La Bella Maestra
I received a beautiful-looking book written by Nelson Navarro titled La Bella Maestra. It is the life story of Preciosa Soliven and the making of OB Montessori Center. The night I began reading the book, I couldn’t put it down and finished reading it in the wee hours of the next morning.
I have the privilege of knowing Preciosa Soliven as an enthusiastic and committed educator, a doting mother of three daughters, grandmother to nine, widow of brilliant journalist Max Soliven. But this book revealed much more about an extremely brave, accomplished woman and the pursuit of her lifelong passion.
Preciosa Silverio Soliven was born in the summer of 1938. The book further revealed that she was a precocious little kindergarten student when war broke out in Manila. Her peaceful world turned into fearful chaos as Japanese and American armies exchanged fire night and day. The family abode located on San Marcelino street, near the south bank of the Pasig River, was dangerously close to the walled city of Intramuros, which was taken over by Japanese troops who refused to yield. It was therefore bombarded non-stop by American forces.
According to the book, at the onset of terror on the street where the Silverios lived, Preciosa’s father, Calixto Silverio, a judge, and her deeply religious mother, Meding Quioque Silverio, did not hesitate to move with their three small children to safer ground a few kilometers away, in Singalong.
One fateful day, Calixto braved the danger zone and returned to their abandoned home to obtain important legal documents. This was the last time he was ever seen by his family.
Some recollections in La Bella Maestra are heart-wrenching. Take for example how a caring neighbor who managed to evacuate came to report to Calixto’s stunned widow many days later what he wished he had never seen. The decomposing body of her husband, mercilessly bayoneted and defaced, lying on the tracks close to Ayala Bridge. Sadly, with the heavy fighting still ongoing, it was simply impossible to retrieve his body and pay respect with a proper funeral.
Navarro wrote, “True to her gentle personality and strong Catholic faith, Meding Silverio received the devastating news with stoic resignation.”
Upon receiving the most cruel blow of their lives, Precious recalled to Navarro: “In the face of Papa’s death, there was no fuss, no tears. My Mama’s eyes were moist, the tears just fell and fell. When I asked her, ‘Why are you crying?’ she said that Papa died already. We didn’t ask where or why. We just accepted it.”
Navarro added: “It was this stoic attitude and inner strength that would become Precious’ saving graces in facing similarly unbearable trials in the future.”
With peace in the country restored, she was able to complete her primary education in San Andres Elementary school where she was accelerated from Grade 5 to 6. High school to college were fruitful years spent at St. Scholastica with German and Filipino nuns. Precious loved children and devoted much of her time to volunteer work, teaching Cathechism in public schools and depressed areas of the city. One day, Precious expressed her earnest desire to become a nun. After a spiritual retreat, however, she was advised not to enter the religious order. They reasoned that her good looks and gregarious personality would spell distraction. According to her spiritual advisers, it would be better for her to pursue what she excelled in and loved most — teaching and social action. Thus began her life’s passion.
La Bella Maestra also tells of a love story. In God’s good time, Preciosa’s prayers for a good husband were granted. A man named Maximo V. Soliven wooed her by calling her up on the phone every single night. He was a budding journalist, kind, intelligent and courageous. She was poised to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition. Her final requirement was a thesis of 250 pages to be typed in triplicate copies, which Max gallantly offered to do in between his day job, night news desk job and avid courtship. Max won her heart and married his pretty “Precious Silver” on June 1, 1957. She was 19. According to Navarro, “He was eight years her senior and destined to be the most influential columnist and newspaper publisher of the Philippines in the post-Marcos dictatorship period.”
As the couple traveled together extensively all over the world, moved in influential social and diplomatic circles of a charmed life, God was planning Precious’ own destiny.
By some accidental twist of fate, as the story goes, Precious became known as a Montessori teacher. She had taken a part-time job teaching kindergarten kids in a Montessori school in San Lorenzo Village in Makati. Suddenly, her Swiss boss was recalled to her own country while Precious was immediately given the task to take over. Under the circumstances, Precious wasn’t ready for this position as she soon discovered that the teaching materials left and methods taught were insufficient. How could she survive this? She always applied the right attitude. Never one to panic, she stayed calm. She managed to improvise through resourcefulness and intuition.
Serendipitously, she and Max ran into a friend shortly after this teaching dilemma.
Italian Ambassador Eugenio Rubino surprised her by offering her a very generous scholarship grant to get properly trained in the Maria Montessori method of teaching all the way in Italy. With deep gratitude and the keen encouragement of her husband, Precious accepted his offer. This was a sacrifice of love for Max because they had small daughters to care for. Their two daughters Marinella and Rachelle kept Max awake at 3 a.m. to change diapers and prepare milk bottles. Yet he allowed her to finish two 10-month intensive courses in Perugia for pre-school from 1964 to 1965; and Bergamo for grade school from 1968 to 1969. Max was so proud of her.
Life was not without ups and downs for the Soliven couple. Precious continued to exhibit courage and dignity through unforeseen trials. On Sept. 23, 1972, they were roused from slumber after midnight. Martial law was declared and Max was arrested. He was in prison for three months and released only to be under house arrest for the next eight lonely years. Her daughters told Navarro that instead of dwelling in fear due to the big loss of income and uncertainty of the future, she silently accepted their fate. “My mother was the family breadwinner during those trying years,” according to Marinella Soliven, her middle daughter who now works for the Los Angeles City government in California. Eldest daughter Rachelle left for nursing studies in the United States in 1983 and lives there, too. Sara, her youngest daughter, likewise completed college there but came back to work as Precious’ assistant and eventual successor.
Max Soliven, according to Navarro, once described his wife as a “pillar of strength” in the face of bad news.
“She never complained, never blamed anybody. She is not a worrier. She just works quietly to solve the problem.”
From a humble kindergarten classroom with 20 students in a tiny Malate apartment, OB Montessori has grown impressively into a chain of five private schools around the metro (Greenhills, Santa Ana, Las Piñas, Fairview) and one campus in Angeles City, Pampanga with 5,000 students enrolled, plus 156 Pagsasarili or self-help outreach programs in economically distressed provincial communities.
Leading the notable alumni of OB Montessori are Lea Salonga, Aiza Seguerra, Geneva Cruz, Isabel Granada, Rachelle Alejandro and Rico Blanco.
OB Montessori’s 50th anniversary in 2016 is a significant milestone and tribute to the good teacher who started it all with her great love for children, passion for education and dedication to creative learning. La Bella Maestra (the beautiful teacher) — Preciosa Soliven.
(La Bella Maestra and How Well Do You Know the Wonders of Your Children are available in selected National Book Store and Fully Booked outlets. They are also available at the bookstore in all OB Montessori campuses (Greenhills, Santa Ana, Las Piñas, Fairview and Angeles, Pampanga). For inquiries, call 722-0019.)
(Would love to hear from you at miladayjewels@yahoo.com.)
