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.
Showing posts with label Issue 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Issue 2. Show all posts
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
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.
Separation of the State and the Church by Ronan S. Estoque, MA (May, 2006)
A couple of weeks ago, the Chinese Government appointed two Catholic Bishops without consulting the Vatican. It was such a big deal in the media because instead of the Church meddling in the affairs of the State, this was a reversal of intrusion. The Roman Catholic Church reciprocated by excommunicating the newly appointed bishop by the state. From the harshness of the excommunication, one could easily say that the composition of the hierarchy of Roman Catholic Church in China is still within the purview of the Vatican.
Everybody thought that such would be the end of a drama that is a lose-lose situation for both parties. Unfortunately, the Chinese Government again appointed another Catholic Bishop in China and this time around - the incident that began with the aura of comedy is no longer a laughing matter. If the response of the Vatican leads to another excommunication, there would be an open declaration of hostility between People's Republic of China and the Catholic Church. Taken to an extreme, such could possibly lead to another persecution of Catholics in China and such would lead again to another worldwide condemnation of the present Chinese Government.
Prior to these appointments and excommunication episodes, there was an uneasy truce between the Chinese Government and the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, with these current strings of events - another escalation of government persecution targeting religious orientation might spell another difficulty that would definitely spell more instability for the fragile semblance of peace and cooperation.
With the nuclear issue of Iran, the instability of Iraq, the Palestinian dilemma in Israel, continent-wide hunger in Africa and political uncertainty in the Philippines, the brewing of another Chinese Catholic Backlash is certain to raise another scenario that leads towards disintegration instead of integration. If it weren't for globalization, one could have easily exclaimed, "Who cares?" Unfortunately, the mystery and inevitability of globalization is upon us and just like any self-respecting intellectual - we really should care and take notice or face the consequence of global domination with the markings of yuans.
Everybody thought that such would be the end of a drama that is a lose-lose situation for both parties. Unfortunately, the Chinese Government again appointed another Catholic Bishop in China and this time around - the incident that began with the aura of comedy is no longer a laughing matter. If the response of the Vatican leads to another excommunication, there would be an open declaration of hostility between People's Republic of China and the Catholic Church. Taken to an extreme, such could possibly lead to another persecution of Catholics in China and such would lead again to another worldwide condemnation of the present Chinese Government.
Prior to these appointments and excommunication episodes, there was an uneasy truce between the Chinese Government and the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, with these current strings of events - another escalation of government persecution targeting religious orientation might spell another difficulty that would definitely spell more instability for the fragile semblance of peace and cooperation.
With the nuclear issue of Iran, the instability of Iraq, the Palestinian dilemma in Israel, continent-wide hunger in Africa and political uncertainty in the Philippines, the brewing of another Chinese Catholic Backlash is certain to raise another scenario that leads towards disintegration instead of integration. If it weren't for globalization, one could have easily exclaimed, "Who cares?" Unfortunately, the mystery and inevitability of globalization is upon us and just like any self-respecting intellectual - we really should care and take notice or face the consequence of global domination with the markings of yuans.
They're Not Cute by Claudio V. Tabotabo, MA (May, 2006)
Now is the time to reformat the system that regulates the services tendered by the government. There are waves of complaints and in the height of these waves, government employees remain unbending and uneducated-manhid sa hiya. Media had said so much on the shamelessness in the government offices; but employees are still there with their ugly faces. Even if lightning will strike them they will still remain unchanged.
We often hear people saying, maganda sa governo maraming beneficio, well if one wants to get rich he must not work as a government employee. He must do something that will take him to the end of the rainbow where there is a pot of gold.
Chance brought me to the Department of Education office and these are what I heard there from teachers conversing with each other, wala pa si ma'am ala una na, kanina pa akong alas 10 dito, nakakainis naman, the other one said, ako pangatlong balik ko na ito, hindi pa rin na permahan, Then a lady came out from office and said, balik na lang kayo wala si ma'am nasa city hall, balik na lang kayo bukas. Ayyyyyy, the sigh of the frustrated teachers.
