The objective of Academic Improvement Visitation (AIV) essentially is to uplift the quality of instruction for the institution. The intention of this endeavor is to support the practice and policy of AIV. In other educational institutions, a mechanism similar in objective and purpose is also being done though such goes by other name or nomenclature. Since the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement – the process of identifying areas for instructional improvement runs in consonance with the institutional mantra of kaizen or continuous improvement.
Descriptive method of research was the primary framework of this endeavor. Accordingly, descriptive research method refers to the identification of characteristics of the behavior or situations in which it occurs, so that behavior can be predicted or described (Heiman, 1995).
The advantages of the questionnaire method are as follows (Nocon et. al, 2000):
1. It is less expensive since questionnaires can be distributed personally or by mail.
2. It is less time consuming since it can be distributed over a wider geographical area in a shorter time.
3. It can give confidential responses since the respondents can answer the questionnaire privately.
4. The answers obtained are free from any influence from the interviewer.
The findings are summarized as follows:
1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:
Department
In the period of 1st Semester SY 2005-2006, there were a total of 184 faculty and that out of the 184 faculty, 171 were actually observed and covered by AIV. It must be noted that there seven departments that were able to obtain a score of 100% in terms of AIV coverage while there were six departments that were able to get a score less than 100% .
In SY 2005 – 2006, second semester, there were a total of 146 faculty and 139 were covered by the AIV for 96.30% average. There were 10 departments who obtained a 100% coverage while three other departments (were tallied at less than 100%, e.g. CE/SE – 89%, CBE – 78% and MarineE and T – 85%). In SY 2006 – 2007, first semester, there were a total of 143 faculty for the said duration and there were 130 actual faculty that were subjected to the AIV with a percentage of 91%.
In SY 2006 – 2007, second semester, there were a total of 116 faculty observed out of 121 for a percentage coverage of 96%. There were ten departments that were able to cover their faculty 100% (i.e. Arch./DT, CE/SE, CoE, EE, ECE, CITE, M & P, Mar. E &T, ME/IE, and PE).
2. What are the weaknesses of AIV?
Observed weaknesses for the First Semester, SY 2005 - 2006
1. Department Chairs must ensure that each faculty in the department must submit their WLAP every week following the schedule as stipulated in the form. This must be done with or without observation/visitation.
2. Implementation of the 5s inside the classroom should be strictly enforced by all departments. TIP is known to be a very clean school, so that cleanliness and tidiness is very important to ensure that 5s is observed.
3. There must be a close supervision and monitoring of faculty members to ensure 100% compliance with the preparation of WLAP, Class Record, Seat Plan and other teaching paraphernalia.
Table 10. Weaknesses for the First Semester, SY 2005 – 2006
Observed weaknesses for the Second Semester, SY 2005 - 2006
1. The institution must benchmark the performance the performance of its Department Chairs and Faculty Members regularly against best practices locally and globally.
2. Faculty development strategies must be undertaken regularly to provide the faculty with better opportunities to learn and improve their crafts.
3. Weaknesses in student performance must also be identified and be acted upon by each faculty member and should not be ignored and set aside.
4. Proper monitoring and guidance must be provided to students who cannot cope up with their academic work to support them in their studies and to assist them in overcoming their academic problems and studies.
Table 11. Weaknesses for the Second Semester, SY 2005 – 2006
Observed weaknesses for the First Semester, SY 2006 – 2007
1. Around 5% do not have their Syllabi and WLAP’s at the time of the observation.
2. Some department chairs failed to join the Academic Dean during the observation/visitation.
3. There are some teachers who do not observe the proper implementation of the 5s in the classroom. They try to ignore scattered pieces of papers that are inside the classrooms.
4. Some faculty members uses stereotyped WLAP’s and do not conform with the topics as stipulated in their syllabi.
Table 12. Weaknesses for the First Semester, SY 2006 – 2007
Observed weaknesses for the Second Semester, SY 2006 - 2007
1. College Deans and Department Chairs must strictly observe their own faculty members and undertake Academic Improvement Visitation at least twice every semester, as recommended by Mr. Peter Dombey during his last visit in TIP, Manila Campus.
2. Blackboards at the P. Casal Campus must be repainted.
3. Implementation of the 5s Program must be strictly followed by all concerned.
4. Faculty Development Programs must be continuously undertaken for faculty members, especially those who are newly hired.
Table 13. Weaknesses for the Second Semester, SY 2006 – 2007
3. What are the strengths of the AIV program?
Strengths of the Academic Improvement Visitation Program
1. The AIV serves as an avenue for continuous improvement, efficient classroom management and improved teaching competence for the faculty.
2. The AIV raises the bar of instruction in the institution.
3. Department Chairs who have monitored closely their faculty members show 100% compliance with the AIV requirement.
4. There is a tangible pedagogical competency improvement among the faculty.
5. Values Education was incorporated in the subject matter of faculty members under the Humanities and Social Sciences Department.
6. Knowledge of current situations and events were likewise incorporated in the teaching of Ethics, Logic and Philosophy.
7. Majority of the faculty members have taken effective action to address their weaknesses and have continued to build on their strengths to enhance their performance and efficiency in teaching.
8. The AIV is very effective in helping new faculty members in achieving their goals in providing their students with the best results in learning and education.
9. The AIV improved the implementation of the 5s program.
10. The AIV enhanced the teaching methodologies of the faculty members.
11. The AIV improved the ability of the faculty in lesson preparation.
12. The AIV improved the proficiency of faculty in English.
13. The Academic Improvement Visitation encourages the faculty members to be up to date in their class records (i.e. checking and recording of quizzes, seat works and other requirements).
14. The AIV improves self-confidence.
15. The AIV improves the delivery of instruction.
16. The AIV helps in mapping classroom activities.
17. The AIV serves as a platform for the faculty to display their mastery of the subject matter.
18. Improves the conformance of objectives (as stipulated in the WLAP’s).
19. The Academic Improvement Visitation improves punctuality and regular attendance of the faculty.
20. The AIV improves the compliance of teaching paraphernalia’s for the TIP faculty.
Table 14. Strengths of Academic Improvement Visitation
Conclusions:
1. The success of the Academic Improvement Visitation is dependent on the Department Chairs. Departments who obtained lesser scores usually had their Department Chair preoccupied with some other departmental concerns.
2. Teaching paraphernalia’s (e.g. Syllabus, Class Record, Weekly Lesson Activity Plan and Seat Plan’s) must always be emphasized as an imperative tool for teaching among the TIP Faculty. There must be a uniformed and a universal implementation of the 5’s system. TIP Faculty must have an ownership of the system.
3. The Academic Improvement Visitation (AIV) is an effective management tool for continuous betterment of the delivery of instruction for the institution. The AIV serves as a positive influence in guiding the faculty in the improvement of their craft. More often than not, TIP faculty displays a positive attitude towards AIV – they see the AIV as an opportunity to showcase their teaching competency to their respective Department Chair and Academic Dean. This perspective in turn improves the delivery of instruction for the TIP students.
From the endeavor, the following insights were established:
1. The success or the inefficiency of the Academic Improvement Visitation (AIV) is dependent on the Department Chairs. Department Chairs must believe and persevere that AIV works and that a lot are riding on their shoulders whenever the visitation is being conducted.
2. Whenever there is faculty who teaches without complete teaching paraphernalia’s, the failure is partly owned by the Department Chair. This is a failure of coaching on the part of the Department Chair. Department Chairs must always emphasized importance of teaching paraphernalia’s and must devise a system where no teaching is ever complete if one does not have a complete teaching paraphernalia.
3. The Academic Improvement Visitation (AIV) is a unique and effective tool for measuring the improvement of the delivery of instruction in the institution. This must be continued and there must be at least two AIV rounds per department.
4. The AIV visits must be done by the Mid-terms so as to have a true performance reflective evaluation for the respective faculty.
5. There must be clear standard when it comes to the institutional academic improvement visitation.
6. There must be an “action plan” when it comes to the identified weaknesses established by the academic improvement visitation.
7. There must be a reward/citation/commendation for departments that are accomplishing betterment in the delivery of instruction.
8. Credits/commendations must be given to the faculty instead of the respective department chair.
9. More training about instructional improvements must be conducted by the institution for a higher quality of instruction.
10. Academic improvement visitation must be continuous endeavor instead of a semestral metric.
11. Ideally, there must be no AIV during the summer term. Instead, institutional sponsored instructional trainings will have to be conducted in this duration.
12. As much as possible, faculty members should be visited in the time where they are teaching their forte.
13. Academic improvement visitation should be a platform for the faculty to showcase their mastery of the subject being delivered for the students.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Usage Level of TIP - Manila Library Resources by Leandro N. Opetina, MA (June, 2008)
This study deals with the usage level of the library resources of the Technological Institute of the Philippines-Manila. It aims to unveil what materials are so important to the students and faculty members and whether these materials live up to the expectations of the users. It also includes other concerns like library services, facilities and staff. The respondents were the students enrolled in summer 2008 and faculty members with summer teaching load at TIP-Manila.
This study used questionnaire patterned from the TIP-Manila library survey questionnaire used in determining the library users’ satisfaction and expectations in terms of the library facilities, library staff, and library service. The material assessed the respondents’ appreciation level on the various library resources.
As shown in this study, most of the respondent teachers mainly used the periodicals in the library. However, they also visited the library for some other reasons such as photocopying/printing, using/borrowing multimedia, books in the Filipiniana section, and internet access computer. The students, on the other hand, visited the library for printing/photocopying services, using periodicals, and most of all, using the books in the Filipiniana (not to mention other minor concerns).
As to the usage level of the library services, library resources, and facilities in terms of their importance and satisfaction, most of both teachers and the students said that the usage level was important (4th rank in a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is the highest) and fairly satisfying (no. 4 in a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is the highest).
Most of both teachers and the students said that appreciation level of the TIP-Manila library facilities, staff and the overall services are agreeable (no. 4 in a scale of 1 to 5, where the latter is the highest).
Teachers and students visited the library for various reasons. Some went there to photocopy/print, use the periodicals, internet, online catalog, multimedia, course reserve, books, and e-journals. Others went there to seek reference desk assistance, research consultation, library database searching, interlibrary loan, and information literacy instruction.
The library users were somewhat successful in most of the library activities in achieving their goal. Though in general the library services, resources, and facilities were neither very important nor very satisfying to them, at least these were fairly important and fairly satisfying.
Some students complained of the availability of the photocopying service. According to them, it’s sometimes not available. Some faculty members, on the other hand, suggested that the library be transferred to the lower floor; if possible to the ground floor.
Overall, the TIP-Manila libraries are all “thumbs up” though there is still room for improvements.
This study used questionnaire patterned from the TIP-Manila library survey questionnaire used in determining the library users’ satisfaction and expectations in terms of the library facilities, library staff, and library service. The material assessed the respondents’ appreciation level on the various library resources.
As shown in this study, most of the respondent teachers mainly used the periodicals in the library. However, they also visited the library for some other reasons such as photocopying/printing, using/borrowing multimedia, books in the Filipiniana section, and internet access computer. The students, on the other hand, visited the library for printing/photocopying services, using periodicals, and most of all, using the books in the Filipiniana (not to mention other minor concerns).
As to the usage level of the library services, library resources, and facilities in terms of their importance and satisfaction, most of both teachers and the students said that the usage level was important (4th rank in a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is the highest) and fairly satisfying (no. 4 in a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is the highest).
Most of both teachers and the students said that appreciation level of the TIP-Manila library facilities, staff and the overall services are agreeable (no. 4 in a scale of 1 to 5, where the latter is the highest).
Teachers and students visited the library for various reasons. Some went there to photocopy/print, use the periodicals, internet, online catalog, multimedia, course reserve, books, and e-journals. Others went there to seek reference desk assistance, research consultation, library database searching, interlibrary loan, and information literacy instruction.
The library users were somewhat successful in most of the library activities in achieving their goal. Though in general the library services, resources, and facilities were neither very important nor very satisfying to them, at least these were fairly important and fairly satisfying.
Some students complained of the availability of the photocopying service. According to them, it’s sometimes not available. Some faculty members, on the other hand, suggested that the library be transferred to the lower floor; if possible to the ground floor.
Overall, the TIP-Manila libraries are all “thumbs up” though there is still room for improvements.
Analysis of Educational Policies of Mandated Courses: Rationalizing its Inclusion in the General Education Curriculum by Ronald M. Corpuz, MA
This study endeavored to rationalize the inclusion of mandated courses in the general education curriculum by soliciting the perception of the student- respondents on the relevance of the two subjects to the needs of the learners.
Primarily, it seeks to determine the level of compliance of TIP to the goals of mandated courses in the General Education curriculum, responsiveness of mandated courses in attaining the objectives of General Education as specified in the Education Act of 1982, responsiveness of mandated courses in addressing the constitutional objectives of education, strengths and weaknesses of mandated courses and the perceived problems that affect the relevance of mandated courses.
Findings show that; TIP have complied Very Satisfactorily to the goals of mandated courses in the general education curriculum; mandated courses is responsive in attaining the objectives of general education as specified in the Education Act of 1982; mandated courses is responsive in addressing the constitutional objectives of education; in terms of strengths, respondents believed that Rizal Course and Philippine History is important, relevant and responsive to the needs of the learners; and the primary factor that affects the relevance of mandated courses in the General Education Curriculum is library/book holding.
It is recommended that: Technological Institute of the Philippines should review from time to time mandated courses and other social science subjects if they are complying continuously to their goals as specified in the goals of general education curriculum; more seminar on teaching methodologies, innovations and strategies in the field of social science must be given to the teachers to make them more effective in delivering instruction; teachers must inculcate deeply to the heart of the learner those citizenship traits embodied in studying Rizal Course and Philippine History to maketheir graduates to develop more patriotism and nationalism; and more textbooks related to history and our national heroes should be purchased to make their students more interested about the past.
Primarily, it seeks to determine the level of compliance of TIP to the goals of mandated courses in the General Education curriculum, responsiveness of mandated courses in attaining the objectives of General Education as specified in the Education Act of 1982, responsiveness of mandated courses in addressing the constitutional objectives of education, strengths and weaknesses of mandated courses and the perceived problems that affect the relevance of mandated courses.
Findings show that; TIP have complied Very Satisfactorily to the goals of mandated courses in the general education curriculum; mandated courses is responsive in attaining the objectives of general education as specified in the Education Act of 1982; mandated courses is responsive in addressing the constitutional objectives of education; in terms of strengths, respondents believed that Rizal Course and Philippine History is important, relevant and responsive to the needs of the learners; and the primary factor that affects the relevance of mandated courses in the General Education Curriculum is library/book holding.
It is recommended that: Technological Institute of the Philippines should review from time to time mandated courses and other social science subjects if they are complying continuously to their goals as specified in the goals of general education curriculum; more seminar on teaching methodologies, innovations and strategies in the field of social science must be given to the teachers to make them more effective in delivering instruction; teachers must inculcate deeply to the heart of the learner those citizenship traits embodied in studying Rizal Course and Philippine History to maketheir graduates to develop more patriotism and nationalism; and more textbooks related to history and our national heroes should be purchased to make their students more interested about the past.
Development of a Compendium of Instructional Materials in Teaching Logic by Rogelio Dela Cruz, PhD. (June, 2008)
Logic is a branch of philosophy that deals with the art and science of correct thinking. The study of logic can satisfy a wide range of interests and abilities. It develops the imagination. It trains in clear and logical thought. It is a challenge, with varieties of difficult ideas and unsolved problems, because it deals with the questions arising from complicated structures. Yet, it also has a continuing drive to simplification, to find the right concepts and methods, to make difficult things easy, to explain why a situation must be as it is. In so doing, it develops a range of languages and insights, which may then be applied to make a crucial contribution to our understanding.
The standards of learning for logic identify academic content for the essential component of the philosophy’s curriculum at different year levels for both public and private tertiary schools. The standards of learning are not intended to encompass the entire curriculum for a given year level or course or to prescribe how the content should be taught. Teachers should be encouraged to go beyond the standards and to select instructional strategies and assess methods appropriate for their students.
