I was once asked to prepare a press release on the use of Mandarin in the public school system. This was posted January 30 of this year. Here is the article I wrote:
Public school students say Ni Hao Ma!
Filipino students may soon have access to free Mandarin lessons – one of the most widely-spoken languages of business.
Members of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industries Incorporated (FFCCCI) and representatives from the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE) recently visited the Department of Education to propose teaching Mandarin in public schools.
The Volunteer Program for International Chinese Teachers managed by the MOE’s Office of Chinese Language Council International will send language instructors every year to the Philippines.
“We may offer it (language class) as an elective in high performing schools,” Lapus said. “This will help broaden our children’s understanding of China and its culture.”
Other foreign languages taught in schools today are Spanish and French. English, on the other hand, is being used as a medium of instruction and is one of the core subjects in basic education.
According to MOE representatives, they presently have over 100 Chinese-language teachers in Filipino-Chinese schools in the cities of Bacolod, Iloilo, Tarlac, Cebu, Davao, and Quezon. The delegation is set to provide DepEd with a complete list of their deployment in the country.
The language instruction is planned for implementation when public high schools open this June.
FFCCCII is a strong supporter of DepEd in improving the quality of education in the public school system. To date, FFCCCII has constructed 2,503 classrooms nationwide through DepEd’s Adopt-a-School Program.
China is a historical partner of the Philippines with deep social, economic and ethnic ties dating back to the 10th century.
END
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Call to enrol
Let us get our kids to school!
Call +63.2.636.1663 for details.
Visit the Oplan Balik Eskwela Information and Action Center at DepEd Complex, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. until June 13, 2008.
Or visit the public school or DepEd office nearest you.
Balik eskwela na!
VIDEO COURTESY OF BROWNSUGAR PRODUCTIONS
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Traffic management
I am glad that schools are closed today. I was able to get to work in record time. This made me remember the last time I was held back by heavy traffic by inconsiderate drivers.
Saint Paul Drive is a road in Pasig City that is commonly used by drivers going from C-5 to Meralco Avenue. Traffic in this road gets heavy during school days. It is specially heavy early in the morning when students are dropped off by their parents, at noon when primary school pupils are picked up, and in the afternoon when the rest are picked up.
This is usually managed by making the traffic flow in one direction only. And it works.
Unfortunately, the four-lane road gets obstructed just before the entrance gate up to the exit gate. It is in that area where private vehicles collect before entering the gate and where they spread out when they exit.
I thought that to better manage the flow of traffic and allow those just passing by to go through the area without hindrance, the four lanes must be divided.
The two lanes right beside the school perimeter can be used for the qeueu of parents of Paulinians. And the far lanes be kept open for non-Paulinians who just want to get through to Meralco and on to Megamall.
However, some of the more rich and spoiled parents want to do things their way and it jams the flow.
It is early in the morning and heads get hot due to the jam. Well, leave it to the rich to get the roads filled. :)
Saint Paul Drive is a road in Pasig City that is commonly used by drivers going from C-5 to Meralco Avenue. Traffic in this road gets heavy during school days. It is specially heavy early in the morning when students are dropped off by their parents, at noon when primary school pupils are picked up, and in the afternoon when the rest are picked up.
This is usually managed by making the traffic flow in one direction only. And it works.
Unfortunately, the four-lane road gets obstructed just before the entrance gate up to the exit gate. It is in that area where private vehicles collect before entering the gate and where they spread out when they exit.
I thought that to better manage the flow of traffic and allow those just passing by to go through the area without hindrance, the four lanes must be divided.
The two lanes right beside the school perimeter can be used for the qeueu of parents of Paulinians. And the far lanes be kept open for non-Paulinians who just want to get through to Meralco and on to Megamall.
However, some of the more rich and spoiled parents want to do things their way and it jams the flow.
It is early in the morning and heads get hot due to the jam. Well, leave it to the rich to get the roads filled. :)
Saturday, March 8, 2008
When it comes to fame, education goes out the window
This week's hottest issue is the Philippines Department of Education's (DepEd) alleged banning of the National Broadband Network star witness Mr. Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada.
For the most part of the week teachers organizations, religious groups, and private organizations complained about DepEd banning Mr. Lozada from visiting schools. This weekend, it's the turn of the students to air their side.
