In line with the National History Month, the Social Sciences Department (SSD) of Cebu Normal University (CNU) hosted a whole day forum entitled “A Talk on Local History and Culture in Cebu” on August 23, 2019 at the Samuel McClintock (SM) Hall.

This is the second forum conducted this year as part of the CNU Social Sciences Forum Series which started last April. The forum, themed “Kasaysayan: Bahagi ng Ating Nakaraan, Gabay sa Kinabukasan” featured research outputs from the SSD faculty including Mr. Ian Christian Cosido, Dr. Alex Tiempo, and Mr. Romualdo Generalao.

Prof. Cosido shared about his thesis on the history of Mandaue City, while Dr. Tiempo discussed his contributions on a history book about the Municipality of Ronda. Mr. Generalao spoke on the History of Cebu Province as a whole. The event was attended by freshmen students, those taking Philippine History, and those who major in Social Studies.

According to Nice Ricaña, a BSEd 1 student, the forum is very educational. She said that students like her who have attended the forum learned how the names of the different places in Cebu originated. She mentioned that although the students came from a certain municipality, each has recognized other towns and what the other municipalities have to offer. She also said that events like such should be continued so that teenagers may appreciate their roots and the history’s impact on what the youth has become today.

Francis Mark Domatican, a BSEd English 1 student said that the forum is informative. He added that it helps feed the students’ minds of what every municipality has and helps Cebuanos love their place more.

Prof. Tiempo mentioned that when it comes to history, people mostly think of World or Philippine history. He added that people “never care to read about our own local history like the history of Cebu, even the history of barangay or towns which is seldom discussed in classrooms,” so he encouraged students to read local history and for teachers to include local history in their teaching.

According to Prof. Generalao, “actual exposure is the best teacher”, “you can easily recall the activities, people, and landmarks of the places you have visited” adding that he enjoys an educational trip with his students during weekends so that the students may see the economic movement of different places.

He also calls on history lovers to help preserve the heritage of their individual locality by encouraging his family members or neighbors to preserve an antique or old house where a meeting of the Katipunan was held or where the first mayor was born, so that the next generation will remember and learn something from what the people in the past have done to their town.

“You cannot move forward if you don’t know the past because you’ll learn the mistakes,” he added.

Last April, the theme was “CNU Social Sciences 2019: An Enlightened Citizenry for a Better Philippines” in time for the upcoming May local elections.

According to Mr. Mervin Reyes, SSD Academic Chair, the SSD is planning to conduct the forum monthly depending on the celebration per month. (JDF)