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.
Showing posts with label Volume 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Volume 3. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
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.
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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.
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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...
Ooops! What Went Wrong with Philippine History Teachers by Ronald M. Corpuz, MA (August, 2006)
Is tomato a vegetable? Is spider an insect? Is panda a bear? Is American Bald Eagle really bald? Is cellophane made of plastic?
We may have been deceived by our senses; but actually tomato is a berry, spider belongs to group of creatures called arachnids, panda is a member of a raccoon family while American Bald Eagle is not really bald for its head is covered with snowy white feathers which, from a distance, appears no feathers at all. Neither cellophane is made of plastic but from a plant fiber called cellulose.
To be deceived by our senses is permissible in our omission to read some important facts but to be misled by a teacher is a mortal sin to the teaching profession, for it is both an acts of commission and omission. How many times some unknowledgeable history teachers have misguided us? Let me ask you these questions and figure them out if they are taught correctly?
Was the Philippines really discovered by Magellan in March 16,1521? Was he the First man to circumnavigate the globe? Did Magellan die in a one-on-one fight against Lapu-Lapu in the Battle of Mactan? Did General Gregorio Del Pilar die while riding on a white horse in the Battle of Tirad Pass? Is he (Gregorio Del Pilar) the Youngest General of the Philippine Revolution? Is Katipunan really founded by Andres Bonifacio at Tondo? Is Andres Bonifacio illiterate?
The answers to these questions were taught to us in our history class during the primary period. It is quite disappointing to know that what were taught to us, as answers in those questions by most teachers are incorrect.
Magellan did not discover but "Rediscovered the Philippines" in 1521, for the reason that prior to his arrival, we were already engaging in trade with the Chinese and Arabs. It is indeed proper to say that before his arrival we were already civilized. By the crossing of the International Date Line alone, it is correct to say that it is March 17, 1521 and not March 16, 1521 as Pigafetta diary contains. He (Magellan) is not even the "First Man to Circumnavigate the Globe" for the simple reason that he had been killed already in the Battle of Mactan. How could he circle the globe when he had been already killed in the Philippines? The honor goes to Sebastian Del Cano, the captain of the smallest ship "Victoria" and who sailed back to Spain. In the question about one-on-one battle between Magellan and Lapu-Lapu, it is actually a myth depicted in our comics. Lapu-Lapu did not collaborate with the Spaniards Magellan, decided to employ force, but upon embarking from his ship, he was been shot by a poisonous arrow by one on Lapu-Lapu's soldiers (which penetrated his legs). The helpless Magellan was then slaughtered. But of course, the honor is always given to the chieftain, Lapu-Lapu.
In the Battle of Tirad Pass, Telesforo Carrasco, author of the book "A Spaniard in Aguinaldo's Army" and also an eyewitness in the battle had mentioned that he (carrasco) was handing Del Pilar a carbine and warning him that the Americans were targeting him when the fatal bullet ripped through his neck. Carrasco made no mention of any white horse.
General Goyo or the Boy General (Del Pilar) is not the youngest general in Philippine Revolution but the recognition belongs to General Flaviano Yengko, who died at the age of 22 in the Battle at Perez, Dasmarinas, Cavite on March 3, 1897.
In the story of the founding of Katipunan, which most had taught that it is in No. 72 Azcarraga, (Now Recto) the place where Andres Bonifacio may have been born and lived. Likewise, it was where he, Deodato Arellano, Valentin Diaz, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa and Jose Dizon met together to form the secret society on July 7, 1892. The back is it was actually part of Binondo.
Andres Bonifacio is not illiterate. He had read several books about war and the Life of the Presidents of the United States of America. He also wrote a poem entitled "Pag-Ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa" and the rules to be followed by the Katipuneros also known as the "Katungkulang Gagawin ng Anak ng Bayan" Now, who is illiterate?
Let me add some more facts. We have been taught that the largest eagle in the world is the "Monkey-Eating Eagle" found in the jungles of Luzon and Mindanao. It does not principally eat monkeys since flying lemurs and flying squirrels; monkeys are difficult to catch. It thrives on and it can make up only a fraction of its menu. Incidentally, the eagle, despite the wingspan of over two meters, is not the world's largest. The distinction belongs to the "Harpy Eagle" of South America.
Some local primary schools has been celebrating "UN Day" where in pupils are required to bring different countries flags, but some teachers don't even bother to check whether the pupils really bring a flag of a UN Member or a Non- UN member.
Add some makers of posters, they included Emilio Aguinaldo as one of the national heroes, but most historians agree that Aguinaldo should be given only the honor as First Philippine President but not as a hero. He was allegedly responsible for the death of Andres Bonifacio and allegedly spent the money from the Truce of Biak-na-Bato in buying his personal commodities. Makers of these posters may have been a product of an irresponsible history lesson teaching.
As they say "History is a fable agreed upon" but we have to be diligent and sensitive in teaching the subject. History teachers may have common denominator in teaching the subject and that is to develop nationalism and patriotism but hey have to be careful in transmitting facts and re-stating what transpired in the past.
Teaching history subject is not simple as knowing the song "Magellan" by Yoyoy Villame. It is not even as easy as assigning students to draw the Philippine map or even appointing someone to report for the class. Those are least effective methods. The first menu is always the mastery of the subject matter. It supports the premise that "You cannot give, what you don't have" Why do pupils and students hate history class can be rooted on those above mistakes.
As teachers, they have to be well verse and knowledgeable about the past not to be an instrument of falsehood and mistakes. Not all things that are commonly accepted are correct just because they give honor to our country.