The main reason for studying logic to an advance level is that it is interesting and enjoyable. People like its challenge, its clarity, and the fact that you know when you are right. The solution of a problem has an excitement and a satisfaction. One will find all these aspects in a university’s degree course. One should also be aware of the wide importance of Logic, and the way in which it is advance at a spectacular rate. Logic is about pattern and structure; it is about logical analysis, deduction, calculation within these patterns and structures. When patterns are found, often in widely different areas of science and technology, the logic here is that there is a pervasive influence in our everyday lives and contributes to the success of every student.
Students today require stronger logical knowledge and skills to pursue higher education, to compete in a technologically oriented workforce, and to be a well-informed citizen. Students must gain an understanding of fundamental ideas in logic such as the relevance of terms, comprehension, extension, proposition, eduction, logical equivalence, syllogism, and fallacies, and develop proficiency in argumentation and debate.
In addition, students must learn how to use a variety of methods and tools to philosophize, think critically, calculate analytically, and solve logically. Logic is the art of conforming one's thoughts to the Law of Identity. In one respect, thoughts have to conform to the Law of Identity, as everything else does. This has to do with the nature of thoughts. Ideas have a different nature than memories which are different from emotions. In this regard, all thoughts conform to the Law of Identity.
The relevance of logical ability is not only of great importance in everyday lives, but it is also a skill that is indispensable for students in school. Very little of what happens in any learning situation is not dependent on logical thinking. It is often stated that students nowadays find it difficult to deal with definitions, meanings, propositions, syllogism, and even in solving logical problems. This is brought about by traditional way of spoon feeding method of teaching, although it helps foster memorization and recalling, still there will be a great need to enhance the logical abilities of the students in a more precise and enjoyable ways. In the light of the aforementioned background, this study will attempt to delineate the levels of logical ability of the engineering students of TIP-Manila.
This study will attempt to establish the level of logical ability of the engineering students of TIP-Manila. It will cover the six (6) personal profile indicators namely; age, gender, year level, course, type of school graduated from, and high school grade point average, and six (6) logical ability indicators namely; definitions and meanings, propositions, square of oppositions eductions, syllogisms, and solving logical problems, as the evaluation criteria in assessing the logical abilities of the students.
This study has six groups of respondents, the Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronics and Communications Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering students-respondents which compose of three hundred fifty-three (353) students who are officially enrolled in different engineering programs of the Technological Institute of the Philippines-Manila for the first semester of academic year 2007-2008.
The assessment of the six groups of respondents toward the different item indicators for each variable utilizes a grade-point scale with the equivalent scores, namely: 96 and above – superior, 91 – 95 – excellent, 86 – 90 - above average, 81 – 85 – average, 75 – 80 - below average, and 74 and below – poor. Analysis was done in the specific areas namely: definitions and meanings, propositions, square of oppositions, eductions, syllogisms, and solving logical problems.
Findings show that majority of the students-respondents belong to the 17 years old bracket, males, second year college students taking up Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications Engineering and those who finished their high school in a private secondary institution with a high school grade point average that belong to the 81 - 85 grade point average bracket.
Findings also show that the levels of logical ability of the engineering students-respondents of the Technological Institute of the Philippines-Manila found to be average in the different aspects of the logical ability tests which is a clear manifestation that most of the engineering students are not very familiar with the logical qualities of terms and not fully capable of identifying the given propositions including the appropriate symbols, types, and its equivalent.
In view of the findings of the study, the following recommendations are hereby presented for consideration:
1. Students should be given an insight on the significance of definitions and meanings, propositions, square of oppositions, eductions, syllogisms, and solving logical problems.
2. Students should be trained on how to develop their logical ability by putting emphasis on their knowing powers.
3. Design an instructional material that will facilitate the transfer of knowledge in order for the students to have a basic understanding of the eight syllogistic rules.
4. Students should develop self-confidence and at the same time seek ways in improving their logical and critical thinking skills.
The standards of learning for logic identify academic content for the essential component of the philosophy’s curriculum at different year levels for both public and private tertiary schools. The standards of learning are not intended to encompass the entire curriculum for a given year level or course or to prescribe how the content should be taught. Teachers should be encouraged to go beyond the standards and to select instructional strategies and assess methods appropriate for their students.
The main reason for studying logic to an advance level is that it is interesting and enjoyable. People like its challenge, its clarity, and the fact that you know when you are right. The solution of a problem has an excitement and a satisfaction. One will find all these aspects in a university’s degree course. One should also be aware of the wide importance of Logic, and the way in which it is advance at a spectacular rate. Logic is about pattern and structure; it is about logical analysis, deduction, calculation within these patterns and structures. When patterns are found, often in widely different areas of science and technology, the logic here is that there is a pervasive influence in our everyday lives and contributes to the success of every student.
Students today require stronger logical knowledge and skills to pursue higher education, to compete in a technologically oriented workforce, and to be a well-informed citizen. Students must gain an understanding of fundamental ideas in logic such as the relevance of terms, comprehension, extension, proposition, eduction, logical equivalence, syllogism, and fallacies, and develop proficiency in argumentation and debate.
In addition, students must learn how to use a variety of methods and tools to philosophize, think critically, calculate analytically, and solve logically. Logic is the art of conforming one's thoughts to the Law of Identity. In one respect, thoughts have to conform to the Law of Identity, as everything else does. This has to do with the nature of thoughts. Ideas have a different nature than memories which are different from emotions. In this regard, all thoughts conform to the Law of Identity.
The relevance of logical ability is not only of great importance in everyday lives, but it is also a skill that is indispensable for students in school. Very little of what happens in any learning situation is not dependent on logical thinking. It is often stated that students nowadays find it difficult to deal with definitions, meanings, propositions, syllogism, and even in solving logical problems. This is brought about by traditional way of spoon feeding method of teaching, although it helps foster memorization and recalling, still there will be a great need to enhance the logical abilities of the students in a more precise and enjoyable ways. In the light of the aforementioned background, this study will attempt to delineate the levels of logical ability of the engineering students of TIP-Manila.
This study will attempt to establish the level of logical ability of the engineering students of TIP-Manila. It will cover the six (6) personal profile indicators namely; age, gender, year level, course, type of school graduated from, and high school grade point average, and six (6) logical ability indicators namely; definitions and meanings, propositions, square of oppositions eductions, syllogisms, and solving logical problems, as the evaluation criteria in assessing the logical abilities of the students.
This study has six groups of respondents, the Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronics and Communications Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering students-respondents which compose of three hundred fifty-three (353) students who are officially enrolled in different engineering programs of the Technological Institute of the Philippines-Manila for the first semester of academic year 2007-2008.
The assessment of the six groups of respondents toward the different item indicators for each variable utilizes a grade-point scale with the equivalent scores, namely: 96 and above – superior, 91 – 95 – excellent, 86 – 90 - above average, 81 – 85 – average, 75 – 80 - below average, and 74 and below – poor. Analysis was done in the specific areas namely: definitions and meanings, propositions, square of oppositions, eductions, syllogisms, and solving logical problems.
Findings show that majority of the students-respondents belong to the 17 years old bracket, males, second year college students taking up Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications Engineering and those who finished their high school in a private secondary institution with a high school grade point average that belong to the 81 - 85 grade point average bracket.
Findings also show that the levels of logical ability of the engineering students-respondents of the Technological Institute of the Philippines-Manila found to be average in the different aspects of the logical ability tests which is a clear manifestation that most of the engineering students are not very familiar with the logical qualities of terms and not fully capable of identifying the given propositions including the appropriate symbols, types, and its equivalent.
In view of the findings of the study, the following recommendations are hereby presented for consideration:
1. Students should be given an insight on the significance of definitions and meanings, propositions, square of oppositions, eductions, syllogisms, and solving logical problems.
2. Students should be trained on how to develop their logical ability by putting emphasis on their knowing powers.
3. Design an instructional material that will facilitate the transfer of knowledge in order for the students to have a basic understanding of the eight syllogistic rules.
4. Students should develop self-confidence and at the same time seek ways in improving their logical and critical thinking skills.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Alexander Hamilton (1755 - 1804) by Ronan S. Estoque, DPA (June, 2008)
If you happen to have a $10 in your pocket, the individual in the portrait is no other than Alexander Hamilton. And for people who couldn’t care less, they might ask the most telling question of all, “so what?”
During the early stage of the British-American war, he served as a captain in an artillery company where he distinguished himself and caught the attention of General George Washington. Eventually, he became the most trusted secretary of the first American president. He served as the first Secretary of Treasury of the American Government, reconstructing and rebuilding continental America from the ruins brought about by the above-mentioned war.
You would have to imagine that during the tenure of President George Washington, there were no precedents to speak of when it comes to governance, people were afraid of taxes and the very reason that there was war with Britain was because of its excessive taxes levied against the colony.
There were two contrasting views that serve as a demarcation line. It is either that one is for a stronger federal government or for a stronger republican (local) government.
When Alexander Hamilton assumed the position of Secretary of Treasury, he espoused a stronger federal government, calling for the establishment of a central bank and a coherent fiscal system, for the collection and payment of taxes, for the creation of customs, the creation of a navy and a standing army over the objections of the faction led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Without precedence, he argued for the “implied” powers of government before the Supreme Court, winning a monumental brick for the establishment of what is America today. Undoubtedly, he is credited as the father of American government.
The dark side of this story is that he was killed in a duel with then American Vice-President Aaron Burr. He personally thwarted the ploy of Burr in becoming president and governor of New York and was inevitably challenged to a duel. The duel and death of Hamilton ruined the career of Burr, eventually leading to a conspiracy charge (an acquittal) of trying to establish a separate confederate state in the West allied with Spain.
Did I also mention that Alexander Hamilton was a foreigner? He was born in the colony of British West Indies and only migrated to continental America to pursue a degree. The shape of American history and government would have been different if it weren’t for this poor immigrant.
During the early stage of the British-American war, he served as a captain in an artillery company where he distinguished himself and caught the attention of General George Washington. Eventually, he became the most trusted secretary of the first American president. He served as the first Secretary of Treasury of the American Government, reconstructing and rebuilding continental America from the ruins brought about by the above-mentioned war.
You would have to imagine that during the tenure of President George Washington, there were no precedents to speak of when it comes to governance, people were afraid of taxes and the very reason that there was war with Britain was because of its excessive taxes levied against the colony.
There were two contrasting views that serve as a demarcation line. It is either that one is for a stronger federal government or for a stronger republican (local) government.
When Alexander Hamilton assumed the position of Secretary of Treasury, he espoused a stronger federal government, calling for the establishment of a central bank and a coherent fiscal system, for the collection and payment of taxes, for the creation of customs, the creation of a navy and a standing army over the objections of the faction led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Without precedence, he argued for the “implied” powers of government before the Supreme Court, winning a monumental brick for the establishment of what is America today. Undoubtedly, he is credited as the father of American government.
The dark side of this story is that he was killed in a duel with then American Vice-President Aaron Burr. He personally thwarted the ploy of Burr in becoming president and governor of New York and was inevitably challenged to a duel. The duel and death of Hamilton ruined the career of Burr, eventually leading to a conspiracy charge (an acquittal) of trying to establish a separate confederate state in the West allied with Spain.
Did I also mention that Alexander Hamilton was a foreigner? He was born in the colony of British West Indies and only migrated to continental America to pursue a degree. The shape of American history and government would have been different if it weren’t for this poor immigrant.
People Reduction Program by Ronan S. Estoque, DPA (January, 2008)
It is very noticeable that during the semestral and summer break, traffic in the metropolis is light. Students that seem to crowd the streets and malls are surprisingly absent - when there is an academic furlough this leads to a city traffic that is inevitably light and easier.
Whenever there is traffic or gridlock – time, manpower and opportunities are lost that are certain never to present themselves again. Like a cancer that is brought about by urbanization, traffic seems to be an inherent problem that is beyond a simplistic solution.
The government, in response the horrendous daily traffic brings, adopted numerous schemes so as to lessen, avoid and if possible, eradicate the curse of traffic. From the multi-billion projects of MRT to LRT, to the construction of “infrastructures” that was designed originally to decongest potential traffic gridlocks.
The government even went to the extent of establishing a government arm specifically tasked with controlling metro traffic. The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), with its annual expenditures of another billion of pesos acts as a main traffic enforcer for the Metropolis.
From a color-coding scheme to an odd-even program to a unified vehicular reduction program, the social experimentation was meant to gather empirical data so as to ease metro traffic and have a semblance of reason in the management of number of vehicles using the road of the metropolis.
The weakness of an odd-even scheme is that even if there is a vehicular reduction, people (particularly students) would still need to commute from their place of residence to their schools. Yes, there is a reduction of vehicles on the road, but there are still students on the road using another mode of transportation and still causes another form of traffic and gridlock.
Crudely, what I have in mind is that instead of focusing on reducing vehicles on the road of metropolis, maybe a more efficient mode of reducing students on the road would be more effective in reducing traffic and gridlock.
Now how do we go about this?
We reduce the number of students on the road by having a school time that does not coincide with the usual time frame of the other sector of society. When employees are usually within the time frame of 8 AM to 5 PM/9 AM to 6 PM, maybe students could be on a 6 AM to 2 PM time frame where there are a lesser number of people on the road since majority of them are still at work.
This suggested arrangement reduces the number of people on the road where instead of adopting a vehicular reduction program, the government adopts a people reduction program. Lesser people on the road means lesser traffic…
This particular set-up is applicable only in Metro Manila since this is where traffic is very heavy. In the province, the status quo of schedule is sufficient to meet the current dictates and imperatives.
Whenever there is traffic or gridlock – time, manpower and opportunities are lost that are certain never to present themselves again. Like a cancer that is brought about by urbanization, traffic seems to be an inherent problem that is beyond a simplistic solution.
The government, in response the horrendous daily traffic brings, adopted numerous schemes so as to lessen, avoid and if possible, eradicate the curse of traffic. From the multi-billion projects of MRT to LRT, to the construction of “infrastructures” that was designed originally to decongest potential traffic gridlocks.
The government even went to the extent of establishing a government arm specifically tasked with controlling metro traffic. The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), with its annual expenditures of another billion of pesos acts as a main traffic enforcer for the Metropolis.
From a color-coding scheme to an odd-even program to a unified vehicular reduction program, the social experimentation was meant to gather empirical data so as to ease metro traffic and have a semblance of reason in the management of number of vehicles using the road of the metropolis.
The weakness of an odd-even scheme is that even if there is a vehicular reduction, people (particularly students) would still need to commute from their place of residence to their schools. Yes, there is a reduction of vehicles on the road, but there are still students on the road using another mode of transportation and still causes another form of traffic and gridlock.
Crudely, what I have in mind is that instead of focusing on reducing vehicles on the road of metropolis, maybe a more efficient mode of reducing students on the road would be more effective in reducing traffic and gridlock.
Now how do we go about this?
We reduce the number of students on the road by having a school time that does not coincide with the usual time frame of the other sector of society. When employees are usually within the time frame of 8 AM to 5 PM/9 AM to 6 PM, maybe students could be on a 6 AM to 2 PM time frame where there are a lesser number of people on the road since majority of them are still at work.
This suggested arrangement reduces the number of people on the road where instead of adopting a vehicular reduction program, the government adopts a people reduction program. Lesser people on the road means lesser traffic…
This particular set-up is applicable only in Metro Manila since this is where traffic is very heavy. In the province, the status quo of schedule is sufficient to meet the current dictates and imperatives.
Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1959) by Ronan S. Estoque, DPA (January, 2008)
The most telling contribution of Dr. Sigmund Freud is the formulation of the psychoanalytic theory. The “unconscious” became the operative word in psychology in the 1940’s and 1950’s.
Accordingly, explaining human behavior, predicting human behavior, and manipulating human behavior became embedded with the unconscious mind. Dr. Freud became what Michael Jordan was in the field of basketball. He became the superstar of the psychology in his time.
The framework for explaining neurosis became plain and simple. Thinking about sex became normal and every psychological problem can be resolved by confronting and embracing human sexuality instead of the usual repression (in whatever form) method advocated by moral police of his era. Dr. Freud also identified and explained disparate manifestations of defense mechanisms, namely:
Identification. The unconscious process that protects the subject from anxiety by adopting traits from a psychological model.
