneo.

He had pragmatic reasons for entering the university – thinking he could get a good career post-graduation – but he leaves it now with a much deeper sense of fulfillment.

“I was asked how my perception changed in Ateneo. I first thought, after Ateneo, I’d get a good job, help the family. I thought I could only help once I get rich. But here, I realized that you don’t need to be rich first to help. It’s enough that you can share your time and talents with others, to help them realize their own potential,” he said.

As he plans to pursue a master’s degree, Daniel said he is still eyeing more opportunities to continue with his advocacy, and expressed hope that he could continue staving away cynicism as he faces bigger challenges ahead.

But if he does encounter these moments of self-doubt, Daniel said he already has a solution in mind.

“For those moments, I’ll stay silent for a while. One of the things I learned is the importance and value of silence, of stopping, of reflecting, to understand if your values are still intact, if your beliefs and the things you love remain,” he said.

“Kung darating man yung moment na yun, na maging cynical ako, mananahimik na lang muna ako, mag-iisip, magdarasal…Sana sa pananahimik ko na yun, makuha ko yung biyaya at grasya na kailangan ko para magpatuloy,” he said.

(If that moment comes, when I become cynical, I’ll stay quiet for a while, reflect, pray…I hope that in my silence, I’ll be able to find the blessing and grace I need to continue.) – With reports from Rendell Sanchez/Rappler.com