There are many factors that contribute to the boredom of students during their history class, but the personality and teaching strategies of the teachers can make a big difference. This serves as the second menu for effective history teaching. We can ask students to make Role-Playing, have Panel Discussion and Debate, write a Eulogy or Essay, etc. We have to ask thought provoking and challenging questions, assign them task and give them responsibilities in order for them to fall in-love with the subject.
A deeper reading and research is required to teach the subject more interestedly and more meaningfully. They have to teach right and they have to be "bright" As the "Nutrition Month Slogan" states "Kumain ng Right, Para Maging Bright" Is it right to eat "right" Nakakain ba ang right? I don't know, asked the DepEd officials.
References:
Ocampo, Ambeth Looking Back Anvil Publishing Co. Q.C.
Philippines 2001
Barrameda, Bong Pinoy Trivia
We may have been deceived by our senses; but actually tomato is a berry, spider belongs to group of creatures called arachnids, panda is a member of a raccoon family while American Bald Eagle is not really bald for its head is covered with snowy white feathers which, from a distance, appears no feathers at all. Neither cellophane is made of plastic but from a plant fiber called cellulose.
To be deceived by our senses is permissible in our omission to read some important facts but to be misled by a teacher is a mortal sin to the teaching profession, for it is both an acts of commission and omission. How many times some unknowledgeable history teachers have misguided us? Let me ask you these questions and figure them out if they are taught correctly?
Was the Philippines really discovered by Magellan in March 16,1521? Was he the First man to circumnavigate the globe? Did Magellan die in a one-on-one fight against Lapu-Lapu in the Battle of Mactan? Did General Gregorio Del Pilar die while riding on a white horse in the Battle of Tirad Pass? Is he (Gregorio Del Pilar) the Youngest General of the Philippine Revolution? Is Katipunan really founded by Andres Bonifacio at Tondo? Is Andres Bonifacio illiterate?
The answers to these questions were taught to us in our history class during the primary period. It is quite disappointing to know that what were taught to us, as answers in those questions by most teachers are incorrect.
Magellan did not discover but "Rediscovered the Philippines" in 1521, for the reason that prior to his arrival, we were already engaging in trade with the Chinese and Arabs. It is indeed proper to say that before his arrival we were already civilized. By the crossing of the International Date Line alone, it is correct to say that it is March 17, 1521 and not March 16, 1521 as Pigafetta diary contains. He (Magellan) is not even the "First Man to Circumnavigate the Globe" for the simple reason that he had been killed already in the Battle of Mactan. How could he circle the globe when he had been already killed in the Philippines? The honor goes to Sebastian Del Cano, the captain of the smallest ship "Victoria" and who sailed back to Spain. In the question about one-on-one battle between Magellan and Lapu-Lapu, it is actually a myth depicted in our comics. Lapu-Lapu did not collaborate with the Spaniards Magellan, decided to employ force, but upon embarking from his ship, he was been shot by a poisonous arrow by one on Lapu-Lapu's soldiers (which penetrated his legs). The helpless Magellan was then slaughtered. But of course, the honor is always given to the chieftain, Lapu-Lapu.
In the Battle of Tirad Pass, Telesforo Carrasco, author of the book "A Spaniard in Aguinaldo's Army" and also an eyewitness in the battle had mentioned that he (carrasco) was handing Del Pilar a carbine and warning him that the Americans were targeting him when the fatal bullet ripped through his neck. Carrasco made no mention of any white horse.
General Goyo or the Boy General (Del Pilar) is not the youngest general in Philippine Revolution but the recognition belongs to General Flaviano Yengko, who died at the age of 22 in the Battle at Perez, Dasmarinas, Cavite on March 3, 1897.
In the story of the founding of Katipunan, which most had taught that it is in No. 72 Azcarraga, (Now Recto) the place where Andres Bonifacio may have been born and lived. Likewise, it was where he, Deodato Arellano, Valentin Diaz, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa and Jose Dizon met together to form the secret society on July 7, 1892. The back is it was actually part of Binondo.
Andres Bonifacio is not illiterate. He had read several books about war and the Life of the Presidents of the United States of America. He also wrote a poem entitled "Pag-Ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa" and the rules to be followed by the Katipuneros also known as the "Katungkulang Gagawin ng Anak ng Bayan" Now, who is illiterate?
Let me add some more facts. We have been taught that the largest eagle in the world is the "Monkey-Eating Eagle" found in the jungles of Luzon and Mindanao. It does not principally eat monkeys since flying lemurs and flying squirrels; monkeys are difficult to catch. It thrives on and it can make up only a fraction of its menu. Incidentally, the eagle, despite the wingspan of over two meters, is not the world's largest. The distinction belongs to the "Harpy Eagle" of South America.
Some local primary schools has been celebrating "UN Day" where in pupils are required to bring different countries flags, but some teachers don't even bother to check whether the pupils really bring a flag of a UN Member or a Non- UN member.
Add some makers of posters, they included Emilio Aguinaldo as one of the national heroes, but most historians agree that Aguinaldo should be given only the honor as First Philippine President but not as a hero. He was allegedly responsible for the death of Andres Bonifacio and allegedly spent the money from the Truce of Biak-na-Bato in buying his personal commodities. Makers of these posters may have been a product of an irresponsible history lesson teaching.