Displacement. The unconscious transfer of an emotion from its original object to something or someone else.
Projection. The unconscious process that attributes other people’s feelings (i.e aggression) which one does entertain himself.
Regression. Retreating to a more immature pattern of behavior.
Repression. Keeping one’s memories and wishes in the unconscious.
Sublimation. Finding a socially acceptable outlet for a morally unacceptable impulse (i.e desire for one’s mother).
Denial. Refusing to accept something that is true.
Rationalization. Justifying irrational behavior or giving/offering excuses to one’s shortcomings.
Reaction formation. Behaving opposite to what one feels. More than anything else, he became the creative architect behind the rest of the personality theorists after him. Majority of them borrowed from his framework minus the overemphasis on sex as a platform for explaining human behavior.
References
Estoque, Ronan S, Dela Cruz, Rogelio G, & Pichay, Marinelle Ivy T (2006), College Psychology, Mindshapers Inc., Philippines.
Oxford Interactive Encyclopedia 2000. Oxford University Press (2000)
Accordingly, explaining human behavior, predicting human behavior, and manipulating human behavior became embedded with the unconscious mind. Dr. Freud became what Michael Jordan was in the field of basketball. He became the superstar of the psychology in his time.
The framework for explaining neurosis became plain and simple. Thinking about sex became normal and every psychological problem can be resolved by confronting and embracing human sexuality instead of the usual repression (in whatever form) method advocated by moral police of his era. Dr. Freud also identified and explained disparate manifestations of defense mechanisms, namely:
Identification. The unconscious process that protects the subject from anxiety by adopting traits from a psychological model.
Displacement. The unconscious transfer of an emotion from its original object to something or someone else.
Projection. The unconscious process that attributes other people’s feelings (i.e aggression) which one does entertain himself.
Regression. Retreating to a more immature pattern of behavior.
Repression. Keeping one’s memories and wishes in the unconscious.
Sublimation. Finding a socially acceptable outlet for a morally unacceptable impulse (i.e desire for one’s mother).
Denial. Refusing to accept something that is true.
Rationalization. Justifying irrational behavior or giving/offering excuses to one’s shortcomings.
Reaction formation. Behaving opposite to what one feels. More than anything else, he became the creative architect behind the rest of the personality theorists after him. Majority of them borrowed from his framework minus the overemphasis on sex as a platform for explaining human behavior.
References
Estoque, Ronan S, Dela Cruz, Rogelio G, & Pichay, Marinelle Ivy T (2006), College Psychology, Mindshapers Inc., Philippines.
Oxford Interactive Encyclopedia 2000. Oxford University Press (2000)
From Plow to Ballpen to Diaper by Claudio V. Tabotabo, MA (January, 2008)
Perhaps the clergyman who was also a teacher in the Philippines during the Spanish time had only one problem in the classroom. There were Spanish children but the natives were in farms helping their parents. The natives who were the core of the clergyman’s mission seemed to be far from school.
Life revolved around the farm, it was the orientation of the Filipino family. It was not that Filipinos did not love to learn the rudiments of the Catholic faith. They only found the farm the direct answer of their economic problems. Or the Filipinos did notice other areas of the academe more particularly the subject on self-governance Or Filipinos did not like the “Informal Education” which was the only type of education the Spaniards could give. So the Filipinos who were inferior in physical stature but smarter than their colonizers opted to stay in the farm and enjoy the day under the sun.
Thinking that Filipinos wanted something practical the Spaniards offered trade schools, and as reported established in 1863, but the number of indios going to school remained small.
The Americans came bringing the educational system that is anchored on Booker T. Washington’s proclamation of Vocational Education. Although Filipinos still considered farm labor a source of income, the Americans were not so much challenged by the Filipinos’ indifference to education. The number of natives going to school had considerably increased.
Filipinos began to see education as their avenue towards decent living. They found education the ax that will break the chain that bound them for centuries in the farm. Education for the Filipinos is a magic balm that will put them in alignment with their American masters. But what the Filipinos liked is education without manual labor. In 1925 the Monroe Commission reported a lament on the white-collar orientation of education.
Well it is not the purpose of this paper to analyze the educational system of the Americans in the Philippines. But there must be a paper that will say something about the Vocational Education brought by the Americans. Again it must be education that would direct the Filipinos towards self-governance, and not just to train as technicians, carpenters, welders or care-givers.
The Americans wanted to see the Filipinos as the best workers of the world, and indeed it is what the Filipinos are today. They are the best caregivers and the most fluent English-speaking maids in the Middle East.
There is nothing wrong for Filipinos working abroad. But they must not confine to it. Care giving alone could not govern a country.
Life revolved around the farm, it was the orientation of the Filipino family. It was not that Filipinos did not love to learn the rudiments of the Catholic faith. They only found the farm the direct answer of their economic problems. Or the Filipinos did notice other areas of the academe more particularly the subject on self-governance Or Filipinos did not like the “Informal Education” which was the only type of education the Spaniards could give. So the Filipinos who were inferior in physical stature but smarter than their colonizers opted to stay in the farm and enjoy the day under the sun.
Thinking that Filipinos wanted something practical the Spaniards offered trade schools, and as reported established in 1863, but the number of indios going to school remained small.
The Americans came bringing the educational system that is anchored on Booker T. Washington’s proclamation of Vocational Education. Although Filipinos still considered farm labor a source of income, the Americans were not so much challenged by the Filipinos’ indifference to education. The number of natives going to school had considerably increased.
Filipinos began to see education as their avenue towards decent living. They found education the ax that will break the chain that bound them for centuries in the farm. Education for the Filipinos is a magic balm that will put them in alignment with their American masters. But what the Filipinos liked is education without manual labor. In 1925 the Monroe Commission reported a lament on the white-collar orientation of education.
Well it is not the purpose of this paper to analyze the educational system of the Americans in the Philippines. But there must be a paper that will say something about the Vocational Education brought by the Americans. Again it must be education that would direct the Filipinos towards self-governance, and not just to train as technicians, carpenters, welders or care-givers.
The Americans wanted to see the Filipinos as the best workers of the world, and indeed it is what the Filipinos are today. They are the best caregivers and the most fluent English-speaking maids in the Middle East.
There is nothing wrong for Filipinos working abroad. But they must not confine to it. Care giving alone could not govern a country.
Salubrious Living by Claudio V. Tabotabo, MA (January, 2008)
Across the sea, south of the Philippines there is a patch of land the early people called “Menelangan”. The Subanun who lived a semi nomadic life around the place are bewildered by the beauty of the sun when it appears above the ridges of mountains. It became their land mark and when their fellow villagers asked them where they go, they said, “to the place where the sun is born”.
Menelangan means sunrise, but the early Visayan who migrated to Mindanao misheard the word to Sindangan. The Visayan did not bother themselves by checking the word. They immediately accepted and used the word. It was further solidified by the existence of a giant fish they called Indangan back to their island of birth, the Visayas. So the name was approved. The migrants in Mindanao latter carried the name Sindangan up to the present generation. The place had turned into a town with its life vested on the fertility of its land.
It is a place of tranquility, the artists’ chosen place to work; a place free from the madding crowd, far from the grating of machines, far from the saturnine look of drug addicts and hold up gangs, far from swindlers and far from the police men. The place is very kind to its people so that everyone is pleased with his assigned lot; there is more than enough what the family needs. And in that place of the world my father farms.
My boyhood experience in the place is always associated with the pulverized farms and the joyous faces of farmers during harvest time. In that place the morning announces its coming by the moaning of pigeons on the branches of the Santol tress surrounding our house, the endless murmur of the brooks as they joined to the wide Talinga River. And I could hear the shuffling of leaves that mingled with the tickling of spoons and plates from the kitchen which told me breakfast is ready.
I just could not explain why men had to leave the pastoral life to suffer in the urban centers. I also could not explain why civilization as men called it, always relates to the destruction of the Earth. The industrial revolution destroyed what God has created, and this technology that we have now is the descendant of that revolution. Technology hastens business but lessens the meaning of life.
Some experts put the solution of economic problem by making the country industrial. Though the Philippines remain in its pre-industrial period, it cannot be classified agricultural because the government has no plans and investment in agriculture. Even the Coco-Levi fund, the money that belonged to the farmers had gone into the some pockets of the government. The farmers suffer and they are branded ignorant and backward.
We must learn the lesson of the New Zealanders. Today they enjoy the life style of the Americans and Europeans yet they remain agricultural. We have the land and human resources; we only do not have the initiative to improve and develop what is indigenous because we always consider ours as inferior compare to something foreign.
Menelangan means sunrise, but the early Visayan who migrated to Mindanao misheard the word to Sindangan. The Visayan did not bother themselves by checking the word. They immediately accepted and used the word. It was further solidified by the existence of a giant fish they called Indangan back to their island of birth, the Visayas. So the name was approved. The migrants in Mindanao latter carried the name Sindangan up to the present generation. The place had turned into a town with its life vested on the fertility of its land.
It is a place of tranquility, the artists’ chosen place to work; a place free from the madding crowd, far from the grating of machines, far from the saturnine look of drug addicts and hold up gangs, far from swindlers and far from the police men. The place is very kind to its people so that everyone is pleased with his assigned lot; there is more than enough what the family needs. And in that place of the world my father farms.
My boyhood experience in the place is always associated with the pulverized farms and the joyous faces of farmers during harvest time. In that place the morning announces its coming by the moaning of pigeons on the branches of the Santol tress surrounding our house, the endless murmur of the brooks as they joined to the wide Talinga River. And I could hear the shuffling of leaves that mingled with the tickling of spoons and plates from the kitchen which told me breakfast is ready.
I just could not explain why men had to leave the pastoral life to suffer in the urban centers. I also could not explain why civilization as men called it, always relates to the destruction of the Earth. The industrial revolution destroyed what God has created, and this technology that we have now is the descendant of that revolution. Technology hastens business but lessens the meaning of life.
Some experts put the solution of economic problem by making the country industrial. Though the Philippines remain in its pre-industrial period, it cannot be classified agricultural because the government has no plans and investment in agriculture. Even the Coco-Levi fund, the money that belonged to the farmers had gone into the some pockets of the government. The farmers suffer and they are branded ignorant and backward.
We must learn the lesson of the New Zealanders. Today they enjoy the life style of the Americans and Europeans yet they remain agricultural. We have the land and human resources; we only do not have the initiative to improve and develop what is indigenous because we always consider ours as inferior compare to something foreign.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders by Ronan S. Estoque, DPA (January, 2008)
Obsession in Oxford Interactive Encyclopedia is defined as an idea/image that repeatedly intrudes on the mind of a person against his will. Compulsion on the other hand is an irresistible impulse to behave in a certain way. A combination of the two words denotes a fixated ritual where a deviation is difficult (if not impossible) for the subject experiencing the disorder.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder takes many forms, including excessive hand washing, fear of creating hazards for others, a need for order, anxiety over germs or contamination, repetitive checking of irons, ovens and door locks, and fear of harming others with knives or similar sharp objects.
The Most Common Expressions of OCD are:
Relationship Substantiation. A compulsive search for tiny but disqualifying flaws in a partner or spouse. Romances and marriages often do not survive the scrutiny.
Fear of Injuring Other People. A preoccupation with the idea of losing control and injuring or even killing others, it often results in a terrified avoidance of knives, scissors or other sharp objects.
Responsibility Anxiety. A broader fear of negligently hurting others. Sufferers will smooth out throw out rugs or pick up trash from sidewalks so strangers won’t trip.
Scrupulosity. An intolerance of disorder or asymmetry, this is a fastidiousness that goes beyond mere tidiness.
Contamination Anxiety. The hand washing compulsion. Fears contamination can spread from hands to other objects, leading to clothes, belongings and even walls being washed.
Sexual-Orientation Fears. A person who may have no moral or social objections to homosexuality becomes fixated with discovering (homosexuality) in themselves.
Obsessive Hypochondria. This can be a tricky one, often confused with ordinary hypochondria. OCD sufferers tend to disqualify reassurances from doctors with what – if worries, misdiagnoses and other medical errors. Behavior therapy (i.e. exposure and response prevention) is one of the clinical success stories that have been reported. Meaning, constant exposure tends to rewire the brain, reinforcing the perception that such is not that bad, and that whatever it is, such is not a big deal.
The random firing of neurons will correct itself where underestimating things would be much preferable as opposed to overestimating things.
References
Oxford Interactive Encyclopedia, 2000.
Kluger, Jeffrey. When Worry Hijacks the Brain. Time, Vol. 170, No. 7, 2007.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder takes many forms, including excessive hand washing, fear of creating hazards for others, a need for order, anxiety over germs or contamination, repetitive checking of irons, ovens and door locks, and fear of harming others with knives or similar sharp objects.
The Most Common Expressions of OCD are:
Relationship Substantiation. A compulsive search for tiny but disqualifying flaws in a partner or spouse. Romances and marriages often do not survive the scrutiny.
Fear of Injuring Other People. A preoccupation with the idea of losing control and injuring or even killing others, it often results in a terrified avoidance of knives, scissors or other sharp objects.
Responsibility Anxiety. A broader fear of negligently hurting others. Sufferers will smooth out throw out rugs or pick up trash from sidewalks so strangers won’t trip.
Scrupulosity. An intolerance of disorder or asymmetry, this is a fastidiousness that goes beyond mere tidiness.
Contamination Anxiety. The hand washing compulsion. Fears contamination can spread from hands to other objects, leading to clothes, belongings and even walls being washed.
Sexual-Orientation Fears. A person who may have no moral or social objections to homosexuality becomes fixated with discovering (homosexuality) in themselves.
Obsessive Hypochondria. This can be a tricky one, often confused with ordinary hypochondria. OCD sufferers tend to disqualify reassurances from doctors with what – if worries, misdiagnoses and other medical errors. Behavior therapy (i.e. exposure and response prevention) is one of the clinical success stories that have been reported. Meaning, constant exposure tends to rewire the brain, reinforcing the perception that such is not that bad, and that whatever it is, such is not a big deal.
The random firing of neurons will correct itself where underestimating things would be much preferable as opposed to overestimating things.
References
Oxford Interactive Encyclopedia, 2000.
Kluger, Jeffrey. When Worry Hijacks the Brain. Time, Vol. 170, No. 7, 2007.
The Stylistic Approach in Teaching Literature by Marichelle G. Dones, MA (January, 2008)
The study of literature is a fascinating activity that offers both teacher and learner manifold and tremendous benefits. For what other activity would enable the reader to enter into a multiplicity of worlds and savor the wonders of encountering, albeit vicariously, a vast variety of people (including magical creatures), cultures, places in reality and beyond; defy the boundaries of time to travel to and fro in the distant past then whiz back to the present at the turn of a page?
The greatest values to be gained from these benefits are the potential for growth in knowledge and wisdom; the acquisition of a keen understanding of human nature and of human relationships; and the freedom of choice to enter into each character’s heart and mind and live his life, his adventures fully during the course of one story, one novel, one poem. Such are the acknowledged values of engaging in the pleasurable study of literature.
To study literature, specifically to be able to teach it effectively, means that one must be familiar with the various methods, approaches, techniques, and strategies commonly utilized in such a serious task. To study literature means to study language for literature and language are inextricably bound together. Language indeed is the blood and meat of literature. Hence, the competent teacher of literature must know the structure of the language of the literary work being studied, be it written in English, Filipino, French, Spanish, etc.
To know a language means to know its sound system (phonology), its meaning system (morphology), and its syntactic system (syntax which deals with the structure of the utterances in the language). The three branches, linked together in the science of linguistics, are great aids in understanding the language of literature. Besides these three, two other very important branches of linguistics are semantics and the most recent addition, stylistics.
On this article I’m proceeding on the assumption that many, if not all, of the teachers of English and particularly of literature have had courses in linguistics and possess some knowledge of semantics and stylistics.
Stylistics, having to do largely with style, is a discipline concerned with the study of language of literature.” It is the study of language as art.” As the study of style, it “seeks to examine the expressive and suggestive devices which have been invented in order to enforce the power and penetration of speech.”