There was a long file of teachers near the gate. I did not inquire about it but when I happened to see through the half-opened door, I saw that employees inside were playing scrabble. The other one was polishing the fingernails of her feet.
There were many people that came into the office bringing products from the Goldilocks Bakeshoppe. When I inquired about it, and my informant said that, those are given to the staff to insure prompt the transactions. My informant also said, "Come to my office and you will see them coming in at 10: 30 in the morning and they are out at 3:00 in the afternoon, but in the card it is 7:30 A.M. and 5:00 P.M."
It is now the habit of people working in the government. Lectures alone cannot eradicate it. Something monstrous will revolutionize the working habit in the government.
Some countries utilized the contractual basis of employment. This is the practice applied in the private sector of the Philippines. I only wonder why government intervenes in the private employment while the ugly employees in the government are left behind to wallow in the corrupt system.
Well something has to be said for the few government employees who work with diligence. But they are only very few in a bloated bureaucracy.
We often hear people saying, maganda sa governo maraming beneficio, well if one wants to get rich he must not work as a government employee. He must do something that will take him to the end of the rainbow where there is a pot of gold.
Chance brought me to the Department of Education office and these are what I heard there from teachers conversing with each other, wala pa si ma'am ala una na, kanina pa akong alas 10 dito, nakakainis naman, the other one said, ako pangatlong balik ko na ito, hindi pa rin na permahan, Then a lady came out from office and said, balik na lang kayo wala si ma'am nasa city hall, balik na lang kayo bukas. Ayyyyyy, the sigh of the frustrated teachers.
There was a long file of teachers near the gate. I did not inquire about it but when I happened to see through the half-opened door, I saw that employees inside were playing scrabble. The other one was polishing the fingernails of her feet.
There were many people that came into the office bringing products from the Goldilocks Bakeshoppe. When I inquired about it, and my informant said that, those are given to the staff to insure prompt the transactions. My informant also said, "Come to my office and you will see them coming in at 10: 30 in the morning and they are out at 3:00 in the afternoon, but in the card it is 7:30 A.M. and 5:00 P.M."
It is now the habit of people working in the government. Lectures alone cannot eradicate it. Something monstrous will revolutionize the working habit in the government.
Some countries utilized the contractual basis of employment. This is the practice applied in the private sector of the Philippines. I only wonder why government intervenes in the private employment while the ugly employees in the government are left behind to wallow in the corrupt system.
Well something has to be said for the few government employees who work with diligence. But they are only very few in a bloated bureaucracy.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Let's Read by Claudio V. Tabotabo, MA (June, 2005)
This is a non-reading generation. Young people opt to stay the whole day in the computer centers playing Ragnarok rather than reading a single paragraph a day of any book journals or newspaper. At home children do not mind picking up a colored booklets which decades ago the most lovable item at home. Children now love to watch T.V. disregarding the teacher-assigned home readings.
Similar situation is the lament of the creative writing fellow. Dr. Niel Garcia of the University of the Philippines Creative Writing Center ponders on the writing selection of the students. The students passionately write about computer games, animation and other items related to technology. It is a kind of taste that demonstrates the person's poor reading sense. But these are the creative-writing students who ought to read voraciously. What more are those outside of literature and writing courses?
We in the academe have found the same dilemma. Students prepare to read the materials that speak about facts. They like exact things like Mathematics. Students do not find literature related to mathematical analysis. The result is students have a poor imagination that is also viewed in their incapacity to create situation. The late historian and National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin had also voiced out the same wail before he died. He called this fact as "Disassociation of Sensibilities". Formerly it is called "Association of Sensibilities". The place of literature is overpowered by facts. This is reference to the arrangement of books in the library of the medieval period. During the period, there is no classification as Science Section, Math Section or history Section. There is only one set of books that is literature. All materials are labeled literature.