As they say "History is a fable agreed upon" but we have to be diligent and sensitive in teaching the subject. History teachers may have common denominator in teaching the subject and that is to develop nationalism and patriotism but hey have to be careful in transmitting facts and re-stating what transpired in the past.
Teaching history subject is not simple as knowing the song "Magellan" by Yoyoy Villame. It is not even as easy as assigning students to draw the Philippine map or even appointing someone to report for the class. Those are least effective methods. The first menu is always the mastery of the subject matter. It supports the premise that "You cannot give, what you don't have" Why do pupils and students hate history class can be rooted on those above mistakes.
As teachers, they have to be well verse and knowledgeable about the past not to be an instrument of falsehood and mistakes. Not all things that are commonly accepted are correct just because they give honor to our country.
There are many factors that contribute to the boredom of students during their history class, but the personality and teaching strategies of the teachers can make a big difference. This serves as the second menu for effective history teaching. We can ask students to make Role-Playing, have Panel Discussion and Debate, write a Eulogy or Essay, etc. We have to ask thought provoking and challenging questions, assign them task and give them responsibilities in order for them to fall in-love with the subject.
A deeper reading and research is required to teach the subject more interestedly and more meaningfully. They have to teach right and they have to be "bright" As the "Nutrition Month Slogan" states "Kumain ng Right, Para Maging Bright" Is it right to eat "right" Nakakain ba ang right? I don't know, asked the DepEd officials.
References:
Ocampo, Ambeth Looking Back Anvil Publishing Co. Q.C.
Philippines 2001
Barrameda, Bong Pinoy Trivia
Article XIV, Section 5 by Lorna V. Wy, MA (July, 2006)
Education is a vital possession that nobody can take this away from an individual. It is a powerful weapon and passport that leads to victory and triumph.
The state recognizes the role of education in its citizenry. The Constitution states in Article XIV, Section 1: The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all. However, Right to Education is not absolute, as held in Art. XIV Section 4 (1) of 1987 Philippine Constitution: The State recognizes the complimentary roles of public and private institutions in the educational system and shall exercise reasonable supervision and regulation of all educational institutions. Further, Section 5 (2), Academic Freedom shall be enjoyed in all institutions of higher learning.
As may be gleaned from the above provisions, such power to regulate is subject to the requirement of reasonableness. Moreover, the Constitution allows merely the regulation and supervision of educational institutions, not deprivation of their rights.
Freedom of educational institutions has been defined as the right of the school or college to decide for itself, its aims and objectives and how best to attain the. Free from outside coercion or interference save possibly when the overriding public welfare calls for some restraint. It has a wide sphere of autonomy certainly extending to the choice of students.
While it is true that an institution of learning has contractual obligation to afford its students a fair opportunity to complete the course they seek to pursue, since a contract creates a reciprocal rights and obligations, the obligation of the school to educate a student would imply a corresponding obligation on the part of the student to study and obey rules and regulation of the school. When a student commits a serious breach of discipline or failed to maintain the required academic standards, he forfeits his contractual right. In this connection, Supreme Court as held in University of San Agustin, Inc. v. Court of Appeals, 230 SCRA 761, educational institutions are afforded ample discretion to formulate reasonable rules and regulations in the admission of students, including setting of Academic Standards. Within the parameters thereof, they are competent to determine who are entitled to admission and re-admission.
What are the essentials freedoms subsumed in the term "Academic Freedom"?
Who may teach;
What may be taught;
How it shall be taught, and
Who may be admitted to study?
The right of the school to discipline its students is at once apparent in the freedom, "how it shall be taught" A school certainly cannot function in an atmosphere of anarchy. Thus, there can be no doubt that the establishment of an educational institution requires rules and regulation necessary for the maintenance of an orderly program and the creation of an educational environment conducive to learning. Such rules and regulation are equally necessary for the protection of students and faculty.
Moreover, the school has an interest in teaching the student's discipline, a necessary if not indispensable value in any field of learning. By instilling discipline, the school teaches discipline. It is the responsibility of the school to help its students grow and develop into mature, responsible, effective and worthy citizens of the community.
Even assuming a contract has been created from the moment the school admits the student the contract as a general rule has a period up to the extent of the duration of the course, which the student enrolled. However, the school has the right to terminate such contract if there is a breach violation of contractual obligation. As held in Ateneo de Manila v. Capulong, 222 SCRA 643, the higher court upheld the expulsion of students found guilty of hazing.
Academic freedom does not end when a student graduated or ceased its contract with the school.
May a university validly revoke a degree or honor it has conferred to a student after the graduation of the latter after finding that such degree or honor was obtained through fraud?
Supreme Court held in the case of UP Board of Regents v. CA and Arokiaswamy William Margaret Celine, G.R. No. 134625, Where it shown that the conferment of an honor or distinction was obtained through fraud, a university has the right to revoke or withdraw the honor or distinction it has thus conferred. This freedom of a university does not terminate upon the graduation of student, for it is precisely the graduation of such student that is in question.
Finally, the law provides equal protection and due process in the exercise of Academic Freedom; such freedom cannot be exercise whimsically, arbitrarily, and capriciously by both parties.
The state recognizes the role of education in its citizenry. The Constitution states in Article XIV, Section 1: The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all. However, Right to Education is not absolute, as held in Art. XIV Section 4 (1) of 1987 Philippine Constitution: The State recognizes the complimentary roles of public and private institutions in the educational system and shall exercise reasonable supervision and regulation of all educational institutions. Further, Section 5 (2), Academic Freedom shall be enjoyed in all institutions of higher learning.