At the outset I suggest that the teacher should first utilize all the traditional methods of explicating a literary work and then attempt to introduce a refreshing new dimension, an innovative way of looking at the style of a specific literary piece from the point of view of stylistics. This activity could well fall under the enrichment activity as an exciting challenge to the more advanced classes in literature.
These conventional approaches which we will refer to as the “extratextual approaches,” include: the thematic approach, the interpretation of characters, the elements of narration, imagery and the poetic (expressive and suggestive) devices. These constitute the major elements inevitably discussed in the analysis of all forms of literary discourse.
I. Thematic Approach
The theme of any literary work is the main idea or message that the author wants to convey. The theme may have psychological, sociological, ethical, or didactic value. It is the skeletal framework or the “peg” from which the whole story hangs. The author comes up with an idea. It obsesses him and he is compelled to express it; to give flesh and all the “trappings”that give it a concrete form; and to embellish it, so0 to speak, so that it will have both internal and external values. These values distinguish it from all other works of literary art.
Thus, language becomes the author’s main linguistic tool-using sound, meaning, and sentence structure. But apart from the linguistic components, the author will have to clothe his story with style. This is how the theme is expanded. Otherwise, there will be no story or poem.
II. Interpretation of Characters
Under this approach there are four types of interpretation open to the teacher’s or the learner’s choice:
Psychologically oriented interpretation-the characters are representatives of certain mental types.
Sociological interpretation-the characters are treated as members of a certain moment of social history.
Metaphysical interpretation-the characters are images of certain human conditions, e.g., aggressors vs. victims, the damned creatures in hell, etc.
Ethical interpretation-the characters are representatives of a certain morality (or immortality).
This is more popularly known as the character analysis approach. Character analysis is an intriguing activity. Teachers often are expected to fall back on their knowledge of psychology in their attempt to help their students to understand the motivations of the characters in the story and how these affects their social behavior and the outcome of the story.
III. The Elements of Narration
Explicating a literary selection by means of formal analysis of the elements of narration involves analyzing the structure of the story, i.e., taking it apart, element by element. What are these formal elements? Most, if not all stories, contain these basic elements: setting, characters, plot. Each of these basic elements can be subjected or further analyzed to give the reader a comprehensive idea of what is meant by “the structure of the story”.
IV. Imagery and Poetic Devices
A. Imagery
Style is the primary focus of this particular approach which deals with imagery and poetic devices. It is defined as “a characteristics manner of expression in prose or verse; how a speaker or writer says whatever he/she says. The style of a work depends on its diction or choice of words, the figurative language used (frequency and types), its rhythmic patterns, the structure of its sentences, and its rhetorical devices and effects.”
Imagery refers to the images abounding in the literary work, created consciously or unconsciously by the writer’s artistry. There are two generally accepted meanings of image: one in the sense of “mental representation; the other in the sense of figure of speech expressing some similarity or analogy.”
A distinction must be made between imagery and analogy. “In imagery, the resemblance has a concrete and sensuous quality. In analogy, some striking or unexpected common element is observed in two seemingly disparate objects or experiences”.
A study of poetic devices, which are the stylistic resources of particular languages and which increase the power and impact of words, leads us to a “wide range of linguistic features which alone covers: emotive overtones or connotations, emphasis, rhythm, symmetry and the evocative elements.
Closely connected with expressiveness is the element of choice, i.e., the writer is free to choose between two or more alternatives or stylistic variants-the use of synonyms or the use of the inverted word order in place of the normal word order in sentence structure. Inversions, when resorted to, “provides for emphasis, delay and suspense, pathos, finality, irony, parody and impressionism.”
Evocative devices are popular sources of comedy and satire. They derive their stylistic effects from being associated with a particular milieu or register of style.
B. Poetic Devices
In poetry the pervasive employment of imagery, particulary the use of the metaphor, simile, and other figures of speech is a given. Without these poetic devices poetry is not possible. Add to these the other conventional features that attach to poetry as a literary genre.
Specifically, these conventional features comprise meter,(in its various forms), the suprasegmental features,(stress,pitch,intonation contours,juncture), rhyme, alliteration, enjambment,(the syntactic running over of the line), and caesura (a syntactic break inside the line, usually near the middle of the line).
It is a wise teacher who will use his sound judgment in choosing the approach and strategy that best suit to the particular literary work being studied. It is also the pragmatic, versatile teacher who will use a combination of the suggested methods, techniques, and strategies to the best advantage so that his/her students will grow along with him/her, expand their knowledge of the world and its diversity of cultures, and share in the enriching experiences found in literature.
The greatest values to be gained from these benefits are the potential for growth in knowledge and wisdom; the acquisition of a keen understanding of human nature and of human relationships; and the freedom of choice to enter into each character’s heart and mind and live his life, his adventures fully during the course of one story, one novel, one poem. Such are the acknowledged values of engaging in the pleasurable study of literature.
To study literature, specifically to be able to teach it effectively, means that one must be familiar with the various methods, approaches, techniques, and strategies commonly utilized in such a serious task. To study literature means to study language for literature and language are inextricably bound together. Language indeed is the blood and meat of literature. Hence, the competent teacher of literature must know the structure of the language of the literary work being studied, be it written in English, Filipino, French, Spanish, etc.
To know a language means to know its sound system (phonology), its meaning system (morphology), and its syntactic system (syntax which deals with the structure of the utterances in the language). The three branches, linked together in the science of linguistics, are great aids in understanding the language of literature. Besides these three, two other very important branches of linguistics are semantics and the most recent addition, stylistics.
On this article I’m proceeding on the assumption that many, if not all, of the teachers of English and particularly of literature have had courses in linguistics and possess some knowledge of semantics and stylistics.
Stylistics, having to do largely with style, is a discipline concerned with the study of language of literature.” It is the study of language as art.” As the study of style, it “seeks to examine the expressive and suggestive devices which have been invented in order to enforce the power and penetration of speech.”
At the outset I suggest that the teacher should first utilize all the traditional methods of explicating a literary work and then attempt to introduce a refreshing new dimension, an innovative way of looking at the style of a specific literary piece from the point of view of stylistics. This activity could well fall under the enrichment activity as an exciting challenge to the more advanced classes in literature.
These conventional approaches which we will refer to as the “extratextual approaches,” include: the thematic approach, the interpretation of characters, the elements of narration, imagery and the poetic (expressive and suggestive) devices. These constitute the major elements inevitably discussed in the analysis of all forms of literary discourse.
I. Thematic Approach
The theme of any literary work is the main idea or message that the author wants to convey. The theme may have psychological, sociological, ethical, or didactic value. It is the skeletal framework or the “peg” from which the whole story hangs. The author comes up with an idea. It obsesses him and he is compelled to express it; to give flesh and all the “trappings”that give it a concrete form; and to embellish it, so0 to speak, so that it will have both internal and external values. These values distinguish it from all other works of literary art.
Thus, language becomes the author’s main linguistic tool-using sound, meaning, and sentence structure. But apart from the linguistic components, the author will have to clothe his story with style. This is how the theme is expanded. Otherwise, there will be no story or poem.
II. Interpretation of Characters
Under this approach there are four types of interpretation open to the teacher’s or the learner’s choice:
Psychologically oriented interpretation-the characters are representatives of certain mental types.
Sociological interpretation-the characters are treated as members of a certain moment of social history.
Metaphysical interpretation-the characters are images of certain human conditions, e.g., aggressors vs. victims, the damned creatures in hell, etc.
Ethical interpretation-the characters are representatives of a certain morality (or immortality).
This is more popularly known as the character analysis approach. Character analysis is an intriguing activity. Teachers often are expected to fall back on their knowledge of psychology in their attempt to help their students to understand the motivations of the characters in the story and how these affects their social behavior and the outcome of the story.
III. The Elements of Narration
Explicating a literary selection by means of formal analysis of the elements of narration involves analyzing the structure of the story, i.e., taking it apart, element by element. What are these formal elements? Most, if not all stories, contain these basic elements: setting, characters, plot. Each of these basic elements can be subjected or further analyzed to give the reader a comprehensive idea of what is meant by “the structure of the story”.
IV. Imagery and Poetic Devices
A. Imagery
Style is the primary focus of this particular approach which deals with imagery and poetic devices. It is defined as “a characteristics manner of expression in prose or verse; how a speaker or writer says whatever he/she says. The style of a work depends on its diction or choice of words, the figurative language used (frequency and types), its rhythmic patterns, the structure of its sentences, and its rhetorical devices and effects.”
Imagery refers to the images abounding in the literary work, created consciously or unconsciously by the writer’s artistry. There are two generally accepted meanings of image: one in the sense of “mental representation; the other in the sense of figure of speech expressing some similarity or analogy.”
A distinction must be made between imagery and analogy. “In imagery, the resemblance has a concrete and sensuous quality. In analogy, some striking or unexpected common element is observed in two seemingly disparate objects or experiences”.
A study of poetic devices, which are the stylistic resources of particular languages and which increase the power and impact of words, leads us to a “wide range of linguistic features which alone covers: emotive overtones or connotations, emphasis, rhythm, symmetry and the evocative elements.
Closely connected with expressiveness is the element of choice, i.e., the writer is free to choose between two or more alternatives or stylistic variants-the use of synonyms or the use of the inverted word order in place of the normal word order in sentence structure. Inversions, when resorted to, “provides for emphasis, delay and suspense, pathos, finality, irony, parody and impressionism.”
Evocative devices are popular sources of comedy and satire. They derive their stylistic effects from being associated with a particular milieu or register of style.
B. Poetic Devices
In poetry the pervasive employment of imagery, particulary the use of the metaphor, simile, and other figures of speech is a given. Without these poetic devices poetry is not possible. Add to these the other conventional features that attach to poetry as a literary genre.
Specifically, these conventional features comprise meter,(in its various forms), the suprasegmental features,(stress,pitch,intonation contours,juncture), rhyme, alliteration, enjambment,(the syntactic running over of the line), and caesura (a syntactic break inside the line, usually near the middle of the line).
It is a wise teacher who will use his sound judgment in choosing the approach and strategy that best suit to the particular literary work being studied. It is also the pragmatic, versatile teacher who will use a combination of the suggested methods, techniques, and strategies to the best advantage so that his/her students will grow along with him/her, expand their knowledge of the world and its diversity of cultures, and share in the enriching experiences found in literature.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Henry David Thoreau (1812 - 1862) by Ronan S. Estoque, DPA (January, 2008)
Mr. Thoreau principally advocated “Civil Disobedience”. Since the Philippines is one of the early pioneers in People Power, I would like to tackle the topic of “civil disobedience” in the republic.
Historically, I could only recall one incident in the pages of Philippine experience where civil disobedience happened – and this is the ‘tearing of the cedula’ led by Andres Bonifacio in Pugad Lawin, Balintawak. Now this is historically relevant because the “cedula” represents the community taxation that was being imposed by the Spanish Administration. When Andres Bonifacio led the tearing of the “cedula”, he was literally refusing to pay the community taxes, which indirectly states that he no longer recognizes the authority of the Spanish Administration to collect taxes.
Similarly, this was the same refusal that Mr. Thoreau did when he refused to pay the poll tax during the American-Mexican War. Though he still recognizes the supremacy of the American Government, he disagrees with the forwarded rationales for the conduct of the Mexican War.
Using the theoretical framework of Mr. Thoreau, Edsa I and Edsa II cannot possibly qualify as a “civil disobedience” (because it was not about tax payments) but are more appropriately classified as a “revolution”.
Strangely, the so-called Edsa III might even be considered as civil disobedience because by stretching the theoretical framework of Mr. Thoreau, the protesters of Edsa III destroyed a lot of government properties simply because they do not recognize the administration of GMA (i.e. legitimacy issues). Of course, this is a stretch – but the act of disobedience is there.
The concept of civil disobedience has evolved over time. Filipinos still needs to understand fully the uses and disadvantages of civil disobedience. In my personal estimation, success came to easy for the Filipinos (e.g. Edsa I and Edsa II) and now that there is a very strong clamor for GMA to resign, people are at a lost on how to conduct an effective civil disobedience.
Historically, I could only recall one incident in the pages of Philippine experience where civil disobedience happened – and this is the ‘tearing of the cedula’ led by Andres Bonifacio in Pugad Lawin, Balintawak. Now this is historically relevant because the “cedula” represents the community taxation that was being imposed by the Spanish Administration. When Andres Bonifacio led the tearing of the “cedula”, he was literally refusing to pay the community taxes, which indirectly states that he no longer recognizes the authority of the Spanish Administration to collect taxes.
Similarly, this was the same refusal that Mr. Thoreau did when he refused to pay the poll tax during the American-Mexican War. Though he still recognizes the supremacy of the American Government, he disagrees with the forwarded rationales for the conduct of the Mexican War.
Using the theoretical framework of Mr. Thoreau, Edsa I and Edsa II cannot possibly qualify as a “civil disobedience” (because it was not about tax payments) but are more appropriately classified as a “revolution”.
Strangely, the so-called Edsa III might even be considered as civil disobedience because by stretching the theoretical framework of Mr. Thoreau, the protesters of Edsa III destroyed a lot of government properties simply because they do not recognize the administration of GMA (i.e. legitimacy issues). Of course, this is a stretch – but the act of disobedience is there.
The concept of civil disobedience has evolved over time. Filipinos still needs to understand fully the uses and disadvantages of civil disobedience. In my personal estimation, success came to easy for the Filipinos (e.g. Edsa I and Edsa II) and now that there is a very strong clamor for GMA to resign, people are at a lost on how to conduct an effective civil disobedience.
Skills Among Students by Marichelle G. Dones, MA (January, 2007)
The key to achieving the goals of education through the various school subjects is the acquisition and continuous development of thinking skills. Thinking skills refer to the set of basic and advanced skills and subskills that governs a person’s mental processes. These skills consists of knowledge, dispositions, cognitive, and even metacognitive operations. Cognition is the biological/neurological processes of the brain that facilitate thought while metacognition is the process of planning, assessing, and monitoring one’s own thinking. Students should learn how to think. Their teachers should know how to think themselves. In school, students CAN learn to think better if their teachers will concentrate on teaching them HOW to do so. The school curriculum should have all the provisions for the development of thinking skills.
Every subject in the school curriculum has specific purpose to accomplish-math for numeracy skills, language for communicative competence, and social sciences subjects such as history,economics and civics and culture specifically for developing thinking skills.
Why is it imperative for all schools to make sure that thinking skills are developed in every classroom nowadays? With the rapid changes going on in this technologically oriented world, the advances in information technology, the inevitable worldwide knowledge explosion brought about by computerization, and the easy access to information through the internet and electronic communication, learners must have the capacity to process information critically.
What exactly is critical thinking (CT)? How does one think critically? Can critical thinking be developed? Beyer (1985) defines critical thinking as the process of determining the authenticity, accuracy, and worth of information or knowledge claims. Hudgins and Edelman (1986) postulate that CT is the disposition to provide evidence in support of one’s conclusions and to request evidence from others before accepting their conclusions. The cognitive skills of analysis, interpretation, inference, explanation, evaluation, self-regulation or monitoring, and correcting one’s own reasoning are at the heart of critical thinking.
Critical thinkers think effectively. Teachers should be alert in noting the difference between those who do ordinary thinking and critical thinking. While ordinary thinkers simply guess, judge without criteria, or offer opinions without reasons, critical thinkers estimate, infer logically, give opinions with reasons, and make judgements based on sound criteria.
If we are to help students develop effective thinking skills, we need to move beyond asking questions that require memorization or mere recall of facts. Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (1972) became a popular guide in infusing higher-level questioning into daily lessons in the classroom. Applying Bloom’s Six Levels of Cognition to our teaching can be helpful in promoting higher- level thinking skills among our students.
Teachers will greatly help students if they will opt to make a paradigm shift and contribute to their students’learning strength through activities that develop thinking skills. These learning activities and experiences fall under five categories:
Knowledge and comprehension check-up
Critical thinking Creative thinking
Research skills
Application activities
Fortunately, a set of instructional materials that feature all these is now available for the teachers and their students. It is up to them to respond to the task of making the learners think better by teaching them HOW TO THINK.
Every subject in the school curriculum has specific purpose to accomplish-math for numeracy skills, language for communicative competence, and social sciences subjects such as history,economics and civics and culture specifically for developing thinking skills.