Let us make a few things clear:
1. In an order published by DepEd, no word that means ban (forbid, outlaw, prohibit, veto, bar, proscribe, disallow, interdict - courtesy of Microsoft Word Thesaurus) is written.
2. There is absolutely no Rodolfo, Jun, or Lozada in that order.
3. The order was published even before Lozada organized his school tours.
4. DepEd is mandated to provide basic (elementary and high school) education.
5. The order covers graduation ceremonies of elementary and secondary schools only.
You wait for six or four years to finish school and look forward to a good advice on how to survice high school or what course to take in college. Then come graduation day, all you hear is the political scene of the country.
The bone of contention, I believe, is paragraph 3 of the order that reads "The graduation rites should be conducted in an appropriate solemn ceremony befitting the graduating students and their parents and shall not in any way be used as a venue for political forum." But still, there is no mention of Mr. Lozada there.
Yet they keep on saying that DepEd is banning Mr. Lozada. Now, they even say that DepEd backtracked it's "ban" when no ban was ever made.
For the most part of the week teachers organizations, religious groups, and private organizations complained about DepEd banning Mr. Lozada from visiting schools. This weekend, it's the turn of the students to air their side.
Let us make a few things clear:
1. In an order published by DepEd, no word that means ban (forbid, outlaw, prohibit, veto, bar, proscribe, disallow, interdict - courtesy of Microsoft Word Thesaurus) is written.
2. There is absolutely no Rodolfo, Jun, or Lozada in that order.
3. The order was published even before Lozada organized his school tours.
4. DepEd is mandated to provide basic (elementary and high school) education.
5. The order covers graduation ceremonies of elementary and secondary schools only.
You wait for six or four years to finish school and look forward to a good advice on how to survice high school or what course to take in college. Then come graduation day, all you hear is the political scene of the country.
The bone of contention, I believe, is paragraph 3 of the order that reads "The graduation rites should be conducted in an appropriate solemn ceremony befitting the graduating students and their parents and shall not in any way be used as a venue for political forum." But still, there is no mention of Mr. Lozada there.
Yet they keep on saying that DepEd is banning Mr. Lozada. Now, they even say that DepEd backtracked it's "ban" when no ban was ever made.
These people are educated.
These people are in or has finished college.
And yet they forgot that they used to do research first before they went to class and delivered their report.
And this bothers me.
Is it because they just want their faces shown on television? Or their voices heard on the radio? Or their names printed on paper or posted on the web?
Why don't we celebrate the fulfillment of our years of work first, and talk politics later?
What do you think?
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Low cost computing
My uncle once offered to by me a laptop. It is a Pentium IV gateway laptop that will cost him $600. He told me that he will donate $100 for my cause and just ask me to pay him $500. Based on the exchange rate at that time, it will cost me about 35,000 pesos to pay him back. And I do not have that kind of money at that time.
In the last 10 years, the best pre-Pentium personal computers cost as much as thirty thousand pesos (P30,000) and this is too much for middle class families like ours. Right now, those pre-Pentium PCs are considered obsolete. You can't even buy one for just P500. Some one would probably give it to you with all their heart.
When I bought my AMD Athlon 1800 powered PC, it cost me P17,000. Five years later, a PC with the same processor speed costs only P9,000-P10,000.
A lot of low cost computer stores have been coming out. They sell complete PCs (with monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers) for as low as P3,000.
We would probably think that this is some kind of a gimmick. These PCs must be second hand from other countries. And most indeed are. Some products still have stickers from Japan or Taiwan. But the stores can give you a warranty from 3 months to a year for each product. The one year warranty is the same thing offered by vendors of first hand, first rate, high quality desktops.
Unless you want to show off to your neighbors your cool new branded PC, you can settle for the low cost alternatives they offer.
With a certain degree of discipline even families from the slums can purchase a P-III 500 MHz desktop for this kids. Hell, they can buy a television and cases of beer, why could they not afford a PC?
If only those low income families discipline themselves, we can claim to the world that in the Philippines, we have one PC per family. :)
And we will become the country with the most computer literate people.
In the last 10 years, the best pre-Pentium personal computers cost as much as thirty thousand pesos (P30,000) and this is too much for middle class families like ours. Right now, those pre-Pentium PCs are considered obsolete. You can't even buy one for just P500. Some one would probably give it to you with all their heart.
When I bought my AMD Athlon 1800 powered PC, it cost me P17,000. Five years later, a PC with the same processor speed costs only P9,000-P10,000.