As may be gleaned from the above provisions, such power to regulate is subject to the requirement of reasonableness. Moreover, the Constitution allows merely the regulation and supervision of educational institutions, not deprivation of their rights.
Freedom of educational institutions has been defined as the right of the school or college to decide for itself, its aims and objectives and how best to attain the. Free from outside coercion or interference save possibly when the overriding public welfare calls for some restraint. It has a wide sphere of autonomy certainly extending to the choice of students.
While it is true that an institution of learning has contractual obligation to afford its students a fair opportunity to complete the course they seek to pursue, since a contract creates a reciprocal rights and obligations, the obligation of the school to educate a student would imply a corresponding obligation on the part of the student to study and obey rules and regulation of the school. When a student commits a serious breach of discipline or failed to maintain the required academic standards, he forfeits his contractual right. In this connection, Supreme Court as held in University of San Agustin, Inc. v. Court of Appeals, 230 SCRA 761, educational institutions are afforded ample discretion to formulate reasonable rules and regulations in the admission of students, including setting of Academic Standards. Within the parameters thereof, they are competent to determine who are entitled to admission and re-admission.
What are the essentials freedoms subsumed in the term "Academic Freedom"?
Who may teach;
What may be taught;
How it shall be taught, and
Who may be admitted to study?
The right of the school to discipline its students is at once apparent in the freedom, "how it shall be taught" A school certainly cannot function in an atmosphere of anarchy. Thus, there can be no doubt that the establishment of an educational institution requires rules and regulation necessary for the maintenance of an orderly program and the creation of an educational environment conducive to learning. Such rules and regulation are equally necessary for the protection of students and faculty.
Moreover, the school has an interest in teaching the student's discipline, a necessary if not indispensable value in any field of learning. By instilling discipline, the school teaches discipline. It is the responsibility of the school to help its students grow and develop into mature, responsible, effective and worthy citizens of the community.
Even assuming a contract has been created from the moment the school admits the student the contract as a general rule has a period up to the extent of the duration of the course, which the student enrolled. However, the school has the right to terminate such contract if there is a breach violation of contractual obligation. As held in Ateneo de Manila v. Capulong, 222 SCRA 643, the higher court upheld the expulsion of students found guilty of hazing.
Academic freedom does not end when a student graduated or ceased its contract with the school.
May a university validly revoke a degree or honor it has conferred to a student after the graduation of the latter after finding that such degree or honor was obtained through fraud?
Supreme Court held in the case of UP Board of Regents v. CA and Arokiaswamy William Margaret Celine, G.R. No. 134625, Where it shown that the conferment of an honor or distinction was obtained through fraud, a university has the right to revoke or withdraw the honor or distinction it has thus conferred. This freedom of a university does not terminate upon the graduation of student, for it is precisely the graduation of such student that is in question.
Finally, the law provides equal protection and due process in the exercise of Academic Freedom; such freedom cannot be exercise whimsically, arbitrarily, and capriciously by both parties.
The Notion of Aristotle's Principle of Causality by Rogelio G. Dela Cruz, Ph. D (July, 2006)
Perhaps because of the influence of his father's medical profession, Aristotle's philosophy laid its principal stress on biology, in contrast to Plato's emphasis on mathematics. Aristotle regarded the world as made up of individuals (substances) occurring in fixed natural kinds (species). Each individual has its built-in specific pattern of development and grows toward proper self-realization as a specimen of its type. Growth, purpose, and direction are thus built into nature. Although science studies general kinds, according to Aristotle, these kinds find their existence in particular individuals. Science and philosophy must therefore balance, not simply choose between, the claims of empiricism (observation and sense experience) and formalism (rational deduction).
One of the most distinctive of Aristotle's philosophic contributions was a new notion of causality. Each thing or event, he thought, has more than one "reason" that helps to explain what, why, and where it is. Earlier Greek thinkers had tended to assume that only one sort of cause can be really explanatory; Aristotle proposed four.
These four causes are the material cause, the matter out of which a thing is made; the efficient cause, the source of motion, generation, or change; the formal cause, which is the species, kind, or type; and the final cause, the goal, or full development, of an individual, or the intended function of a construction or invention. Thus, a young lion is made up of tissues and organs, its material cause; the efficient cause is its parents, who generated it; the formal cause is its species, lion; and its final cause is its built-in drive toward becoming a mature specimen. In different contexts, while the causes are the same four, they apply analogically. Thus, the material cause of a statue is the marble from which it was carved; the efficient cause is the sculptor; the formal cause is the shape the sculptor realized-Hermes, perhaps, or Aphrodite; and the final cause is its function, to be a work of fine art.
In each context, Aristotle insists that something can be better understood when its causes can be stated in specific terms rather than in general terms. Thus, it is more informative to know that a sculptor made the statue than to know that an artist made it; and even more informative to know that Polycleitus chiseled it rather than simply that a sculptor did so.
Aristotle thought that his causal pattern was the ideal key for organizing knowledge. His lecture notes present impressive evidence of the power of this scheme.
One of the most distinctive of Aristotle's philosophic contributions was a new notion of causality. Each thing or event, he thought, has more than one "reason" that helps to explain what, why, and where it is. Earlier Greek thinkers had tended to assume that only one sort of cause can be really explanatory; Aristotle proposed four.