At first most magazines in the Philippines came out because of fictions. They were published as avenue of people's literary creation. One issue for instance has only two to four news items and rest of the issue is fiction. This time, magazine features only one fiction, a short story and the rest are commercials or a report about corruption of the country with pictures of government officials, smiling despite of their crime and jueting involvement - kapal mukha.
In my separate article I called up to go back to the classic if we really want change by way of the academe. Let us read and let the students read if we want them to change. Subjects in the General Education should consider reading a vehicle of change. Teachers should assign and monitor readings of the students. First day of class assign them a novel to be reported within the term to make sure they are reading. Grammar and fluency of the language will come all the way if students are equipped with understanding of themselves and of the world. But this understanding comes only from reading the classic.
Similar situation is the lament of the creative writing fellow. Dr. Niel Garcia of the University of the Philippines Creative Writing Center ponders on the writing selection of the students. The students passionately write about computer games, animation and other items related to technology. It is a kind of taste that demonstrates the person's poor reading sense. But these are the creative-writing students who ought to read voraciously. What more are those outside of literature and writing courses?
We in the academe have found the same dilemma. Students prepare to read the materials that speak about facts. They like exact things like Mathematics. Students do not find literature related to mathematical analysis. The result is students have a poor imagination that is also viewed in their incapacity to create situation. The late historian and National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin had also voiced out the same wail before he died. He called this fact as "Disassociation of Sensibilities". Formerly it is called "Association of Sensibilities". The place of literature is overpowered by facts. This is reference to the arrangement of books in the library of the medieval period. During the period, there is no classification as Science Section, Math Section or history Section. There is only one set of books that is literature. All materials are labeled literature.
At first most magazines in the Philippines came out because of fictions. They were published as avenue of people's literary creation. One issue for instance has only two to four news items and rest of the issue is fiction. This time, magazine features only one fiction, a short story and the rest are commercials or a report about corruption of the country with pictures of government officials, smiling despite of their crime and jueting involvement - kapal mukha.
In my separate article I called up to go back to the classic if we really want change by way of the academe. Let us read and let the students read if we want them to change. Subjects in the General Education should consider reading a vehicle of change. Teachers should assign and monitor readings of the students. First day of class assign them a novel to be reported within the term to make sure they are reading. Grammar and fluency of the language will come all the way if students are equipped with understanding of themselves and of the world. But this understanding comes only from reading the classic.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Building Bridges Across Cultures Through Education by Rogelio Dela Cruz (April, 2004)
Our times have witness violent conflicts within and between nations resulting in wars. The phenomenon of war seems to be a continuing activity of human society. As far back as ancient of Greece, historians have tried to discover the causes of wars. Michael Howard of Oxford University finds human psychology not very different from what it was in the day of the Greek historian Thucydides (400 B.C) when Sparta waged war out of fear of Athenian power. Through the centuries, Many explanations of war have been offered: ignorance, immaturity, survival of the fittest, and pathological aberration. Nonetheless, Howard still holds that state go to war for specific ends- that war is a product of human reason. In war, Howard sees the power of a particular state, with all its political and cultural overtones. He believes that with modern technology, the scope of war has changed, but not its goals. At the same time he argues that some things have changed. The stakes are higher, given the nuclear capacity to devase. Revulsion to war, though not universal, is far more widespread. So he concludes that war will continue to be an instrument to policy, so long as nations think that fighting can achieve more than remaining at peace. The Middle East war seems to support this contention. And this event had, in fact, turned out to be of global; proportions with obvious international implications.
On the other hand, we see in our times an ardent aspiration for true lasting peace. Concerned groups try to overcome fear, topple distrust, foster solidarity and brotherhood, promote knowledge of and respect for cultural values. The spirit of peace and the will to preserve peace are being untiringly pursued and consolidated. The need to build the defenses of peace in minds of men and women is discussed often and variedly. In this vital task, one of the emerging ideas is the possibility of faithful dialogues between cultures. In this connection, education is seen as having an important role in building bridge across cultures. Education is seen as a catalyst for cultural dialogue, and not simply for the critical assimilation of a particular culture as had been prevalent. Education for cultural dialogue is made more relevant by the fact that most societies nowadays are multicultural in nature.