A lot of low cost computer stores have been coming out. They sell complete PCs (with monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers) for as low as P3,000.
We would probably think that this is some kind of a gimmick. These PCs must be second hand from other countries. And most indeed are. Some products still have stickers from Japan or Taiwan. But the stores can give you a warranty from 3 months to a year for each product. The one year warranty is the same thing offered by vendors of first hand, first rate, high quality desktops.
Unless you want to show off to your neighbors your cool new branded PC, you can settle for the low cost alternatives they offer.
With a certain degree of discipline even families from the slums can purchase a P-III 500 MHz desktop for this kids. Hell, they can buy a television and cases of beer, why could they not afford a PC?
If only those low income families discipline themselves, we can claim to the world that in the Philippines, we have one PC per family. :)
And we will become the country with the most computer literate people.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Believe on your own
There is a tendency for us to criticize the work of others. Often, suggestions are given which should be most welcome. But why is it that some people make criticisms without any constructive suggestions? And why is it that some people criticize the work of their countrymen and make it look like their countrymen could not achieve what people from other countries had?
I have read the column of Dr Isagani Cruz, a former Undersecretary of the Department of Education during the time of the late Secretary Raul Roco. His criticisms on the Cyber Education Program of DepEd by far are objective (it is a 3-part series) but he did not offer any suggestions on those subjects.
What touched me is that in his second installment, he discussed how other countries faired in implementing a distance education program similar to Cyber Ed. Most of the countries included were reported to have certain degrees of shortcomings in the way they implemented their programs. After discussing each country, he asks questions like "if they failed in this how can DepEd succeed in it" or "if they can't do this, how can DepEd be able to do it."
Dr Cruz is still to publish part three and I am hoping there is a redeeming portion there because what I think he presents in this second installment is that our education department, where he once spent sometime as one of the senior officials, can not achieve or surpass what other countries can do.
I have always believed that the Filipino can go beyond what others can do. It was a Filipino who designed flourescent lamp that was patented by GE because of the failure of the government to have it recognized. The last time I have heard, it was a Filipino who designed the moon rover used in the lunar landings in the early seventies. The Filipino can always surpass what others can do or where they fail. And I still believe the Filipino can go beyond the limits other nationalities think we cannot reach.
When will we start to believe that we can be better than what we are now? That we can be better than what they are now? When will we ever begin to support someone who have surpassed our capacity to allow that person to bring us higher?
Until we stop living like the stereotyped Filipino with crab-mentality that people think we are, we will not be able to get beyond our barriers.
I have read the column of Dr Isagani Cruz, a former Undersecretary of the Department of Education during the time of the late Secretary Raul Roco. His criticisms on the Cyber Education Program of DepEd by far are objective (it is a 3-part series) but he did not offer any suggestions on those subjects.
What touched me is that in his second installment, he discussed how other countries faired in implementing a distance education program similar to Cyber Ed. Most of the countries included were reported to have certain degrees of shortcomings in the way they implemented their programs. After discussing each country, he asks questions like "if they failed in this how can DepEd succeed in it" or "if they can't do this, how can DepEd be able to do it."
Dr Cruz is still to publish part three and I am hoping there is a redeeming portion there because what I think he presents in this second installment is that our education department, where he once spent sometime as one of the senior officials, can not achieve or surpass what other countries can do.
I have always believed that the Filipino can go beyond what others can do. It was a Filipino who designed flourescent lamp that was patented by GE because of the failure of the government to have it recognized. The last time I have heard, it was a Filipino who designed the moon rover used in the lunar landings in the early seventies. The Filipino can always surpass what others can do or where they fail. And I still believe the Filipino can go beyond the limits other nationalities think we cannot reach.
When will we start to believe that we can be better than what we are now? That we can be better than what they are now? When will we ever begin to support someone who have surpassed our capacity to allow that person to bring us higher?
Until we stop living like the stereotyped Filipino with crab-mentality that people think we are, we will not be able to get beyond our barriers.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Education
Improvement in ones social status allows a person to elevate the status of those close to him/her.
An executive in either government or private institutions or organizations who got his elementary schooling from a far flung village where he/she grew up, his high school from a municipal school and college from among the schools located in his/her home province will tend to enroll their children to exclusive schools for their elementary and high school education and bring them to the national capital for college schooling in one of the prestigious universities.