These four causes are the material cause, the matter out of which a thing is made; the efficient cause, the source of motion, generation, or change; the formal cause, which is the species, kind, or type; and the final cause, the goal, or full development, of an individual, or the intended function of a construction or invention. Thus, a young lion is made up of tissues and organs, its material cause; the efficient cause is its parents, who generated it; the formal cause is its species, lion; and its final cause is its built-in drive toward becoming a mature specimen. In different contexts, while the causes are the same four, they apply analogically. Thus, the material cause of a statue is the marble from which it was carved; the efficient cause is the sculptor; the formal cause is the shape the sculptor realized-Hermes, perhaps, or Aphrodite; and the final cause is its function, to be a work of fine art.
In each context, Aristotle insists that something can be better understood when its causes can be stated in specific terms rather than in general terms. Thus, it is more informative to know that a sculptor made the statue than to know that an artist made it; and even more informative to know that Polycleitus chiseled it rather than simply that a sculptor did so.
Aristotle thought that his causal pattern was the ideal key for organizing knowledge. His lecture notes present impressive evidence of the power of this scheme.
Healing Your Painful Memories by Rosalin SR Camacho (July, 2006)
We are all hurt as we journey through this life. Some hurts we are able to let go of, but others we hold on to, letting them taint the joy of the rest of our lives. The article here, which I read long time ago from Catholic Update, has enlightened me so much that I would want to share it with you.
" Once a teacher gave me an F on the test" a 20-year old woman recalls, " because she thought I'd cheated. Years later I saw her and deliberately snubbed her".
" I never forgave my mother," a middle-aged man says. " She was drunk all the time when we were growing up. I left home when I was eighteen and never saw her again, even though I heard that she quit drinking."
To continue carrying hurts like these, though, is to choose pain. Just as we would seek help immediately for a gunshot wound or a dog bite, we need to seek the same healing for emotional wounds. Not doing so can damage our spiritual, emotional and even physical well-being. Jesus tells us to let go of our grudges and do good to those who hate us. Psychologists give us similar advice. They tell us that we have the power to lighten the burdens we carry and that forgiving is one way of doing that. And some medical scientists say that carrying emotional hurts can precipitate heart disease, cancer, digestive problems, high blood pressure and mental breakdown.
Our spiritual lives are affected, too, when we cherish past hurts. We find it difficult to be Christ for those around us, and we block the Christ who wants to relate to us through others.
Here are seven (7) suggestions for healing those memories that keep you from living life fully.
Admit that you are hurt.
Often it's hard to admit we're hurting. " I'm okay", we stoically tell ourselves, and we tell others, "Big boys and girls don't cry". But admitting you're hurting is one of the first steps toward healing. "The more we are in touch with reality and cope with it, no matter how painful it may be, the better mental and emotional well- being we enjoy."
Know that you are loved.
The second step in healing a hurt is becoming aware of how much you are loved. In love, God offers us Jesus to be united with us. We let this awareness in; we allow new healing tissue to form around life's wounds. As we open our eyes to the many ways God's love is manifested in our lives, and in the love that other have for us, we begin to risk living in a present awareness of love instead of with past hurts.
Don't automatically blame yourself or the things you suffer.
It's okay to be angry at misfortune or with someone who has hurt you. Dennis and Matthew Linn, who have co-authored eight books on healing life's hurts said that anger at an emotional hurt is a healthy reaction as pain from a physical hurt.
Share your story of hurt.
Tell the story of your hurt to a trusted friend. Telling your story to a wounded healer and allowing yourself to be comforted by that person is another step toward letting the hurt go. It is therefore unhealthy for a person to keep his hurts all inside.
Turn to Jesus for healing.
Jesus is t he greatest healer Christians know, and the most trustworthy friend we have. Through out the gospel we see the physically, spiritually, and emotionally wounded going to Him.
Be patient and persistent.
Healing takes time. We need to have the persistence of the Canaanite woman whom Jesus first ignored and then refused to respond to after her pleas to heal her daughter (Matthew 15:21-28)
Discover the healing power of centering prayer.
Another action that can heal hurts - a more passive yet intense kind of action - is to practice the kind of prayer in which we let go of everything (words, thoughts, prayers, techniques, images, everything) and simply go very quietly to the center of our being where God is. In this healing prayer, we are simply aware of our oneness with God. It's called centering prayer. Spiritual writer Thomas Keating says there are some hurts that are so deep that only this kind of prayer can heal them. If we take time (perhaps 20 minutes once or twice a day) to be with God in this kind of "c entering" prayer, we will find that our life is happier, our burdens are lighter, our hurts are healed. How do you know when you're healed? Most spiritual writers says that these happens when you see value in the experience that hurt you. Forgetting is not one of the signs of being healed. You maybe healed of the hurt, but still remember it. Whoever said that "To forgive is to forget" was over simplifying.
" Once a teacher gave me an F on the test" a 20-year old woman recalls, " because she thought I'd cheated. Years later I saw her and deliberately snubbed her".
" I never forgave my mother," a middle-aged man says. " She was drunk all the time when we were growing up. I left home when I was eighteen and never saw her again, even though I heard that she quit drinking."
To continue carrying hurts like these, though, is to choose pain. Just as we would seek help immediately for a gunshot wound or a dog bite, we need to seek the same healing for emotional wounds. Not doing so can damage our spiritual, emotional and even physical well-being. Jesus tells us to let go of our grudges and do good to those who hate us. Psychologists give us similar advice. They tell us that we have the power to lighten the burdens we carry and that forgiving is one way of doing that. And some medical scientists say that carrying emotional hurts can precipitate heart disease, cancer, digestive problems, high blood pressure and mental breakdown.