Why is it imperative for all schools to make sure that thinking skills are developed in every classroom nowadays? With the rapid changes going on in this technologically oriented world, the advances in information technology, the inevitable worldwide knowledge explosion brought about by computerization, and the easy access to information through the internet and electronic communication, learners must have the capacity to process information critically.
What exactly is critical thinking (CT)? How does one think critically? Can critical thinking be developed? Beyer (1985) defines critical thinking as the process of determining the authenticity, accuracy, and worth of information or knowledge claims. Hudgins and Edelman (1986) postulate that CT is the disposition to provide evidence in support of one’s conclusions and to request evidence from others before accepting their conclusions. The cognitive skills of analysis, interpretation, inference, explanation, evaluation, self-regulation or monitoring, and correcting one’s own reasoning are at the heart of critical thinking.
Critical thinkers think effectively. Teachers should be alert in noting the difference between those who do ordinary thinking and critical thinking. While ordinary thinkers simply guess, judge without criteria, or offer opinions without reasons, critical thinkers estimate, infer logically, give opinions with reasons, and make judgements based on sound criteria.
If we are to help students develop effective thinking skills, we need to move beyond asking questions that require memorization or mere recall of facts. Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (1972) became a popular guide in infusing higher-level questioning into daily lessons in the classroom. Applying Bloom’s Six Levels of Cognition to our teaching can be helpful in promoting higher- level thinking skills among our students.
Teachers will greatly help students if they will opt to make a paradigm shift and contribute to their students’learning strength through activities that develop thinking skills. These learning activities and experiences fall under five categories:
Knowledge and comprehension check-up
Critical thinking Creative thinking
Research skills
Application activities
Fortunately, a set of instructional materials that feature all these is now available for the teachers and their students. It is up to them to respond to the task of making the learners think better by teaching them HOW TO THINK.
Alfred Adler (1870-1937) by Ronan S. Estoque, MA (January, 2007)
Just like Dr. Sigmund Freud, Dr. Alfred Adler is an Austrian. He was previously a close associate/disciple of the former and just had a falling out with Dr. Freud because of too much emphasis on sex (mental illnesses caused by sexual conflicts in infancy).
More significantly, the contribution of Dr. Adler is centered on the concept of “inferiority complex”. In 1907 he introduced the concept of “inferiority complex” where it is asserted that the key to understanding personal and mass problem is through inferiority that a person feels and his efforts (i.e. actions, behaviors) in compensating for such.
In a nutshell, everything (behavior, motivation, and attitude) can be explained by the degree of inferiority complex. Man’s behavior can be measured and explained by his feelings of inadequacy and insecurity.
Unlike the bedrock of psychoanalytic theory, Dr. Adler disagrees with the concept that early infant – parent relationships exclusively caused the unhealthy or healthy development of personality. He even denied the doctrine of the unconscious mind. He espoused that individuals (1) shape their own destinies, (2) overcome primitive drives and uncontrollable environment in striving for more fulfilling lives, and (3) improve themselves and the world around them through self understanding.
Regardless of the circumstances that give rise to inferiority feelings, however, a person may react by overcompensating and thus develop what Adler called a superiority complex. This involves a tendency to exaggerate one’s physical, intellectual, or social skills. A person for instance, may believe she is smarter than others but not feel she must show her intelligence by reciting what she knows about movie stars. Another person may feel that he must demonstrate all he knows about movie stars on every occasion to everyone who will listen to him. This person may neglect everything else just to prove he knows more than anyone else about movie stars. In any event, the technique of overcompensation is an exaggeration of a healthy striving to overcome persistent feelings of inferiority. Accordingly, the person possessing a superiority complex tends to be boastful, arrogant, egocentric, and sarcastic. One gets the impression that this individual has so little self-acceptance (i.e. such a low opinion of himself or herself) that only by “putting down” others can he or she feel important (Hjelle and Ziegler, 1992).
Dr. Adler also further argued that society and culture were equally responsible, if not more responsible for the development of mental illness.
Personality Theories 1992, 3rd Edition
More significantly, the contribution of Dr. Adler is centered on the concept of “inferiority complex”. In 1907 he introduced the concept of “inferiority complex” where it is asserted that the key to understanding personal and mass problem is through inferiority that a person feels and his efforts (i.e. actions, behaviors) in compensating for such.
In a nutshell, everything (behavior, motivation, and attitude) can be explained by the degree of inferiority complex. Man’s behavior can be measured and explained by his feelings of inadequacy and insecurity.
Unlike the bedrock of psychoanalytic theory, Dr. Adler disagrees with the concept that early infant – parent relationships exclusively caused the unhealthy or healthy development of personality. He even denied the doctrine of the unconscious mind. He espoused that individuals (1) shape their own destinies, (2) overcome primitive drives and uncontrollable environment in striving for more fulfilling lives, and (3) improve themselves and the world around them through self understanding.
Regardless of the circumstances that give rise to inferiority feelings, however, a person may react by overcompensating and thus develop what Adler called a superiority complex. This involves a tendency to exaggerate one’s physical, intellectual, or social skills. A person for instance, may believe she is smarter than others but not feel she must show her intelligence by reciting what she knows about movie stars. Another person may feel that he must demonstrate all he knows about movie stars on every occasion to everyone who will listen to him. This person may neglect everything else just to prove he knows more than anyone else about movie stars. In any event, the technique of overcompensation is an exaggeration of a healthy striving to overcome persistent feelings of inferiority. Accordingly, the person possessing a superiority complex tends to be boastful, arrogant, egocentric, and sarcastic. One gets the impression that this individual has so little self-acceptance (i.e. such a low opinion of himself or herself) that only by “putting down” others can he or she feel important (Hjelle and Ziegler, 1992).
Dr. Adler also further argued that society and culture were equally responsible, if not more responsible for the development of mental illness.
Personality Theories 1992, 3rd Edition
Rape by Ronan S. Estoque, MA (January, 2007)
Historically, rape was considered a crime against property. This was tied to the concept that women were just properties and that their prime asset is their virginity. Hence, when one has sex with someone that is not your wife, one is practically stealing from the father (if the woman is single) or from the husband (if the woman is married).
Generally, there are only two types of rape. One is forcible and the other one is statutory. From the word forcible – there is an application of force, a threat or coercion. Statutory on the other hand is having sex with a minor.
There are four classification of rapist and these are:
Power assertive
Power reassurance
Sexual retaliatory and
Sexual sadism
Power assertive rapists are those who commit the act of rape just to show that they could commit such an act and could get away with it without getting punished.
Power reassurance rapists are those who commit the act of rape because they are insecure about themselves and that the act of raping someone gives them a certain amount of psychological lift that they still matter and is still significant (if not to the community but to their victims).
Sexual retaliatory rapists are those who were victims of sexual abuse themselves and are just passing their horror to somebody else.
Sexual sadism rapists are those who derive pleasure from the misery and agony of other individuals (usually, the victim).
Generally, there are only two types of rape. One is forcible and the other one is statutory. From the word forcible – there is an application of force, a threat or coercion. Statutory on the other hand is having sex with a minor.
There are four classification of rapist and these are:
Power assertive
Power reassurance
Sexual retaliatory and
Sexual sadism
Power assertive rapists are those who commit the act of rape just to show that they could commit such an act and could get away with it without getting punished.
Power reassurance rapists are those who commit the act of rape because they are insecure about themselves and that the act of raping someone gives them a certain amount of psychological lift that they still matter and is still significant (if not to the community but to their victims).
Sexual retaliatory rapists are those who were victims of sexual abuse themselves and are just passing their horror to somebody else.
Sexual sadism rapists are those who derive pleasure from the misery and agony of other individuals (usually, the victim).
Language Colonialism by Claudio V. Tabotabo, MA (January, 2007)
A student asked me why the English speaking policy of TIP did not work well as implemented. I could not give the student a direct and scientific answer. All I got was a humble opinion. It was not the problem of implementation or the people who implemented the policy, but the supposed speakers themselves were the problem (i.e. students and teachers).
Teachers come to the refuge by saying students cannot understand them in English so they are forced to speak in vernacular. The same lament was with the students; they cannot get what the teacher is saying in English.
The point I cannot understand well is that, subjects dealing with figures and numbers are developed in the countries where English is a language and brought to the Philippines in textbooks with English as a medium of instruction and yet these subjects could not be explained well in English.
Readiness does not only mean mastery of what to teach. Teaching methodology always enclosed the kind of language that fit with the learners and not of the teachers. The Ph Ds have their own level of communication, the poets have their own, the novelists have their own and the college students have their own and these levels could not be interchanged with each other. An instructor said students in high school are difficult to teach because teachers have to choose the kind of word to be used. It is true in high school which is also true in college.
Outside the classroom there is another point that needs to be checked. The Filipinos look at English as a status symbol. That anyone who speaks English is somebody and if that somebody flowers his English with a foreign accent he is honored as “sosyal”. The celebrities for instance speak English not because they knew it or they loved it but they used English to identify themselves apart from the rest of their brown brothers. Unfortunately Filipinos learn more from the English of the celebrities than from the English of the teachers. And because the celebrities highlight their American or British accent, the Filipinos strive hard to have the same accent. What come out now is a blatant superficiality and pretensions. An indio with his colonizer’s accent remains an indio no matter what. Some groups call it “colonial caricature”.
English speaking does not mean speaking in American or British accent. The move of call centers now is not accent acquisition but accent neutralization. English speaking people by birth could not do anything than to accept the fact that original English is losing. Today there are more people who speak English who themselves are not English by birth than those who are born with the English tongue. This widening scene somehow erases the English language of William Shakespeare, the original English.
For a purpose of understanding, experts are trying to design something that would maintain the standard. But this standard is definitely not British or American. English in the textbook and words described in the dictionaries are still the most accepted one in a business world. Textbook is still the guiding map for people who venture the correct English and dictionaries are keys to the formal use of English word.
But more than anything else sociologists maintain that a culture cannot be changed by legislation. Language is part of a culture so that it cannot be legislated and cannot be changed overnight. It must be practiced until it become a tradition, and practicing it means using it in the classroom and anywhere in the campus without waiting for making it into a policy. And the prime movers of the practice are teachers.
Teachers come to the refuge by saying students cannot understand them in English so they are forced to speak in vernacular. The same lament was with the students; they cannot get what the teacher is saying in English.
The point I cannot understand well is that, subjects dealing with figures and numbers are developed in the countries where English is a language and brought to the Philippines in textbooks with English as a medium of instruction and yet these subjects could not be explained well in English.
Readiness does not only mean mastery of what to teach. Teaching methodology always enclosed the kind of language that fit with the learners and not of the teachers. The Ph Ds have their own level of communication, the poets have their own, the novelists have their own and the college students have their own and these levels could not be interchanged with each other. An instructor said students in high school are difficult to teach because teachers have to choose the kind of word to be used. It is true in high school which is also true in college.
Outside the classroom there is another point that needs to be checked. The Filipinos look at English as a status symbol. That anyone who speaks English is somebody and if that somebody flowers his English with a foreign accent he is honored as “sosyal”. The celebrities for instance speak English not because they knew it or they loved it but they used English to identify themselves apart from the rest of their brown brothers. Unfortunately Filipinos learn more from the English of the celebrities than from the English of the teachers. And because the celebrities highlight their American or British accent, the Filipinos strive hard to have the same accent. What come out now is a blatant superficiality and pretensions. An indio with his colonizer’s accent remains an indio no matter what. Some groups call it “colonial caricature”.
English speaking does not mean speaking in American or British accent. The move of call centers now is not accent acquisition but accent neutralization. English speaking people by birth could not do anything than to accept the fact that original English is losing. Today there are more people who speak English who themselves are not English by birth than those who are born with the English tongue. This widening scene somehow erases the English language of William Shakespeare, the original English.
For a purpose of understanding, experts are trying to design something that would maintain the standard. But this standard is definitely not British or American. English in the textbook and words described in the dictionaries are still the most accepted one in a business world. Textbook is still the guiding map for people who venture the correct English and dictionaries are keys to the formal use of English word.
But more than anything else sociologists maintain that a culture cannot be changed by legislation. Language is part of a culture so that it cannot be legislated and cannot be changed overnight. It must be practiced until it become a tradition, and practicing it means using it in the classroom and anywhere in the campus without waiting for making it into a policy. And the prime movers of the practice are teachers.
Politics in America by Ronan S. Estoque, MA (November, 2006)
Come 2008, the United States of America will have it’s presidential elections and it will a titanic battle once more against the liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans.
Watching the process in picking a candidate that will carry the banner either for the Republicans and Democrats, a debate was organized by CNN and in those debates, one question attracted my attention.
“Are you in favor of adopting English as the official language of America?” Now, I was intrigued right away because I thought that English was the official language of America. As the presidential wannabes answered the query, it was revealed that English is not the official language of America.
English is the national language of America but it is not the official language. Making English the official language requires an act of the American congress and such also requires the usual presidential approval.
Surprisingly, Democrats and Republicans are not in favor of having English adopted as their official language because such an adoption would alienate the Spanish-speaking citizens of southern states and could further marginalize the Native – Americans (who live far longer in the American soil than the immigrants from Europe).
An official language status will dictate that the US will no longer utilize and print information in other language other than English, this is of course unfair to the American – Indians, Asian – Americans and even to the American – Latinos.
Democrats and Republican candidates are for the maintenance of the status quo. Have English as a national language but not as an official language.
Watching the process in picking a candidate that will carry the banner either for the Republicans and Democrats, a debate was organized by CNN and in those debates, one question attracted my attention.
“Are you in favor of adopting English as the official language of America?” Now, I was intrigued right away because I thought that English was the official language of America. As the presidential wannabes answered the query, it was revealed that English is not the official language of America.
English is the national language of America but it is not the official language. Making English the official language requires an act of the American congress and such also requires the usual presidential approval.
Surprisingly, Democrats and Republicans are not in favor of having English adopted as their official language because such an adoption would alienate the Spanish-speaking citizens of southern states and could further marginalize the Native – Americans (who live far longer in the American soil than the immigrants from Europe).
An official language status will dictate that the US will no longer utilize and print information in other language other than English, this is of course unfair to the American – Indians, Asian – Americans and even to the American – Latinos.
Democrats and Republican candidates are for the maintenance of the status quo. Have English as a national language but not as an official language.
The Influence of Psychoanalysis and Behaviorism on Ethics by Rogelio G. Dela Cruz, Ph. D (November, 2006)
Modern ethics is profoundly affected by the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud and his followers and the behaviorist doctrines based on the conditioned-reflex discoveries of the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. Freud attributed the problem of good and evil in each individual to the struggle between the drive of the instinctual self to satisfy all its desires and the necessity of the social self to control or repress most of these impulses in order for the individual to function in society. Although Freud's influence has not been assimilated completely into ethical thinking, Freudian depth psychology has shown that guilt, often sexual, underlies much thinking about good and evil.
Behaviorism, through observation of animal behavior, strengthened the beliefs in the power to change human nature by arranging conditions favorable to the desired changes. In the 1920s, behaviorism was broadly accepted in the United States, principally in theories of pediatrics and infant training and education in general. There, the so-called new Soviet citizen has developed according to behaviorist principles through the conditioning power of the rigidly controlled Soviet society. Soviet ethics defined good as whatever is favorable to the state and bad as everything opposed to it.
In his late 19th-century and early 20th-century writings, the American philosopher and psychologist William James anticipated Freud and Pavlov to some extent. James is best known as the founder of pragmatism, which maintains that the value of ideas is determined by their consequences. His greatest contribution to ethical theory, however, lies in his insistence on the importance of interrelationships, in ideas as in other phenomena.
On the other hand, British philosopher Bertrand Russell has influenced ethical thinking in recent decades. A vigorous critic of conventional morality, he held the view that moral judgments express individual desires or accepted habits. In his thinking, both the ascetic saint and the detached sage are poor human models because they are incomplete human beings. Complete human beings participate fully in the life of society and express all of their nature. Some impulses must be checked in the interests of society and others in the interest of individual development, but it is a person's relatively unimpeded natural growth and self-realization that makes for the good life and harmonious society.