OBJECTIVES OF AN EDUCATION FOR CULTURAL DIALOGUE
Education for the dialogue of cultures aims to:
Promote the idea that cultural as well as ethic differences are positive elements.
Familiarize each cultural group with the cultural traits of the other groups since all cultures are as valid and as relevant as one’s own.
Provide different cultural aspects to students to help them become interested in other cultures such as the music, literature, and way of living of other people.
Form listening attitudes as well as intellectual, social and emotional skills which will help students settle down adequately and be well integrated in a multicultural society, as will certainly be that of the future.
Develop in the students a growing awareness of global interdependence, the need for international understanding and cooperation as well as positive attitudes towards peace, justice and human rights.
THE CENTRALITY OF MAN
Education must have a solid basis, a foundation for its entire endeavor. Since historical times, human groups have searched for this basis and have found it to be man as a person and as a member of society.
The world today seems prepared to accept the centrality of man in goals to be search for and built. The outlook on man as a supreme value and ultimate goals for himself and for others has come to be called humanistic. Humanism is sometimes understood as an alternative to religion. This is the case when a definition is made such as this: Humanism is any system of thought or action which is concerned with merely human interests (as distinguish from divine) with those of the human race in general (as distinguish from individual). However, it is possible to rework the same definition thus: Humanism is any system of thought or action which is concerned with human interests both individual and collective. The term humanism, though a variable one, has a strong appeal to the sensibility of our times. When we speak of humanism, we do not limit it to a humanism whose roots are found in the European Renaissance. We take it in the boarder sense of its stress on what tends to render man more truly human, to unfold those qualities in him which are in accord with his human nature and is open to the Transcendent.
Vatican II in its conciliar documents has spoken of the birth of a new humanism that is linked with scientific progress as well.
When formulating its aims, mapping out its objectives, programs and methodologies, education centers all and bases all on the concept of the human person.
On the other hand, we see in our times an ardent aspiration for true lasting peace. Concerned groups try to overcome fear, topple distrust, foster solidarity and brotherhood, promote knowledge of and respect for cultural values. The spirit of peace and the will to preserve peace are being untiringly pursued and consolidated. The need to build the defenses of peace in minds of men and women is discussed often and variedly. In this vital task, one of the emerging ideas is the possibility of faithful dialogues between cultures. In this connection, education is seen as having an important role in building bridge across cultures. Education is seen as a catalyst for cultural dialogue, and not simply for the critical assimilation of a particular culture as had been prevalent. Education for cultural dialogue is made more relevant by the fact that most societies nowadays are multicultural in nature.
OBJECTIVES OF AN EDUCATION FOR CULTURAL DIALOGUE
Education for the dialogue of cultures aims to:
Promote the idea that cultural as well as ethic differences are positive elements.
Familiarize each cultural group with the cultural traits of the other groups since all cultures are as valid and as relevant as one’s own.
Provide different cultural aspects to students to help them become interested in other cultures such as the music, literature, and way of living of other people.
Form listening attitudes as well as intellectual, social and emotional skills which will help students settle down adequately and be well integrated in a multicultural society, as will certainly be that of the future.
Develop in the students a growing awareness of global interdependence, the need for international understanding and cooperation as well as positive attitudes towards peace, justice and human rights.
THE CENTRALITY OF MAN
Education must have a solid basis, a foundation for its entire endeavor. Since historical times, human groups have searched for this basis and have found it to be man as a person and as a member of society.
The world today seems prepared to accept the centrality of man in goals to be search for and built. The outlook on man as a supreme value and ultimate goals for himself and for others has come to be called humanistic. Humanism is sometimes understood as an alternative to religion. This is the case when a definition is made such as this: Humanism is any system of thought or action which is concerned with merely human interests (as distinguish from divine) with those of the human race in general (as distinguish from individual). However, it is possible to rework the same definition thus: Humanism is any system of thought or action which is concerned with human interests both individual and collective. The term humanism, though a variable one, has a strong appeal to the sensibility of our times. When we speak of humanism, we do not limit it to a humanism whose roots are found in the European Renaissance. We take it in the boarder sense of its stress on what tends to render man more truly human, to unfold those qualities in him which are in accord with his human nature and is open to the Transcendent.