Our spiritual lives are affected, too, when we cherish past hurts. We find it difficult to be Christ for those around us, and we block the Christ who wants to relate to us through others.
Here are seven (7) suggestions for healing those memories that keep you from living life fully.
Admit that you are hurt.
Often it's hard to admit we're hurting. " I'm okay", we stoically tell ourselves, and we tell others, "Big boys and girls don't cry". But admitting you're hurting is one of the first steps toward healing. "The more we are in touch with reality and cope with it, no matter how painful it may be, the better mental and emotional well- being we enjoy."
Know that you are loved.
The second step in healing a hurt is becoming aware of how much you are loved. In love, God offers us Jesus to be united with us. We let this awareness in; we allow new healing tissue to form around life's wounds. As we open our eyes to the many ways God's love is manifested in our lives, and in the love that other have for us, we begin to risk living in a present awareness of love instead of with past hurts.
Don't automatically blame yourself or the things you suffer.
It's okay to be angry at misfortune or with someone who has hurt you. Dennis and Matthew Linn, who have co-authored eight books on healing life's hurts said that anger at an emotional hurt is a healthy reaction as pain from a physical hurt.
Share your story of hurt.
Tell the story of your hurt to a trusted friend. Telling your story to a wounded healer and allowing yourself to be comforted by that person is another step toward letting the hurt go. It is therefore unhealthy for a person to keep his hurts all inside.
Turn to Jesus for healing.
Jesus is t he greatest healer Christians know, and the most trustworthy friend we have. Through out the gospel we see the physically, spiritually, and emotionally wounded going to Him.
Be patient and persistent.
Healing takes time. We need to have the persistence of the Canaanite woman whom Jesus first ignored and then refused to respond to after her pleas to heal her daughter (Matthew 15:21-28)
Discover the healing power of centering prayer.
Another action that can heal hurts - a more passive yet intense kind of action - is to practice the kind of prayer in which we let go of everything (words, thoughts, prayers, techniques, images, everything) and simply go very quietly to the center of our being where God is. In this healing prayer, we are simply aware of our oneness with God. It's called centering prayer. Spiritual writer Thomas Keating says there are some hurts that are so deep that only this kind of prayer can heal them. If we take time (perhaps 20 minutes once or twice a day) to be with God in this kind of "c entering" prayer, we will find that our life is happier, our burdens are lighter, our hurts are healed. How do you know when you're healed? Most spiritual writers says that these happens when you see value in the experience that hurt you. Forgetting is not one of the signs of being healed. You maybe healed of the hurt, but still remember it. Whoever said that "To forgive is to forget" was over simplifying.
Confluence of Philosophy and Religion in the Middle Ages: Justin Martyr's Apologia by Jeffrey L. Bartilet (July, 2006)
The "Dialogue with Trypho", one of the earliest attempts of Christian intelligentsia to bridge the reverberating tide of religious views and teachings with the realm of natural reason, provides a provocative apercu to the antinomies of religious and ideological positions in the period dramatic historical changes in the second century after the birth of Christ within the Roman Empire. A period characterized by peace and prosperity yet imperial concerns were much focused on geopolitical expansion, thus nascent administrative predicaments plagued the Empire, a socio-political scene were contending ideological forces manifest themselves not only the practice of faith but also in writing.
Justin Martyr, the author of the said dialogue, stands as a precipice in this period. It is in Justin's dialogue where we can find tirades of virulent religious attacks to the Early Greek traditions of philosophy and the Schools and sects stemming therefrom, as well as to non Christian religions particularly Judaism, carefully laid out in a form or style reminiscent of Plato's extant writings (Popularly known as The Dialogues). The attack proceeds in a way of a sojourn of the Justin in search of the true philosophy where he enters the different Schools:
I will explain to you... my views on this subject. Philosophy is indeed one's greatest possession, and is most precious in the sight of God to whom alone leads us and to whom it unites us, and they in truth are holy men who have applied themselves to philosophy. But many have failed to discover the nature of philosophy, and the reason why it was sent down to men... When I first desired to contact one of these philosphers, I placed myself under the tutelage of a certain Stoic. After spending time with him and learning nothing new about God (for my instructor had no knowledge of God, nor did he consider such knowledge necessary), I left him and turned to a Peripatetic who considered himself an astute teacher. After a few days with him he demanded that we settle the matter of my tuition fee in such a way that our association would not be unprofitable to him. Accordingly, I left him, because I did not consider him a real philosopher. Since my spirit still yearned to hear the specific and the excellent meaning of philosophy, I approached a very famous Pythagorean, who took great pride in his own wisdom. In my interview with him, when I expressed a desire to become his pupil, he asked me, "What? Do you know music, astronomy, and geometry? How do you expect to comprehend any of those things that are conducive to happiness, if you are not first acquainted with those objects, which draw your mind away from objects?
In this particular passage we can clearly notice that Justin equates philosophy with search for God.
A close examination of the dialogue reveals a certain enmity to non-Christian religions and Greek Schools of thought (Stoicism, the Peripatetics, the Pythagoreans and the Platonists) and a privileging of Christianity, providing it with a certain leverage by presenting it to the center of the ideological theatre, as "the one and only true philosophy."