Behaviorism, through observation of animal behavior, strengthened the beliefs in the power to change human nature by arranging conditions favorable to the desired changes. In the 1920s, behaviorism was broadly accepted in the United States, principally in theories of pediatrics and infant training and education in general. There, the so-called new Soviet citizen has developed according to behaviorist principles through the conditioning power of the rigidly controlled Soviet society. Soviet ethics defined good as whatever is favorable to the state and bad as everything opposed to it.
In his late 19th-century and early 20th-century writings, the American philosopher and psychologist William James anticipated Freud and Pavlov to some extent. James is best known as the founder of pragmatism, which maintains that the value of ideas is determined by their consequences. His greatest contribution to ethical theory, however, lies in his insistence on the importance of interrelationships, in ideas as in other phenomena.
On the other hand, British philosopher Bertrand Russell has influenced ethical thinking in recent decades. A vigorous critic of conventional morality, he held the view that moral judgments express individual desires or accepted habits. In his thinking, both the ascetic saint and the detached sage are poor human models because they are incomplete human beings. Complete human beings participate fully in the life of society and express all of their nature. Some impulses must be checked in the interests of society and others in the interest of individual development, but it is a person's relatively unimpeded natural growth and self-realization that makes for the good life and harmonious society.
Microsoap is Correct? by Claudio V. Tabotabo, MA (November, 2006)
In the world where people are looking at computerization, learning the second language became a less priority matter. Almost everyone is not bothered to forget language acquisition as long as he is part of computer development. A proven fact is that young people spent every minute of their lives with their last peso in the computer cafes than learning a single word in the classroom or library. Teachers testify poor language performance of students because of computer.
Truth cannot be declared rightly that computer make people dull. But with computer amusements the interest of the students to reading books such as novels, biographies, histories and others is diverted to other direction. While novels gather dust in the bookshelves, computer cafes are swarmed with young people. But see the difference between a reader of books and a computer buff? Listen to what you hear; in the library you will only hear footfalls and silent shuffling of pages, while in the computer cafes you will hear very loud baffle of words without meaning.
Clothed with a misconception that computer is a symbol of modernization, young people are misled to believe that being adept in computer is something that made them different from others, that a person who is good in computer belongs to the new generation.
Young minds do not know that the functions of computer to the life of man today, are not different to the functions of a spear to the life of the pre-historic man. It is only a rudiment to the tools of man to acquire existence. It helps life easy but it is not life, so that man's endeavor should not end in computerization. The situation shows demarcation between computer and the learning of the students. This paper claims as it had been claimed in the past that computers had to do something with the plummeting proficiency of the students.
But blaming the computers for the failings of the students in school is not the argument of this paper. Instead this study endeavors in presenting an idea on making computers as an instrument to upgrade students' proficiency level in thinking.
Truth cannot be declared rightly that computer make people dull. But with computer amusements the interest of the students to reading books such as novels, biographies, histories and others is diverted to other direction. While novels gather dust in the bookshelves, computer cafes are swarmed with young people. But see the difference between a reader of books and a computer buff? Listen to what you hear; in the library you will only hear footfalls and silent shuffling of pages, while in the computer cafes you will hear very loud baffle of words without meaning.
Clothed with a misconception that computer is a symbol of modernization, young people are misled to believe that being adept in computer is something that made them different from others, that a person who is good in computer belongs to the new generation.
Young minds do not know that the functions of computer to the life of man today, are not different to the functions of a spear to the life of the pre-historic man. It is only a rudiment to the tools of man to acquire existence. It helps life easy but it is not life, so that man's endeavor should not end in computerization. The situation shows demarcation between computer and the learning of the students. This paper claims as it had been claimed in the past that computers had to do something with the plummeting proficiency of the students.
But blaming the computers for the failings of the students in school is not the argument of this paper. Instead this study endeavors in presenting an idea on making computers as an instrument to upgrade students' proficiency level in thinking.
Politics in America by Ronan S. Estoque, MA (November, 2006)
Ronald Wilson Reagan was a Republican who served as an American President from 1981 to 1989. His Vice-President George Herbert Walter Bush Sr. succeeded him from 1989 to 1993. From 1981 to 1993, American politics was under the Republican rule.
From 1993 to 2001, a Democrat candidate named William Jefferson Clinton was elected. From 2001 up to the present date, the Republicans again ruled American administration in the person of George Walker Bush Jr. The latter will certainly serve up to 2009 unless an unexpected death takes him away. Last November 7, a mid-term elections transpired and from the Republican domination (Senate, House of Representatives and List of Governors), a complete turn-around of American voters elected a Democrat Senate, a Democrat Congress and a majority of Democrat Governors.
To appease a legislature dominated by the Democrats, President George Bush announced the acceptance of the courtesy resignation of his Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. The latter is widely attributed as the fiercest advocate of the Middle East war. Now that the Democrats are back in the legislative saddle - certain compromises needs to be taken and sacrificing Rumsfeld in the altar of bi-partisanship is one of the ingredients for the solution of the Middle East riddle.
All in all, the Republicans are considered conservatives while the Democrats are deemed liberal. The difference is felt in abortion, stem cell research and even same-sex marriage. With a Democrat Congress, a pendulum swing is in the horizon. From the days of the hawks, it will now be the era of doves. Diplomacy will be the new lexicon of the American realm and whether it is admitted or not, President George Bush is starting to look and act like a lame duck executive.
If there is one thing that History subject proved eternal, is the lesson that "everything must always come to an end". Years from now, students of political science will always look at the capture of party dominance by the Democrats as a signal for an eventual Republican downfall.
Allow me to boldly predict that it will be the turn of the Democrats to install the next leader of the free world and from the way the pretenders are projecting themselves, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama will just have to slug it out in the DNC primaries - which in turn is another topic for the next article.
From 1993 to 2001, a Democrat candidate named William Jefferson Clinton was elected. From 2001 up to the present date, the Republicans again ruled American administration in the person of George Walker Bush Jr. The latter will certainly serve up to 2009 unless an unexpected death takes him away. Last November 7, a mid-term elections transpired and from the Republican domination (Senate, House of Representatives and List of Governors), a complete turn-around of American voters elected a Democrat Senate, a Democrat Congress and a majority of Democrat Governors.
To appease a legislature dominated by the Democrats, President George Bush announced the acceptance of the courtesy resignation of his Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. The latter is widely attributed as the fiercest advocate of the Middle East war. Now that the Democrats are back in the legislative saddle - certain compromises needs to be taken and sacrificing Rumsfeld in the altar of bi-partisanship is one of the ingredients for the solution of the Middle East riddle.
All in all, the Republicans are considered conservatives while the Democrats are deemed liberal. The difference is felt in abortion, stem cell research and even same-sex marriage. With a Democrat Congress, a pendulum swing is in the horizon. From the days of the hawks, it will now be the era of doves. Diplomacy will be the new lexicon of the American realm and whether it is admitted or not, President George Bush is starting to look and act like a lame duck executive.
If there is one thing that History subject proved eternal, is the lesson that "everything must always come to an end". Years from now, students of political science will always look at the capture of party dominance by the Democrats as a signal for an eventual Republican downfall.
Allow me to boldly predict that it will be the turn of the Democrats to install the next leader of the free world and from the way the pretenders are projecting themselves, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama will just have to slug it out in the DNC primaries - which in turn is another topic for the next article.
Pandora's Nuclear Men by Ronan S. Estoque, MA (November, 2006)
Pandora, in Greek mythology was the first woman on earth, sent by Zeus as a punishment for Prometheus crime of stealing fire in Olympus. Zeus gave Pandora a box, which when opened, will let out all the ills that befell mankind.
Historically, nuclear weapons were first developed during the Second World War under the code name of Manhattan Project. The first atomic bomb was exploded in New Mexico in 1945 and after a month, two atomic bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing an estimated 100,000 people outright, which precipitated the closure of the world war.
The two bombs that ironically ended the war were known as "little boy" (a uranium bomb) and "fatman" (a plutonium bomb). The Soviet Union exploded its own nuclear bomb in 1949 while the United Kingdom followed in 1952. Suddenly, an arm's race was on and before anyone realized it, the era now known as the "cold war" was upon mankind. Somehow, somewhere, common sense prevailed and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Nuclear Test Ban Treaty were born and the spread of nuclear technology and weaponry was controlled and arrested.
Right now, North Korea has announced that it is now a nuclear newborn country. The ramifications of a nuclear North Korea have so many dimension that all possibilities are staggering to the status quo of nuclear equation.
Scenario Number 1 - With a nuclear North Korea, it could now bully its nearest neighbors (e.g. South Korea, Japan, and even the Philippines) to submit to its demands and imperatives. The threat of a nuclear weapon is a powerful equation especially if one is negotiating for a certain parochial advantages.
Scenario Number 2 - Because of a nuclear North Korea, Japan and South Korea might pursue their own nuclear development program where the possibility of a nuclear arms race might commence in the northern rim of the Asia-Pacific region. It is currently estimated that Japan could produce its own nuclear weapon within six months while South Korea could come out with its own weapon of mass destruction as easy and early as within the timeframe of two years.
Scenario Number 3 - Using the same tried and tested arguments for the American led invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq; USA might go directly and attack North Korea for a preemptive strike. America could hide under the banner of human rights violations, to the toppling of a dictator or to the establishment of democracy of North Korea. The United States of America doesn't even have to pretend to search for a weapon of mass destruction. Such is confirmed in North Korea.
Instability in the Korean Peninsula will result in a strain in the flow of economic trading and will surely make life more difficult for the average Filipinos. The current peso appreciation might stop and might even begin to depreciate again further aggravating the economic stress of the republic. Forget about the possibility of an outright nuclear war in the Korean Peninsula, which will produce losers on all fronts - the mere possession of a nuclear weapon in the hands of a North Korean dictator is certain to spell trouble and disaster for the country.
In Pandora's box, hope remains the only unreleased element that is still a comfort to mankind.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Achievements for the First Semester 2006-2007
Published 4 books, College Psychology, College Sociology, Jose Rizal (A Hero's Life) and Art Appreciation: Introduction to Humanities.
Outreach Program, Cooperative Management for the adopted barangay.
Celebration of Buwan ng Wika.
Film showing re: Dakilang Lakan.
Technical Seminar: Peter Wallace, Raising the English Proficiency of Students - From the Perspective of Employers.
Historically, nuclear weapons were first developed during the Second World War under the code name of Manhattan Project. The first atomic bomb was exploded in New Mexico in 1945 and after a month, two atomic bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing an estimated 100,000 people outright, which precipitated the closure of the world war.
The two bombs that ironically ended the war were known as "little boy" (a uranium bomb) and "fatman" (a plutonium bomb). The Soviet Union exploded its own nuclear bomb in 1949 while the United Kingdom followed in 1952. Suddenly, an arm's race was on and before anyone realized it, the era now known as the "cold war" was upon mankind. Somehow, somewhere, common sense prevailed and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Nuclear Test Ban Treaty were born and the spread of nuclear technology and weaponry was controlled and arrested.
Right now, North Korea has announced that it is now a nuclear newborn country. The ramifications of a nuclear North Korea have so many dimension that all possibilities are staggering to the status quo of nuclear equation.
Scenario Number 1 - With a nuclear North Korea, it could now bully its nearest neighbors (e.g. South Korea, Japan, and even the Philippines) to submit to its demands and imperatives. The threat of a nuclear weapon is a powerful equation especially if one is negotiating for a certain parochial advantages.
Scenario Number 2 - Because of a nuclear North Korea, Japan and South Korea might pursue their own nuclear development program where the possibility of a nuclear arms race might commence in the northern rim of the Asia-Pacific region. It is currently estimated that Japan could produce its own nuclear weapon within six months while South Korea could come out with its own weapon of mass destruction as easy and early as within the timeframe of two years.
Scenario Number 3 - Using the same tried and tested arguments for the American led invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq; USA might go directly and attack North Korea for a preemptive strike. America could hide under the banner of human rights violations, to the toppling of a dictator or to the establishment of democracy of North Korea. The United States of America doesn't even have to pretend to search for a weapon of mass destruction. Such is confirmed in North Korea.
Instability in the Korean Peninsula will result in a strain in the flow of economic trading and will surely make life more difficult for the average Filipinos. The current peso appreciation might stop and might even begin to depreciate again further aggravating the economic stress of the republic. Forget about the possibility of an outright nuclear war in the Korean Peninsula, which will produce losers on all fronts - the mere possession of a nuclear weapon in the hands of a North Korean dictator is certain to spell trouble and disaster for the country.
In Pandora's box, hope remains the only unreleased element that is still a comfort to mankind.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Achievements for the First Semester 2006-2007
Published 4 books, College Psychology, College Sociology, Jose Rizal (A Hero's Life) and Art Appreciation: Introduction to Humanities.
Outreach Program, Cooperative Management for the adopted barangay.
Celebration of Buwan ng Wika.
Film showing re: Dakilang Lakan.
Technical Seminar: Peter Wallace, Raising the English Proficiency of Students - From the Perspective of Employers.
The Forces Carrying Particle by Rogelio G. Dela Cruz, Ph. D (September, 2006)
The neutrino is a pernicious concept. Humans normally require narrative and relationship in order to function, yet here we are faced with a sublime indifference. Not only that but particles are strange, and neutrinos are not the strangest. About 100 years ago Einstein figured out a bunch of really unsettling things about light waves acting like particles. Now we're saddled with a whole pile of elementary and force carrying particles, which are strangely behaving.
My old understanding of force was one thing pushing on something else. But in fact force is an exchange, two objects tossing tiny particles back and forth. There are four basic forces and a special force carrying particle associated with each. The particle for gravity is the graviton, the particle for electricity is the photon. The strong force operates within the atom and keeps all the bits together. This is why we can't pass our hands through walls by rearranging our atomic particles to fit between the spaces of the walls' atomic particles. The quarks inside the atom are all involved in tiny, fierce game of catch, throwing little particles called gluons back and forth to each other.
The fourth force also operates at the atomic level. It is called the weak force and the particles associated are called intermediate vector bosons. The weak force is interesting because it allows for a type of radioactive process called beta decay, which occurs in the sun and creates neutrinos.
My old understanding of force was one thing pushing on something else. But in fact force is an exchange, two objects tossing tiny particles back and forth. There are four basic forces and a special force carrying particle associated with each. The particle for gravity is the graviton, the particle for electricity is the photon. The strong force operates within the atom and keeps all the bits together. This is why we can't pass our hands through walls by rearranging our atomic particles to fit between the spaces of the walls' atomic particles. The quarks inside the atom are all involved in tiny, fierce game of catch, throwing little particles called gluons back and forth to each other.
The fourth force also operates at the atomic level. It is called the weak force and the particles associated are called intermediate vector bosons. The weak force is interesting because it allows for a type of radioactive process called beta decay, which occurs in the sun and creates neutrinos.
Colonial Infections by Claudio V. Tabotabo, MA (November, 2006)
When freedom was granted to the blacks by the Emancipation Act of 1861, there was rejoicing in the farms, in the cottages, in the coalmines and anywhere in the States where there were slaves. Slavery had come to an end, and the blacks could finally live the way they dreamed of. Unfortunately things turned out differently. They lived the way they don't know of. Freedom was on hand yet they found themselves unprepared to practice it.
Many did not know where to go and what to do because on the day Lincoln signed the Act, the authority of the white over the blacks ended. Slavery slipped out from society so also the responsibility of the white to feed, to clothe and to whip the Negro.
It was neither the Ku Klux Klan nor the abusive masters that brought anguish to the black slaves. It was the readiness to welcome the herald of freedom yet unknowing of the incapability to live in it.
Not to count Booker T. Washington and few others who did all they can to educate themselves, the rest of the former slaves came out with a new desire. They wanted to align themselves with their former masters. They aspired for government positions, but they are not willing to undergo the hardships to gain education that is the prerequisite for a position in the government. At the same time girls yelled at their mama for expensive dresses like those their former mistresses used to wear. They lost interest to manual labors like laundering from which they were experts. What they longed then was to enjoy the luxury of the white.