Vatican II in its conciliar documents has spoken of the birth of a new humanism that is linked with scientific progress as well.
When formulating its aims, mapping out its objectives, programs and methodologies, education centers all and bases all on the concept of the human person.
The World in Humanities by Claudio V. Tabotabo (April, 2004)
If college education mean to equip students with the understanding of the world, this understanding must emanate from subjects in General Education course. These are the subjects under the humanities such as; language; English and Filipino, history, philosophy, social sciences, literature and some others.
These subjects have a respective area of specialization, but they have one common task, to provide students the key to understanding the world and humanity. History explains the failures in the past, which is the foundation of a better tomorrow. Literature pictures out peoples with diverse cultural practices, diverse aspirations and diverse solutions to problems. The students must understand all these things before they are allowed to master their chosen field of specialization.
Humanities are indeed subjects labeled as liberal. They liberate the minds from the bondage of ignorance.
The task of the teachers in humanities is to train students how to understand these things. Knowing brought about by knowledge is not enough. It is wisdom brought about by understanding that mankind must bear to live a good life.
So far as history of teaching is concerned, extensive readings remains unsurpassed by all teaching styles available. Students must read. Professor who can profess in his subject matter must device strategies that motivate students to read. But this is not simply telling the students to read. Basic job of the teacher is to prepare reading materials for the students.
If we really want change let’s go back to the classic in literature and philosophy. Classic because it is tested by time. Great men in the world from the inventors of great machine like Robert Fulton to the giants of arts like William Shakespeare are reading men. They read the classics.
Students must read Jean Jacues Rousseau, Goethe, Cervantes, Montaigne, Plato Thoreau De Sartre and many others.
It’s not our ambition to produce men like Shakespeare, but at least we can build up a man who can understand the world.
These subjects have a respective area of specialization, but they have one common task, to provide students the key to understanding the world and humanity. History explains the failures in the past, which is the foundation of a better tomorrow. Literature pictures out peoples with diverse cultural practices, diverse aspirations and diverse solutions to problems. The students must understand all these things before they are allowed to master their chosen field of specialization.
Humanities are indeed subjects labeled as liberal. They liberate the minds from the bondage of ignorance.
The task of the teachers in humanities is to train students how to understand these things. Knowing brought about by knowledge is not enough. It is wisdom brought about by understanding that mankind must bear to live a good life.
So far as history of teaching is concerned, extensive readings remains unsurpassed by all teaching styles available. Students must read. Professor who can profess in his subject matter must device strategies that motivate students to read. But this is not simply telling the students to read. Basic job of the teacher is to prepare reading materials for the students.
If we really want change let’s go back to the classic in literature and philosophy. Classic because it is tested by time. Great men in the world from the inventors of great machine like Robert Fulton to the giants of arts like William Shakespeare are reading men. They read the classics.
Students must read Jean Jacues Rousseau, Goethe, Cervantes, Montaigne, Plato Thoreau De Sartre and many others.
It’s not our ambition to produce men like Shakespeare, but at least we can build up a man who can understand the world.
Trends in E-Government, A Think Paper (from HSSD Newsletter, geocities.com/tip_newsite/)
While I was browsing the Internet, I noticed that there are a lot of Philippine experiences in terms of e-government that to my mind are very significant and groundbreaking in terms of service and efficiency.
The Department of Budget and Management now publish in its own website the release of government funds.
This is very notable because with such a move, the possibility of graft and corruption was reduced to a nil. Before the publication of fund-releases in the Internet, notorious individuals were a dime a dozen, circulating in the different government offices promising the prompt release of their funding in exchange for some percentage (say 5% to as high of 10%) of their approved funds. With a single click of a mouse, such an opportunity is no longer in existence because the Department of Budget and Management already publishes the release of funds in the Internet promoting transparency. With such transparency in the release of funds, individuals with questionable aims are deprived of the opportunity to promise and to collect percentage from the government offices who awaits the release of their funds. The key word here in this Philippine experience is the concept of transparency.