Another point that is worth noting is that it seems that the dialogue is strategically aimed at a refutation and a clarification or an authentic "representation" of what truly is the Christian religion. The Dialogue With Trypho can be said to be a religious stratagem for the Christians represented by the learned believers, and Justin, being at the forefront of this battle for recognition and centering provides the textual backing of this struggle by raising it to the ideological and cultural sphere whose captive audience, is of course, the educated, those occupying privileged positions (administrators, senators, etc.) in the Roman Empires in the reign of Antonius Pius and later, Marcus Aurelius. Clearly, the apologia of Justin is not "saying sorry" but a defense of one's faith.
Justin Martyr, the author of the said dialogue, stands as a precipice in this period. It is in Justin's dialogue where we can find tirades of virulent religious attacks to the Early Greek traditions of philosophy and the Schools and sects stemming therefrom, as well as to non Christian religions particularly Judaism, carefully laid out in a form or style reminiscent of Plato's extant writings (Popularly known as The Dialogues). The attack proceeds in a way of a sojourn of the Justin in search of the true philosophy where he enters the different Schools:
I will explain to you... my views on this subject. Philosophy is indeed one's greatest possession, and is most precious in the sight of God to whom alone leads us and to whom it unites us, and they in truth are holy men who have applied themselves to philosophy. But many have failed to discover the nature of philosophy, and the reason why it was sent down to men... When I first desired to contact one of these philosphers, I placed myself under the tutelage of a certain Stoic. After spending time with him and learning nothing new about God (for my instructor had no knowledge of God, nor did he consider such knowledge necessary), I left him and turned to a Peripatetic who considered himself an astute teacher. After a few days with him he demanded that we settle the matter of my tuition fee in such a way that our association would not be unprofitable to him. Accordingly, I left him, because I did not consider him a real philosopher. Since my spirit still yearned to hear the specific and the excellent meaning of philosophy, I approached a very famous Pythagorean, who took great pride in his own wisdom. In my interview with him, when I expressed a desire to become his pupil, he asked me, "What? Do you know music, astronomy, and geometry? How do you expect to comprehend any of those things that are conducive to happiness, if you are not first acquainted with those objects, which draw your mind away from objects?
In this particular passage we can clearly notice that Justin equates philosophy with search for God.
A close examination of the dialogue reveals a certain enmity to non-Christian religions and Greek Schools of thought (Stoicism, the Peripatetics, the Pythagoreans and the Platonists) and a privileging of Christianity, providing it with a certain leverage by presenting it to the center of the ideological theatre, as "the one and only true philosophy."
Another point that is worth noting is that it seems that the dialogue is strategically aimed at a refutation and a clarification or an authentic "representation" of what truly is the Christian religion. The Dialogue With Trypho can be said to be a religious stratagem for the Christians represented by the learned believers, and Justin, being at the forefront of this battle for recognition and centering provides the textual backing of this struggle by raising it to the ideological and cultural sphere whose captive audience, is of course, the educated, those occupying privileged positions (administrators, senators, etc.) in the Roman Empires in the reign of Antonius Pius and later, Marcus Aurelius. Clearly, the apologia of Justin is not "saying sorry" but a defense of one's faith.
Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc by Ronan S. Estoque, MA (July, 2006)
The title is a Latin phrase with the literal translation of "after therefore because of it". In an English translation, the phrase does not even convey a complete thought; in fact, such is not even a sentence. In Latin however, the gist is that the past is just the harbinger of the present.
A couple of weeks ago, a lone Israeli soldier was kidnapped by some militant Palestinians and in exchange for his release - they are demanding the release of all political prisoners being held by the Israeli government. The policy of "no dealing with terrorists" prevailed and the result is a systematic bombing of selected Palestinian infrastructures in Gaza.
Over the weekend, two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped again and this time by the militant Lebanese Hezbolla (with the same demand) and in response to the kidnapping. The Israeli forces are systematically bombing Lebanon.
The Palestinians and the Lebanese are not taking this aggression sitting down, they are also responding with their own brand of violence, by bombing the nearest accessible town (e.g. Haifa).
The violence that was brewing for decades were finally unleashed and the unwitting participants (the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the Lebanese are all claiming to be unwilling players in this violent war episode) are all reaping the results of justified/unreasonable aggression. My sole concern is that the people who really deserves to be crippled and killed are the ones who are unscathed by this unnecessary and costly battle.
The Arab states surrounding Israel might finally converge and form an alliance that would once and for all settle the riddle and dilemma of a sovereign Jewish state.
I wouldn't even attempt to forecast the outcome of that equation. Suffice it to say that civilian casualties or collateral damage is certain to run in thousands with millions of economic implications and cost for all combatants.
Somewhere, diplomacy must prevail and put a stop to this violence. There will be no winners in this contest, only losers. The republic though thousand of miles away from the armed conflict will certainly feel the pinch in terms of higher oil crude prices. Because indirectly, instability in the Middle East is usually equated with higher oil prices for the world market. Hence, we say - post hoc ergo propter hoc.
A couple of weeks ago, a lone Israeli soldier was kidnapped by some militant Palestinians and in exchange for his release - they are demanding the release of all political prisoners being held by the Israeli government. The policy of "no dealing with terrorists" prevailed and the result is a systematic bombing of selected Palestinian infrastructures in Gaza.
Over the weekend, two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped again and this time by the militant Lebanese Hezbolla (with the same demand) and in response to the kidnapping. The Israeli forces are systematically bombing Lebanon.
The Palestinians and the Lebanese are not taking this aggression sitting down, they are also responding with their own brand of violence, by bombing the nearest accessible town (e.g. Haifa).