Far from the American shores 31 years after the historic Emancipation Act, American forces swooped down into the Philippine islands and in an orchestrated war, assumed the power of the country from fellow colonizers. They held the country for more than forty years, which was long enough to change the thinking of the natives.
Schools were put up with a curriculum to learn the English language. Filipinos learned English and very proud of it without looking at the truth of the curriculum. English was taught to the Filipinos to prepare them for a domestic job abroad. Americans did not prepare the Filipinos for self-governance. Instead they trained them to be the laborer of the world, to be a worker and not a creator of work. F. Sionil Jose said Filipinos are world's proletariat which is definitely true. More than that, westernization of the Filipinos only prepared them to be the consumers of the surplus from America. The reject in the states was treasured in the Philippines so that the rugs of Madonna were prized by the Filipinas. Madonna has retired yet her stupidity and shamelessness are still being admired in the Philippines. Culture was part of the American import to the Philippines because their agenda was to change the thinking of the Filipinos. The minds that structured for autonomy, self governance and independence as demonstrated by Sakay, Malvar, Bonifacio, Rizal and many others were changed to the level of a laborer
Colonialism is a kind of disease inflicted into the Filipinos. It can be cured if the Filipinos will it. This writer is not a doctor who can prescribe the medicine. To turn to something Filipino may not be the medication of the infection. But knowing oneself directs the patient to know himself; what is for, and not for him.
Many did not know where to go and what to do because on the day Lincoln signed the Act, the authority of the white over the blacks ended. Slavery slipped out from society so also the responsibility of the white to feed, to clothe and to whip the Negro.
It was neither the Ku Klux Klan nor the abusive masters that brought anguish to the black slaves. It was the readiness to welcome the herald of freedom yet unknowing of the incapability to live in it.
Not to count Booker T. Washington and few others who did all they can to educate themselves, the rest of the former slaves came out with a new desire. They wanted to align themselves with their former masters. They aspired for government positions, but they are not willing to undergo the hardships to gain education that is the prerequisite for a position in the government. At the same time girls yelled at their mama for expensive dresses like those their former mistresses used to wear. They lost interest to manual labors like laundering from which they were experts. What they longed then was to enjoy the luxury of the white.
Far from the American shores 31 years after the historic Emancipation Act, American forces swooped down into the Philippine islands and in an orchestrated war, assumed the power of the country from fellow colonizers. They held the country for more than forty years, which was long enough to change the thinking of the natives.
Schools were put up with a curriculum to learn the English language. Filipinos learned English and very proud of it without looking at the truth of the curriculum. English was taught to the Filipinos to prepare them for a domestic job abroad. Americans did not prepare the Filipinos for self-governance. Instead they trained them to be the laborer of the world, to be a worker and not a creator of work. F. Sionil Jose said Filipinos are world's proletariat which is definitely true. More than that, westernization of the Filipinos only prepared them to be the consumers of the surplus from America. The reject in the states was treasured in the Philippines so that the rugs of Madonna were prized by the Filipinas. Madonna has retired yet her stupidity and shamelessness are still being admired in the Philippines. Culture was part of the American import to the Philippines because their agenda was to change the thinking of the Filipinos. The minds that structured for autonomy, self governance and independence as demonstrated by Sakay, Malvar, Bonifacio, Rizal and many others were changed to the level of a laborer
Colonialism is a kind of disease inflicted into the Filipinos. It can be cured if the Filipinos will it. This writer is not a doctor who can prescribe the medicine. To turn to something Filipino may not be the medication of the infection. But knowing oneself directs the patient to know himself; what is for, and not for him.
Responsibility in Education: Whose Job is it? by Marian Jeanette Laxa, MA (September, 2006)
The teacher is the prime mover inside the classroom from whom the students expect to learn. In the classroom setting, the responsibility in education rests heavily on the part of the teacher. It's the duty of the teacher to share his knowledge in the best possible way to the student, in the most agreeable strategy-possible to reach out to the learning style of the student.
It is not about his knowledge, skill and expertise but how he converts this knowledge, skill and expertise to suit the interest of the student so that he will inculcate in them the values that could mold the students into people who will move our country into a better place to live in.
In this goal-the teacher should be student-centered. She could do better in teaching if he gives an example and let his students do the learning and decide on themselves the knowledge they are most capable of absorbing. In the process, the students also discover their learning style and thus will be a basis to the teacher to find schemes and strategies, which could better transmit the knowledge she wants to share.
It is not about his knowledge, skill and expertise but how he converts this knowledge, skill and expertise to suit the interest of the student so that he will inculcate in them the values that could mold the students into people who will move our country into a better place to live in.
In this goal-the teacher should be student-centered. She could do better in teaching if he gives an example and let his students do the learning and decide on themselves the knowledge they are most capable of absorbing. In the process, the students also discover their learning style and thus will be a basis to the teacher to find schemes and strategies, which could better transmit the knowledge she wants to share.
Eh, Kasi Bisaya by Claudio V. Tabotabo, MA (September, 2006)
Anybody who used to wear out of the craze was labeled baduy, but not anymore this time. Today the man is called Bisaya instead of baduy. Any one who accidentally speaks English in a hard accent though he comes from the Northern side of the country, or from Manila, is unfairly called Bisaya.
But there is a worst connotation being forwarded of course by the non-Bisaya, the meaning of the word "Inday and Dodong" In Manila the word Inday means housemaid, and Dodong house boy. But it's not just the prejudice that is being referred here. Inday for some people of Manila means prostitute.
It is a humiliating connotation that calls for the attention of the educated sector. Humiliating because it is a disrespect to the old people of the Visayas and Mindanao areas who address their daughters Inday. In English the equivalent of Inday is darling. It signifies refinement, passion, devotion, care and love which the non-visayan speaking Filipinos laugh at and abuse.
Cory Aquino protested against the publication of a new French dictionary with definition of the word Filipina as domestic help, nanny and prostitute. They say the dictionary was circulated and being used today. We did not mean to say that there are no prostitutes in the Philippines. There are high caliber whores anywhere in the world so that we cannot allow such a definition to be synonymous with the word Filipina. We do not mind the French defining themselves as Musolinic, Napoleonic, Barbaric or any other terms that satisfy their partiality. If the Philippines has a diplomatic relation with France, then the French people have put a grudge on it, which the Filipinos must answer with something radical.
People are sensitive to the language that they even prefer to desecrate the rules of grammar to avoid biases. In the 1980s the so called Politically Correct Language was a proposition of a hot debate (English Teaching Forum). It is definitely wrong to say, Every student has to pass their exam. It violates the subject-verb agreement but conforms to the new rules of gender neutrality. The pronoun "their "is used rather than the correct one "his" because "his" signifies male and disregards female.
It was the Politically Correct Language that gives birth to such words as; "herstory" rather than "history"; chairperson rather than chairman; humankind to avoid the use of mankind; sales person rather than sales lady; flight attendant rather than flight stewardess.
To avoid pejorative language to name people with illness, the blind are called visually challenged; deaf people with hearing impairments.
Toward deracialization came the words; African American to replace the words, Negro, colored and Afro-American. Oriental or Asiatic became Asian or Pacific Islander.
Politically Correct Language must be the predominant cause for the delayed draft of Reagan's speech about the Berlin Wall. Reagan's speech writer had tried to use the most benign word, the verb for breaking the wall. After which the phrase "bring down the wall" came into view which the American president did use in his speech that eventually brought down the Berlin Wall.
Refinement in the use of language to avoid prejudices is after all the exponent of a good education. Unfortunately, some men of our society try to flaunt their superiority complex and cover their ignorance by making fun at the natural differences of others.
But there is a worst connotation being forwarded of course by the non-Bisaya, the meaning of the word "Inday and Dodong" In Manila the word Inday means housemaid, and Dodong house boy. But it's not just the prejudice that is being referred here. Inday for some people of Manila means prostitute.
It is a humiliating connotation that calls for the attention of the educated sector. Humiliating because it is a disrespect to the old people of the Visayas and Mindanao areas who address their daughters Inday. In English the equivalent of Inday is darling. It signifies refinement, passion, devotion, care and love which the non-visayan speaking Filipinos laugh at and abuse.
Cory Aquino protested against the publication of a new French dictionary with definition of the word Filipina as domestic help, nanny and prostitute. They say the dictionary was circulated and being used today. We did not mean to say that there are no prostitutes in the Philippines. There are high caliber whores anywhere in the world so that we cannot allow such a definition to be synonymous with the word Filipina. We do not mind the French defining themselves as Musolinic, Napoleonic, Barbaric or any other terms that satisfy their partiality. If the Philippines has a diplomatic relation with France, then the French people have put a grudge on it, which the Filipinos must answer with something radical.
People are sensitive to the language that they even prefer to desecrate the rules of grammar to avoid biases. In the 1980s the so called Politically Correct Language was a proposition of a hot debate (English Teaching Forum). It is definitely wrong to say, Every student has to pass their exam. It violates the subject-verb agreement but conforms to the new rules of gender neutrality. The pronoun "their "is used rather than the correct one "his" because "his" signifies male and disregards female.
It was the Politically Correct Language that gives birth to such words as; "herstory" rather than "history"; chairperson rather than chairman; humankind to avoid the use of mankind; sales person rather than sales lady; flight attendant rather than flight stewardess.
To avoid pejorative language to name people with illness, the blind are called visually challenged; deaf people with hearing impairments.
Toward deracialization came the words; African American to replace the words, Negro, colored and Afro-American. Oriental or Asiatic became Asian or Pacific Islander.
Politically Correct Language must be the predominant cause for the delayed draft of Reagan's speech about the Berlin Wall. Reagan's speech writer had tried to use the most benign word, the verb for breaking the wall. After which the phrase "bring down the wall" came into view which the American president did use in his speech that eventually brought down the Berlin Wall.
Refinement in the use of language to avoid prejudices is after all the exponent of a good education. Unfortunately, some men of our society try to flaunt their superiority complex and cover their ignorance by making fun at the natural differences of others.
D and D by Ronan S. Estoque, MA (September, 2006)
"You will not receive salvation, eternal damnation will be your destiny for all eternity, if you do not join my religion." Such was message that rang in the ears of Harry when Lloyd tried to recruit him in his religion last Thursday. Lloyd essentially is a good person. He is considered as an elder in his religion and among his many duties and obligations are the task of indoctrinating potential new members of his religion.
Harry was quite sold to the basic tenets of Lloyd's religion, what stopped him from joining outright was the last premise uttered by Lloyd which continued to hound him over the weekend.
"If your religion is the only vehicle that assures my salvation, then what about other religions?" Harry asked himself. "What about the believers of Islam?" "What about the Jews?" "What about the Protestants?" "Are they all going to hell?" - "If your religion is the only vehicle for salvation, then the rest are wrong and are going to pay dearly" Harry remembers asking Lloyd as a parting quip over the course of their conversation.
"It is simply impossible for all religion to be right, by virtue of elimination, only one religion ought to be right and the rest are wrong" And if every religion subscribe to the mindset that they are righteous; then everyone is righteous and everyone (ironically) is a sinner. Such is simply impossible; it is like saying that only the graduates of Mapua Institute of Technology will pass the board examinations. Because in reality, board passers cuts across all sections of varying academic institutions. No one has a monopoly of board passers in any licensure examinations. And similarly, the entrance to paradise/heaven is not exclusive to a single religion. "There are worthy men and women that belong to my current religion and from other religion as well," Harry mused.
Having a mindset that only one religion will lord over other beliefs; that only one religion is superior over other faiths, breeds' intolerance. Intolerance in the long run breeds fanaticism. And being a fanatic is no different from the common terrorist that we now see from time to time in the Middle East.
The trouble is, every religion has it's own brand of fanaticism. No one is free from this phenomenon. The challenge now is how to be tolerant and look at your fellow man as an individual that is capable of doing something good that is going to benefit humanity in the long run.
To cut a long story short, Harry decided not to join the religion of Lloyd and instead became a stern advocate of tolerance for all religion. No one has an exclusive lock on salvation. "As long as your religion makes you a better person, then that religion is the right one for you," Harry finally concluded.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is your opinion about the president and her family?
In a lecture given by the winners of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards, the same question above was given and skillfully - the answer to the query was skirted and passed on to the moderator of the lecture by the recipient of the award.
A question of the same nature was again asked and again, the answer was tactfully evaded. When the awardee was pressed further, the lecturer simply said that "I am already old, let us give others the chance of making their own mark".
Now I don't know about the others but what was before me then was moral cowardice. If you are a winner of a certain award that is suppose to stand for anything, having a position, be it for or against a certain person, is a requisite.
Assuming the position of neutrality is not a good model for winning an award. The prestige of the award was wasted. And let us not talk about the monetary equivalent of the award, which is $ 50,000. Converted to Philippine Pesos, it amounts to 2.5 million php. Such an amount is enough to send the winner back to school to finally learn that "you don't quit when you are tired and old but rather when the objective is attained".
The fight is not yet over, in a month where the assassination of Sen. Ninoy Aquino is commemorated and the birthday of President Ramon Magsaysay is celebrated, moral cowardice must take a backseat.
Harry was quite sold to the basic tenets of Lloyd's religion, what stopped him from joining outright was the last premise uttered by Lloyd which continued to hound him over the weekend.
"If your religion is the only vehicle that assures my salvation, then what about other religions?" Harry asked himself. "What about the believers of Islam?" "What about the Jews?" "What about the Protestants?" "Are they all going to hell?" - "If your religion is the only vehicle for salvation, then the rest are wrong and are going to pay dearly" Harry remembers asking Lloyd as a parting quip over the course of their conversation.
"It is simply impossible for all religion to be right, by virtue of elimination, only one religion ought to be right and the rest are wrong" And if every religion subscribe to the mindset that they are righteous; then everyone is righteous and everyone (ironically) is a sinner. Such is simply impossible; it is like saying that only the graduates of Mapua Institute of Technology will pass the board examinations. Because in reality, board passers cuts across all sections of varying academic institutions. No one has a monopoly of board passers in any licensure examinations. And similarly, the entrance to paradise/heaven is not exclusive to a single religion. "There are worthy men and women that belong to my current religion and from other religion as well," Harry mused.
Having a mindset that only one religion will lord over other beliefs; that only one religion is superior over other faiths, breeds' intolerance. Intolerance in the long run breeds fanaticism. And being a fanatic is no different from the common terrorist that we now see from time to time in the Middle East.
The trouble is, every religion has it's own brand of fanaticism. No one is free from this phenomenon. The challenge now is how to be tolerant and look at your fellow man as an individual that is capable of doing something good that is going to benefit humanity in the long run.
To cut a long story short, Harry decided not to join the religion of Lloyd and instead became a stern advocate of tolerance for all religion. No one has an exclusive lock on salvation. "As long as your religion makes you a better person, then that religion is the right one for you," Harry finally concluded.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is your opinion about the president and her family?
In a lecture given by the winners of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards, the same question above was given and skillfully - the answer to the query was skirted and passed on to the moderator of the lecture by the recipient of the award.
A question of the same nature was again asked and again, the answer was tactfully evaded. When the awardee was pressed further, the lecturer simply said that "I am already old, let us give others the chance of making their own mark".
Now I don't know about the others but what was before me then was moral cowardice. If you are a winner of a certain award that is suppose to stand for anything, having a position, be it for or against a certain person, is a requisite.
Assuming the position of neutrality is not a good model for winning an award. The prestige of the award was wasted. And let us not talk about the monetary equivalent of the award, which is $ 50,000. Converted to Philippine Pesos, it amounts to 2.5 million php. Such an amount is enough to send the winner back to school to finally learn that "you don't quit when you are tired and old but rather when the objective is attained".
The fight is not yet over, in a month where the assassination of Sen. Ninoy Aquino is commemorated and the birthday of President Ramon Magsaysay is celebrated, moral cowardice must take a backseat.
Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes? by Ronan S. Estoque, MA (August, 2006)
During the recent State of the Nation Address of the President, PGMA acknowledged the contribution of some military generals who protected and guarded the government during the failed coup attempt last February. While I have nothing against the generals, a Latin phrase hounded my imagination. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Literally, the translation is "who will guard the guards?" If we need a guardian to guard our democracy to a certain extent - someone must come in and watch the guardians.