It is their right to do so.
It may be because he/she did not find the education he/she got from his/her schools to be adequate. It is every parent's dream to give their children the best education there is.
But when it comes to looking back, only a few of them do try to reach out to their former schools to help make it better. Some will just tend to put down their alma mater while still some will not take notice nor take action on anything.
Is it human nature to keep on improving yourself and leave everyone else behind? Is it because of the so-called crab mentality of people that they will just pull themselves up and leave the rest to fall? When will it become our task to help others up? When will we make it our principle to be the one to take someone to a higher plane, even higher than ours?
Unlike the crabs in the final installment of Pirates of the Caribbean who, even though they walk over each other to bring the Black Pearl to sea, put others ahead so they can all move forward, we tend to move forward on our own leaving the others behind.
An executive in either government or private institutions or organizations who got his elementary schooling from a far flung village where he/she grew up, his high school from a municipal school and college from among the schools located in his/her home province will tend to enroll their children to exclusive schools for their elementary and high school education and bring them to the national capital for college schooling in one of the prestigious universities.
It is their right to do so.
It may be because he/she did not find the education he/she got from his/her schools to be adequate. It is every parent's dream to give their children the best education there is.
But when it comes to looking back, only a few of them do try to reach out to their former schools to help make it better. Some will just tend to put down their alma mater while still some will not take notice nor take action on anything.
Is it human nature to keep on improving yourself and leave everyone else behind? Is it because of the so-called crab mentality of people that they will just pull themselves up and leave the rest to fall? When will it become our task to help others up? When will we make it our principle to be the one to take someone to a higher plane, even higher than ours?
Unlike the crabs in the final installment of Pirates of the Caribbean who, even though they walk over each other to bring the Black Pearl to sea, put others ahead so they can all move forward, we tend to move forward on our own leaving the others behind.
Baseless accusations
Often times we hear people defend themselves from "baseless accusations."
In a recent post in her column, Ms Patricia Evangelista claimed that based on her assumptions "the men who put together the CEP are, scientifically speaking, idiots."
To claim that other people are idiots supposedly based on science, where is the "scientific" proof? Assumptions are just assumptions. Hypotheses, they were called during my elementary and high school days. To be scientific, a hypothesis must be proved or disproved using scientific methods. Where is the method here to prove that?
I do not have any scientific proof, but I do have various references.
According to wikipedia, idiot means (1) person lacking professional skill, (2) a private citizen, and (3) individual based on the Greek word idiotes. A modern day meaning is uneducated or ignorant person from a 1300 French word idiote.
In dictionary.com idiot means (1) an utterly foolish or senseless person and (2) in Psychology, a person of the lowest order in a former classification of mental retardation, having a mental age of less than three years old and an intelligence quotient under 25.
I'm afraid I do not have enough time to look for a scientific study on idiots. Based, however, on what I have gathered from the ethernet, the "men who put together CEP" cannot be described as idiots. Here are the reasons why:
1. As opposed to the wikipedia definition, the "men" are professionals, working in the public sector, and are part of a group (ergo men - plural).
2. In contrast with the French word idiote, if those "men" are idiots, how could those "men" have finished their college and post graduate courses? And if they are ignorant, how could they have seen the need for the education sector to find a solution to put to scale all successful pilot project of the government and its partners?
3. And finally for the dictionary.com definition: these "men" are not senseless for they see the need to give poor children from far-flung schools a chance to learn from among the internationally recognized teachers of the country; and these men could not have the mental age of three because if they did, they will be talking about three year old stuff like bunnies and ponies and airplanes and candy.
When I was three, I began gathering an army of toy soldiers and vehicles and was on my way to planning world domination and intergalactic conquest.
In a recent post in her column, Ms Patricia Evangelista claimed that based on her assumptions "the men who put together the CEP are, scientifically speaking, idiots."
To claim that other people are idiots supposedly based on science, where is the "scientific" proof? Assumptions are just assumptions. Hypotheses, they were called during my elementary and high school days. To be scientific, a hypothesis must be proved or disproved using scientific methods. Where is the method here to prove that?
I do not have any scientific proof, but I do have various references.
According to wikipedia, idiot means (1) person lacking professional skill, (2) a private citizen, and (3) individual based on the Greek word idiotes. A modern day meaning is uneducated or ignorant person from a 1300 French word idiote.