The violence that was brewing for decades were finally unleashed and the unwitting participants (the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the Lebanese are all claiming to be unwilling players in this violent war episode) are all reaping the results of justified/unreasonable aggression. My sole concern is that the people who really deserves to be crippled and killed are the ones who are unscathed by this unnecessary and costly battle.
The Arab states surrounding Israel might finally converge and form an alliance that would once and for all settle the riddle and dilemma of a sovereign Jewish state.
I wouldn't even attempt to forecast the outcome of that equation. Suffice it to say that civilian casualties or collateral damage is certain to run in thousands with millions of economic implications and cost for all combatants.
Somewhere, diplomacy must prevail and put a stop to this violence. There will be no winners in this contest, only losers. The republic though thousand of miles away from the armed conflict will certainly feel the pinch in terms of higher oil crude prices. Because indirectly, instability in the Middle East is usually equated with higher oil prices for the world market. Hence, we say - post hoc ergo propter hoc.
Yahoos Such Us by Claudio V. Tabotabo, MA (July, 2006)
After his absence for barely nine years, Gulliver came back bringing with him every detail of his adventures. But to his greatest astonishment he could not aligned himself with the style of what men called civilization; and the people who knew him since he left for the seas could not accept him anymore.
In his adventures Gulliver met people in contrasting sizes, diminutive like the size of his fingers, and giants that his size was only their fingers. The giants asked so many questions concerning the management and defense of the state from where Gulliver came. Gulliver the small man among the giants had to say something in favor of his race. He told them England has thousands soldiers standing on guard for any threat. He further said his country is at peace with her neighbors in the region. The giant's queen retorted, "How could you say at peace in the presence of thousand soldiers standing on guard?"
If there are brutes in the world it must be the men in modernization and the Yahoos in the Houyhnms. Animals sustain their living by following the cycle of nature while men in their avarice live by destroying the nature.
In the world of the Houyhnms horses lived in culture and refinement to a high degree. In this country horses can speak and domineering over the other animals particularly the men who had the behavior of the worst savage. The horses called them yahoo. They eat like crocodiles and relieve themselves from excrements like pig. By virtue of his appearance the horses considered him a yahoo. Gulliver exhorted all he can to convince the horses that he was coming from a civilized country and he was not a yahoo. At the end the horses set him to the seas for home once again.
It was home that Gulliver longed so much. He discovered treasures but he threw them away because fortune he did not want for. In the midst of his tribulations he only wanted to wake up one morning with his wife and the things he knew surrounding him. He had all the avenues to go home but thinking on the follies of men he decided not to live with human anymore. He shifted to live in decency among the horses.
But he was back home and his adventures came to the point of risking his name as doctor and the fate of his family in danger. He had to prove he was sober and convince everyone that there are certain people in the other segment of the world who lived in honesty, justice and reverence. But humanity represented by the doctors could not imagine the existence of such a kind of people. For them the world is made up of hypocrites: in the palace as well as in the hovels of the cities.
Men of civilization specially the one in the name of Dr. Bates who saw first the truth of what Gulliver had said and who had the animal desire to Mary, Gulliver's wife are immersed to the corruption of the world. He was blinded and for him evil is a natural thing.
While from far away Gulliver was immersed with culture and refinement of the being he met. He and the doctors could not go hand in hand any more. But the truth came out that he was sober and his faculties in tacked.
There are still good men in the world in rustic and rugged attire but the rogue in a guise of civilization cannot take it.
In his adventures Gulliver met people in contrasting sizes, diminutive like the size of his fingers, and giants that his size was only their fingers. The giants asked so many questions concerning the management and defense of the state from where Gulliver came. Gulliver the small man among the giants had to say something in favor of his race. He told them England has thousands soldiers standing on guard for any threat. He further said his country is at peace with her neighbors in the region. The giant's queen retorted, "How could you say at peace in the presence of thousand soldiers standing on guard?"
If there are brutes in the world it must be the men in modernization and the Yahoos in the Houyhnms. Animals sustain their living by following the cycle of nature while men in their avarice live by destroying the nature.
In the world of the Houyhnms horses lived in culture and refinement to a high degree. In this country horses can speak and domineering over the other animals particularly the men who had the behavior of the worst savage. The horses called them yahoo. They eat like crocodiles and relieve themselves from excrements like pig. By virtue of his appearance the horses considered him a yahoo. Gulliver exhorted all he can to convince the horses that he was coming from a civilized country and he was not a yahoo. At the end the horses set him to the seas for home once again.
It was home that Gulliver longed so much. He discovered treasures but he threw them away because fortune he did not want for. In the midst of his tribulations he only wanted to wake up one morning with his wife and the things he knew surrounding him. He had all the avenues to go home but thinking on the follies of men he decided not to live with human anymore. He shifted to live in decency among the horses.
But he was back home and his adventures came to the point of risking his name as doctor and the fate of his family in danger. He had to prove he was sober and convince everyone that there are certain people in the other segment of the world who lived in honesty, justice and reverence. But humanity represented by the doctors could not imagine the existence of such a kind of people. For them the world is made up of hypocrites: in the palace as well as in the hovels of the cities.
Men of civilization specially the one in the name of Dr. Bates who saw first the truth of what Gulliver had said and who had the animal desire to Mary, Gulliver's wife are immersed to the corruption of the world. He was blinded and for him evil is a natural thing.
While from far away Gulliver was immersed with culture and refinement of the being he met. He and the doctors could not go hand in hand any more. But the truth came out that he was sober and his faculties in tacked.
There are still good men in the world in rustic and rugged attire but the rogue in a guise of civilization cannot take it.
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