In the last elections, the Commission on Elections placed voter information in its own website where information such as voter’s precinct was easily and readily available so as to make the act of voting easier and without hassle.
In addition to this experience, people who lack access to the Internet for such crucial information were aided by local radio stations (who have the access to the Internet) and were directed to their proper voting precinct. As a result of this move, a lesser commotion was avoided and the unannounced changes were quickly rectified.
The successful Edsa II was initially powered and propelled by the text-brigade- utilizing information derived from the Internet.
It is presumed that there is no longer a debate as to who is the text-capital of the world. The republic was the acknowledged text-capital of the entire planet simply because of the unique condition where "texting" your message is a lot cheaper rather than calling and conveying your message through a phone call. As a result of this condition, information about the senate impeachment trial was quickly disseminated and a call to protest was quickly organized leading to a change of political leadership, which is now commonly known as Edsa II.
The Philippine Customs now utilizes systems for custom payments, processing of clearance and releasing of shipments from customs control through the Internet.
In terms of perception, the Philippine Customs is commonly and traditionally viewed as a corrupt agency of the government. With this brilliant move, certain avenues for corruption were closed and the notion of bureaucratic transparency was advanced and promoted.
To my mind, these are concrete steps in the betterment of service in the government. Years from now, the effect of e-government would assume gargantuan proportions that in the end, there is no more room to move but to evolve for the better.
It must be noted however, that there is a slow adoption of Information and Communication Technology because of the high cost of establishing computer networks that would actually do the job of information dissemination. At the moment, it is foolish to talk about Internet access when lot government offices don’t even own Pentium class computers. And so, the cycle of expensive hardware against the cost of computerization is again laid to fore. Where will the government find the funding to propel e-government?
Another condition that must be thoroughly considered is that there are quite a lot of people who oppose the inertia of computerization (indirectly opposing, e-government). Given the fact that partial computerization and partial adoption of ICT promotes transparency, certain people feel threatened that their normal avenues for graft and corruption are shrinking by the minute. Thus, it is not a far-fetched idea that in the coming years, creative and corrupt individuals will sabotage and oppose the leap and progress that ICT promises.
The E-commerce law was already passed into law a couple of years ago. As such, the passage signals the attempt of the government to adapt to the changing tides and time. Unfortunately, in the present government set-up- the establishment of a paper trail is still the preferred avenue for government approval and government processing. Something really must be done to avert this trend so as to finally let the impact of ICT be felt by the bureaucracy and by the populace. Sooner or later, the choice between the advantages of ICT and tedious concept of paper trail will be palpable to everyone. Paper trails will no longer serve the purpose of documenting everything. Documentation can also be done through some other better means.
The other popular objection to the adoption of ICT is the misplaced fear of confidentiality of information. One would be surprised that many people still fear the unreliability of ICT. These are the very people who watched too many movies depicting and believing that with a single stroke of a key, precious information can be obtained effortlessly. The truth of the matter is that with the proper security procedure, there is no place more secure as a repository of information than the computer. With the prevalent usage of the Automatic Teller Machine and its timesaving convenience, the argument about confidentiality of information in the ICT seems silly if not downright foolish.
A lot of reasons could still be cited as to why there is a slow adoption to ICT. Fortunately, in a normal evolution of man, better and newer concepts almost always replaced the old. From the invention of the wheel to the recent advances in technology, changes will happen, invited or uninvited.
Suffice it to say that with the explosion of information coupled with the evolution of man, e-government is here to stay and will continue to offer itself as a better alternative to the way that man conducts his business.
The Department of Budget and Management now publish in its own website the release of government funds.
