Dr. Maynard Victor Erece,hc
General Information[edit]
Dr. Maynard Victor Erece,hc is an educator and long-time global advocate for gifted and talented education. He has organised and participated in seminars, presentations, forums, teacher and parent education, and program development in Gifted and Talented education world-wide. His approach to gifted and talented education is rooted in both his professional and personal life being a parent to one extremely gifted and twice exceptional daughter and a profoundly gifted, record breaking son. He shared his experiences in raising gifted and talented children in the 22nd Biennial World Council for Gifted and Talented Children's Conference in Sydney, Australia on July, 2017 in an open conference peer review aptly titled: "The Making of a Modern Day Renaissance Man- the unique case of Jozef Erece"[1] and again in the 2019 World Council for Gifted and Talented Children World Conference in an open conference peer review in Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee with his daughter Maynah Borja-Erece and wife Dr. Josephine Ana Borja-Erece titled "Yes, Dad. I can hear you, I'm choosing to ignore you."[2].
Background[edit]
Dr. Erece has been involved in education for the past 20 years. He is currently with the Brisbane Catholic Education system teaching Science and Mathematics. He has been involved in education systems in Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the US providing education, assistance and guidance in the academe as well as pastoral levels. He has worked for the Department of Education, Culture and Sports in the Philippines, assisted with the Education Review Office in New Zealand, collaborated with Gifted and Talented education in the Brisbane and presented in numerous local and international workshops and seminars from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. In his advocacy as a teacher of highly gifted students, he has collaborated, critiqued,adopted and created opportunities ranging from regional Science Fairs, chess olympiads, and elite sports and academic programs in Asia, New Zealand, Australia and the US. Being a parent of highly gifted children, he has evaluated and adopted the importance of technology and on-line learning for differentiation, enrichment and ultimately acceleration using platforms like the EPGY- Stanford, Harvard X, Khan academy and developing learning opportunities himself that would cater to differentiated needs.
His personal involvement with gifted and talented education started early with his son, Jozef Maynard Borja-Erece and his daughter Miss Maynah Josephine Lourellen Borja-Erece both profoundly gifted children. Dr. Erece and his wife Dr. Borja-Erece, a medical doctor in collaboration with the schools, various government agencies in both Australia and New Zealand created great opportunities for their children to grow their gifts and talents.
Dr. Erece was awarded a Doctor of Science, honoris causa, for his contribution to Gifted and Talented education in 2019 from Los Angeles, California.
Mentor for all[edit]
Dr. Erece is a mentor to many gifted and talented students from the 90's to the present. Some have since graduated to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, politicians and academics. His son, Jozef is the youngest law graduate in Australian history and the youngest solicitor in the southern hemisphere and (arguably) the world when he achieved both records at 18 years old.
He advocated for the development of programs that support multiple intelligences and gifted and talented research applications in sports programs. He was heavily involved in the academic and pastoral mentorship for many students who have since become household names. His former students include Sonny Bill Williams, Tevita Latu, Isaac Boss, Quade Cooper, James Kamana and Richard Kahui became notable Australian and New zealand rugby sports celebrities, Monique Williams became the Australian and New Zealand 100 and 200 meter sprint champion, and Leon Henry, Jaden Bezzzant, Nikau McCullough for New Zealand basketball.
Mentorship with the late Mel Young, former BBNZ president and Head of the World FIBA Youth Development led to collaborative ways to enmesh gifted and talented research findings and applied them to sport creating the framework to the St. John's Academy for Basketball Excellence. Being an outstanding semi-professional basketball coach himself, Dr. Erece was voted Waikato's most outstanding coach and had won numerous basketball titles. The program is now bannered as the Mel Young Invitational Basketball tournament that spearheads the Basketball Pacific's premier event, the Mel Young Easter Classics, the Koru tour and the New Zealand jamboree.
Dr. Erece's approach to creating programmes that involved multiple intelligences contributed to the initial working concept submitted to the Education Review Office that helped form the framework for Gifted and Talented education in New Zealand. He supported the Education Program for Gifted Youth under Stanford University until it's demise in 2018.