In the days of Augustus Caesar, the Praetorian Guards became notorious in discharging their primary duty. Essentially, they are tasked to simply ensure the safety of the republic. In the course however of their its "discharge of duty", the Praetorian guards started to meddle in politics, public administration and even in the determination of policies, rules and regulations in the Roman republic - in short, they became a de facto "kingmaker" (because their support is needed for gaining a high political office). And to think that before the mutation of their responsibilities, they were just glorified bodyguards. All "meddlings" were hidden under the dictum of protecting the state. It is because of this scenario that the immortal Latin Phrase was uttered: "Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes"
Who will guard the guards? For the Philippine republic, we are in trouble when the very fabric of democracy is under the care of the military. Because under our democracy, the military always subscribes to the rule of a civilian leader. And in this case, the civilian supremacy is under the auspices of the Philippine President.
To have our democracy guaranteed by the military is an offense to the very definition of democracy. The moment we operate on such a tenet, our democracy now operates under the barrel of the gun. And in any definition: such falls under the category of a 'Banana Republic.'
Civilian supremacy over the military is a basic tenet in a democracy. Though, we are still nowhere near the dictate of the military - a creeping military presence in governance might foretell a more threatening scenario for the government. Honor the military, commend the military and even cajole the military. But at the end of the day, the military really shouldn't be the last bastions of democracy because in the final analysis, it was the people themselves who protected the present administration by not joining the agitators last February.
Literally, the translation is "who will guard the guards?" If we need a guardian to guard our democracy to a certain extent - someone must come in and watch the guardians.
In the days of Augustus Caesar, the Praetorian Guards became notorious in discharging their primary duty. Essentially, they are tasked to simply ensure the safety of the republic. In the course however of their its "discharge of duty", the Praetorian guards started to meddle in politics, public administration and even in the determination of policies, rules and regulations in the Roman republic - in short, they became a de facto "kingmaker" (because their support is needed for gaining a high political office). And to think that before the mutation of their responsibilities, they were just glorified bodyguards. All "meddlings" were hidden under the dictum of protecting the state. It is because of this scenario that the immortal Latin Phrase was uttered: "Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes"
Who will guard the guards? For the Philippine republic, we are in trouble when the very fabric of democracy is under the care of the military. Because under our democracy, the military always subscribes to the rule of a civilian leader. And in this case, the civilian supremacy is under the auspices of the Philippine President.
To have our democracy guaranteed by the military is an offense to the very definition of democracy. The moment we operate on such a tenet, our democracy now operates under the barrel of the gun. And in any definition: such falls under the category of a 'Banana Republic.'
Civilian supremacy over the military is a basic tenet in a democracy. Though, we are still nowhere near the dictate of the military - a creeping military presence in governance might foretell a more threatening scenario for the government. Honor the military, commend the military and even cajole the military. But at the end of the day, the military really shouldn't be the last bastions of democracy because in the final analysis, it was the people themselves who protected the present administration by not joining the agitators last February.
The Subfields and Interdiciplinary Fields of Sociology by Rogelio G. Dela Cruz, Ph. D (August, 2006)
Sociology was long identified primarily with broad evolutionary reconstructions of historical change in Western societies, as well as with the exploration of relationships and interdependencies among their more specialized institutions and aspects of social life, such as the economy, the state, the family, and religion. Sociology was thought of as a synthesizing field that attempted to integrate the findings acquired from other social sciences. Although such concepts concerning the scope and task of sociology are still prevalent, they now tend to be regarded as the province of sociological theory, which is only a part of the entire discipline.
Sociological theory also includes the discussion and analysis of basic concepts that are common to all the different spheres of social life studied by sociologists. An emphasis on empirical investigations carried out by standardized and often statistical research methods directed the attention of sociologists away from the abstract visions of 19th-century scholars toward more focused and concrete areas of social reality. These areas became the subfields and specialties of sociology that are today the subjects of college courses, textbooks, and specialized journals. Much of the scholarly and scientific work of sociologists falls clearly within one of the many subfields into which the discipline is divided.
The oldest subfields in the discipline are those that concentrate on social phenomena that have not previously been adopted as objects of study by other social science disciplines. These include marriage and the family, social inequality and social stratification, ethnic relations, deviant behavior, urban communities, and complex or formal organizations. Subfields of more recent origin examine the social aspects of gerontology and the sociology of sex and gender roles.
Because nearly all human activities involve social relations, another major source of specialization within sociology is the study of the social structure of areas of human activity. These areas of teaching and research include sociologies of politics, law, religion, education, the military, occupations and professions, governmental bureaucracies, industry, the arts, science, language, medicine, mass communications, and sports. These subfields differ widely in the extent to which they have accumulated a substantial body of research and attracted large numbers of practitioners. Certain subfields have achieved brief popularity, only to be later incorporated into a more comprehensive area. Industrial sociology, for example, was a flourishing field in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s, but later it was largely absorbed into the study of complex organizations; in Britain, however, industrial sociology has remained a separate area of research. A more common sociological phenomenon is the splitting of a recognized subfield into narrower subdivisions; the sociology of knowledge, for instance, has increasingly been divided into individual sociologies of science, art, literature, popular culture, and language. At least two subfields, demography and criminology, were distinct areas of study long before the formal field of sociology existed. In the past, they were associated primarily with other disciplines.
The oldest and most important interdisciplinary subfield of sociology is social psychology. It has often been considered virtually a separate discipline, drawing practitioners from both sociology and psychology. Sociologists primarily concern themselves with social norms, roles, institutions, and the structure of groups, while social psychologists concentrate on the impact of these various areas on individual personality. Social psychologists trained in sociology have pioneered studies of interaction in small informal groups; the distribution of beliefs and attitudes in a population; the formation of character and outlook under the influence of the family, the school, the peer group, and other socializing agencies. Psychoanalytic ideas derived from the work of Sigmund Freud and later psychoanalysts have been particularly important in this last area of social psychology.
Comparative historical sociology, often strongly influenced by the ideas of both Marx and Weber, has shown much growth in recent years. Many historians have been guided by concepts borrowed from sociology; at the same time, some sociologists have carried out large-scale historical-comparative studies. The once firm barriers between history and sociology have crumbled, especially in such areas as social history, demographic change, economic and political development, and the sociology of revolutions and protest movements.
Sociological theory also includes the discussion and analysis of basic concepts that are common to all the different spheres of social life studied by sociologists. An emphasis on empirical investigations carried out by standardized and often statistical research methods directed the attention of sociologists away from the abstract visions of 19th-century scholars toward more focused and concrete areas of social reality. These areas became the subfields and specialties of sociology that are today the subjects of college courses, textbooks, and specialized journals. Much of the scholarly and scientific work of sociologists falls clearly within one of the many subfields into which the discipline is divided.
The oldest subfields in the discipline are those that concentrate on social phenomena that have not previously been adopted as objects of study by other social science disciplines. These include marriage and the family, social inequality and social stratification, ethnic relations, deviant behavior, urban communities, and complex or formal organizations. Subfields of more recent origin examine the social aspects of gerontology and the sociology of sex and gender roles.
Because nearly all human activities involve social relations, another major source of specialization within sociology is the study of the social structure of areas of human activity. These areas of teaching and research include sociologies of politics, law, religion, education, the military, occupations and professions, governmental bureaucracies, industry, the arts, science, language, medicine, mass communications, and sports. These subfields differ widely in the extent to which they have accumulated a substantial body of research and attracted large numbers of practitioners. Certain subfields have achieved brief popularity, only to be later incorporated into a more comprehensive area. Industrial sociology, for example, was a flourishing field in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s, but later it was largely absorbed into the study of complex organizations; in Britain, however, industrial sociology has remained a separate area of research. A more common sociological phenomenon is the splitting of a recognized subfield into narrower subdivisions; the sociology of knowledge, for instance, has increasingly been divided into individual sociologies of science, art, literature, popular culture, and language. At least two subfields, demography and criminology, were distinct areas of study long before the formal field of sociology existed. In the past, they were associated primarily with other disciplines.
The oldest and most important interdisciplinary subfield of sociology is social psychology. It has often been considered virtually a separate discipline, drawing practitioners from both sociology and psychology. Sociologists primarily concern themselves with social norms, roles, institutions, and the structure of groups, while social psychologists concentrate on the impact of these various areas on individual personality. Social psychologists trained in sociology have pioneered studies of interaction in small informal groups; the distribution of beliefs and attitudes in a population; the formation of character and outlook under the influence of the family, the school, the peer group, and other socializing agencies. Psychoanalytic ideas derived from the work of Sigmund Freud and later psychoanalysts have been particularly important in this last area of social psychology.
Comparative historical sociology, often strongly influenced by the ideas of both Marx and Weber, has shown much growth in recent years. Many historians have been guided by concepts borrowed from sociology; at the same time, some sociologists have carried out large-scale historical-comparative studies. The once firm barriers between history and sociology have crumbled, especially in such areas as social history, demographic change, economic and political development, and the sociology of revolutions and protest movements.
Profficiency in the English Language: Empowering the Students for the Global Trends by Marichelle G. Dones (August, 2006)
English as our second language has been a means for us to join the stream of world culture. The knowledge of English keeps us well informed and abreast of the times. Every year, countless books and articles, break through in medicine and even speeches of international significance are readily available in English. Workforce mobility throughout the world also requires proficiency in the English language.
It is one of the primary goals of the education system to provide Filipino students with the functional English language literacy that will empower them for lifelong learning, enable them to be competent, to meet the challenges posed by the rapidly Changing world and to be able to cope with the global trends.
Many educators claim that the crucial problem of second language learners is to speak the language. According to Chastian (1994), second language educators have long espoused speaking as a major objective in second -language classes. A large percentage of students enrolled in second-language classes are there because they want to learn to speak the language…yet, it is the second-language students with some functional Degree of speaking competence who stands out and attracts attention. In spite of the stated goal of speaking in second -language classes, a class observation of many classes reveal only a small percentage of time develop to activities in which students are communicating with each other in the second-language. A casual observation of second-language classes indicates that a majority of students cannot or will not speak the second language.
This failure to produce graduates of second-language courses who can use the language accounts for some of the dissatisfaction with second-language learning among the students and the general public, admittedly, miracles cannot be achieved in a year, or even two, but given the appropriate classroom activities, one has to hypothesize that many students (not all) can learn to communicate about those topics covered in their texts. The task is to enlarge the vision of second-language educators to the possibilities that exist, to change unproductive activities for those that are more promising.
Addressing such problem of ineffective speaking skills development, language teachers must first realize that the second language learner needs to know how to articulate sounds in a comprehensible manner. He must also have the knowledge of grammar and vocabulary of language. But those are not the only things needed to become an effective speaker. He has to know how to begin and end conversations, to know the topics that can be talked about in different situations and to know to use and respond to different types of speech acts, and to know how to use language appropriately.
In many cases, students are found to actually have a strong desire to speak. They are just reluctant to speak because they are afraid of making mistakes and failing to find suitable words to express themselves well. If the teacher tries to encourage them to speak by using as many ways as possible -creating a good language environment, students will speak actively, willingly and naturally. Speaking as one of the four skills can be mastered only through practice.
In this view, teachers must provide students with the motivating speaking activities, patterns of real interaction, build a language speaking environment to encourage them to open their mouth to speak and make a lot of progress in speaking English-so that when they leave the womb of the classroom they are equipped with tools for generating unrehearsed language performance.
It is one of the primary goals of the education system to provide Filipino students with the functional English language literacy that will empower them for lifelong learning, enable them to be competent, to meet the challenges posed by the rapidly Changing world and to be able to cope with the global trends.
Many educators claim that the crucial problem of second language learners is to speak the language. According to Chastian (1994), second language educators have long espoused speaking as a major objective in second -language classes. A large percentage of students enrolled in second-language classes are there because they want to learn to speak the language…yet, it is the second-language students with some functional Degree of speaking competence who stands out and attracts attention. In spite of the stated goal of speaking in second -language classes, a class observation of many classes reveal only a small percentage of time develop to activities in which students are communicating with each other in the second-language. A casual observation of second-language classes indicates that a majority of students cannot or will not speak the second language.
This failure to produce graduates of second-language courses who can use the language accounts for some of the dissatisfaction with second-language learning among the students and the general public, admittedly, miracles cannot be achieved in a year, or even two, but given the appropriate classroom activities, one has to hypothesize that many students (not all) can learn to communicate about those topics covered in their texts. The task is to enlarge the vision of second-language educators to the possibilities that exist, to change unproductive activities for those that are more promising.
Addressing such problem of ineffective speaking skills development, language teachers must first realize that the second language learner needs to know how to articulate sounds in a comprehensible manner. He must also have the knowledge of grammar and vocabulary of language. But those are not the only things needed to become an effective speaker. He has to know how to begin and end conversations, to know the topics that can be talked about in different situations and to know to use and respond to different types of speech acts, and to know how to use language appropriately.
In many cases, students are found to actually have a strong desire to speak. They are just reluctant to speak because they are afraid of making mistakes and failing to find suitable words to express themselves well. If the teacher tries to encourage them to speak by using as many ways as possible -creating a good language environment, students will speak actively, willingly and naturally. Speaking as one of the four skills can be mastered only through practice.
In this view, teachers must provide students with the motivating speaking activities, patterns of real interaction, build a language speaking environment to encourage them to open their mouth to speak and make a lot of progress in speaking English-so that when they leave the womb of the classroom they are equipped with tools for generating unrehearsed language performance.
And The Art Continues by Leandro L. Opetina, MA (August, 2006)
I didn't want to be a teacher.
My father's Grade 1 teacher was my Grade 1 teacher and my sister's and brother's too. I graduated from elementary and then, from high school. She was still in the same grade level. I thought that teachers never advanced to a higher stratum of society. That's why I never wanted to be a teacher.
But why am I teaching? A complete irony of what I didn't want and what I am now is all I got. I used to say that I wanted to be a radio anchorman. I loved to talk to other people but at least not in front of them.
When I graduated from high school in 1997, my Alma Mater offered college courses: the BEEd and the BSEd Major in Math and in English. I spent another year there before I transferred to Tacloban. I took BSEd though I couldn't do well in either field of specialization. I ended up taking English as my major because Math was my waterloo.
Now that I am a full-fledged teacher, so as to say, I hold on Alexander Pope's judicious comment: "A little learning is a dangerous thing." Such statement has been a challenge for teachers since the bygone era. It seems that reading a few books doesn't make me a teacher; it may take more than that. It may take more than just training me like a dog. That's why I don't have the guts to handle subjects that are "bizarre" to me.
I am all smiles when my students learn from me. I can proudly say, "I can equip them with things they need in facing the challenges of the offing once they step out from school."
My Grade 1 teacher is still teaching in the same grade level. But looking back on my graduation day in college, I couldn't help but thanked her. Once again, the art of teaching was passed on to the next generation.
And the art continues...
My father's Grade 1 teacher was my Grade 1 teacher and my sister's and brother's too. I graduated from elementary and then, from high school. She was still in the same grade level. I thought that teachers never advanced to a higher stratum of society. That's why I never wanted to be a teacher.
But why am I teaching? A complete irony of what I didn't want and what I am now is all I got. I used to say that I wanted to be a radio anchorman. I loved to talk to other people but at least not in front of them.
When I graduated from high school in 1997, my Alma Mater offered college courses: the BEEd and the BSEd Major in Math and in English. I spent another year there before I transferred to Tacloban. I took BSEd though I couldn't do well in either field of specialization. I ended up taking English as my major because Math was my waterloo.
Now that I am a full-fledged teacher, so as to say, I hold on Alexander Pope's judicious comment: "A little learning is a dangerous thing." Such statement has been a challenge for teachers since the bygone era. It seems that reading a few books doesn't make me a teacher; it may take more than that. It may take more than just training me like a dog. That's why I don't have the guts to handle subjects that are "bizarre" to me.
I am all smiles when my students learn from me. I can proudly say, "I can equip them with things they need in facing the challenges of the offing once they step out from school."
My Grade 1 teacher is still teaching in the same grade level. But looking back on my graduation day in college, I couldn't help but thanked her. Once again, the art of teaching was passed on to the next generation.
And the art continues...
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