This is very notable because with such a move, the possibility of graft and corruption was reduced to a nil. Before the publication of fund-releases in the Internet, notorious individuals were a dime a dozen, circulating in the different government offices promising the prompt release of their funding in exchange for some percentage (say 5% to as high of 10%) of their approved funds. With a single click of a mouse, such an opportunity is no longer in existence because the Department of Budget and Management already publishes the release of funds in the Internet promoting transparency. With such transparency in the release of funds, individuals with questionable aims are deprived of the opportunity to promise and to collect percentage from the government offices who awaits the release of their funds. The key word here in this Philippine experience is the concept of transparency.
In the last elections, the Commission on Elections placed voter information in its own website where information such as voter’s precinct was easily and readily available so as to make the act of voting easier and without hassle.
In addition to this experience, people who lack access to the Internet for such crucial information were aided by local radio stations (who have the access to the Internet) and were directed to their proper voting precinct. As a result of this move, a lesser commotion was avoided and the unannounced changes were quickly rectified.
The successful Edsa II was initially powered and propelled by the text-brigade- utilizing information derived from the Internet.
It is presumed that there is no longer a debate as to who is the text-capital of the world. The republic was the acknowledged text-capital of the entire planet simply because of the unique condition where "texting" your message is a lot cheaper rather than calling and conveying your message through a phone call. As a result of this condition, information about the senate impeachment trial was quickly disseminated and a call to protest was quickly organized leading to a change of political leadership, which is now commonly known as Edsa II.
The Philippine Customs now utilizes systems for custom payments, processing of clearance and releasing of shipments from customs control through the Internet.
In terms of perception, the Philippine Customs is commonly and traditionally viewed as a corrupt agency of the government. With this brilliant move, certain avenues for corruption were closed and the notion of bureaucratic transparency was advanced and promoted.
To my mind, these are concrete steps in the betterment of service in the government. Years from now, the effect of e-government would assume gargantuan proportions that in the end, there is no more room to move but to evolve for the better.
It must be noted however, that there is a slow adoption of Information and Communication Technology because of the high cost of establishing computer networks that would actually do the job of information dissemination. At the moment, it is foolish to talk about Internet access when lot government offices don’t even own Pentium class computers. And so, the cycle of expensive hardware against the cost of computerization is again laid to fore. Where will the government find the funding to propel e-government?
Another condition that must be thoroughly considered is that there are quite a lot of people who oppose the inertia of computerization (indirectly opposing, e-government). Given the fact that partial computerization and partial adoption of ICT promotes transparency, certain people feel threatened that their normal avenues for graft and corruption are shrinking by the minute. Thus, it is not a far-fetched idea that in the coming years, creative and corrupt individuals will sabotage and oppose the leap and progress that ICT promises.
The E-commerce law was already passed into law a couple of years ago. As such, the passage signals the attempt of the government to adapt to the changing tides and time. Unfortunately, in the present government set-up- the establishment of a paper trail is still the preferred avenue for government approval and government processing. Something really must be done to avert this trend so as to finally let the impact of ICT be felt by the bureaucracy and by the populace. Sooner or later, the choice between the advantages of ICT and tedious concept of paper trail will be palpable to everyone. Paper trails will no longer serve the purpose of documenting everything. Documentation can also be done through some other better means.
The other popular objection to the adoption of ICT is the misplaced fear of confidentiality of information. One would be surprised that many people still fear the unreliability of ICT. These are the very people who watched too many movies depicting and believing that with a single stroke of a key, precious information can be obtained effortlessly. The truth of the matter is that with the proper security procedure, there is no place more secure as a repository of information than the computer. With the prevalent usage of the Automatic Teller Machine and its timesaving convenience, the argument about confidentiality of information in the ICT seems silly if not downright foolish.
A lot of reasons could still be cited as to why there is a slow adoption to ICT. Fortunately, in a normal evolution of man, better and newer concepts almost always replaced the old. From the invention of the wheel to the recent advances in technology, changes will happen, invited or uninvited.
Suffice it to say that with the explosion of information coupled with the evolution of man, e-government is here to stay and will continue to offer itself as a better alternative to the way that man conducts his business.
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