In dictionary.com idiot means (1) an utterly foolish or senseless person and (2) in Psychology, a person of the lowest order in a former classification of mental retardation, having a mental age of less than three years old and an intelligence quotient under 25.
I'm afraid I do not have enough time to look for a scientific study on idiots. Based, however, on what I have gathered from the ethernet, the "men who put together CEP" cannot be described as idiots. Here are the reasons why:
1. As opposed to the wikipedia definition, the "men" are professionals, working in the public sector, and are part of a group (ergo men - plural).
2. In contrast with the French word idiote, if those "men" are idiots, how could those "men" have finished their college and post graduate courses? And if they are ignorant, how could they have seen the need for the education sector to find a solution to put to scale all successful pilot project of the government and its partners?
3. And finally for the dictionary.com definition: these "men" are not senseless for they see the need to give poor children from far-flung schools a chance to learn from among the internationally recognized teachers of the country; and these men could not have the mental age of three because if they did, they will be talking about three year old stuff like bunnies and ponies and airplanes and candy.
When I was three, I began gathering an army of toy soldiers and vehicles and was on my way to planning world domination and intergalactic conquest.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Choosing a career
On August 28, the Department of Education of the Republic of the Philippines will be conducting its National Career Assessment Examination to all public and private 4th year high school students.
The NCAE is aimed at assessing the possible career tracks of each student. This will help guide students at the course they will likely to succeed in.
Most Filipinos dream of having at least one child finish college. Due to the large number of families in the lower income bracket, the hopes are left with the eldest child. They either finish their degrees draining up most of their families resources or they skip college and immediately go to work.
Most popular professions are: entertainers, actors, dancers, physical therapists, nurses, doctors, and teachers. Most of those try to get into the arts are disappointed not because they lack talent but because there is a lot of competition and there are just too many others with even better talents. As for those trying to get into the medical professions, they are not simply cut out for the medical field and end up dropping out of college after a short stay.
Children have a lot of career options in mind. Parents too have career options for their children. Which among these options should they choose? I know this dilemma personally because I had lots of career options myself. I thought of becoming a lawyer, a priest, a successful entrepreneur, or a soldier. I even dreamed of a career as Global Dictator!
With the results of the NCAE, students and parents can better decide on what career path to choose where the child will likely to meet success. If the results point to a career in arts, the student may enroll in an art class or a certificate course in the arts in any university. If the results show that the child has a capacity in academics, that child may take up any course in college based on the result of sub-domains in Science and Mathematics. Other career options are for the student to take up technical-vocational courses or an entrepreneurial course.
Most people fear that the NCAE may become an obstacle to a college degree. This is not true since there is no law passed providing the exam this authority. DepEd plans to make the NCAE as such in the future anyway.
For those who think that college is the only way to success, please reconsider. Although a college degree is needed to be employed or promoted, most company policies I have read also considers equivalents to a degree.
The Technical Educations and Skills Development Authority of the Philippine Government offers certifications for technical-vocational course graduates. A National Certification Level III (NC3) I thinks is equal to a college degree. Following this trend, NC4 and NC5 are equivalents of a masters or doctoral degree.
So kids, troop down to your schools on Tuesday, August 28 and take the test. Who knows, you may end up having a higher position in a company compared to someone who took the college degree you have dreamed of.
The NCAE is aimed at assessing the possible career tracks of each student. This will help guide students at the course they will likely to succeed in.
Most Filipinos dream of having at least one child finish college. Due to the large number of families in the lower income bracket, the hopes are left with the eldest child. They either finish their degrees draining up most of their families resources or they skip college and immediately go to work.
Most popular professions are: entertainers, actors, dancers, physical therapists, nurses, doctors, and teachers. Most of those try to get into the arts are disappointed not because they lack talent but because there is a lot of competition and there are just too many others with even better talents. As for those trying to get into the medical professions, they are not simply cut out for the medical field and end up dropping out of college after a short stay.
Children have a lot of career options in mind. Parents too have career options for their children. Which among these options should they choose? I know this dilemma personally because I had lots of career options myself. I thought of becoming a lawyer, a priest, a successful entrepreneur, or a soldier. I even dreamed of a career as Global Dictator!
With the results of the NCAE, students and parents can better decide on what career path to choose where the child will likely to meet success. If the results point to a career in arts, the student may enroll in an art class or a certificate course in the arts in any university. If the results show that the child has a capacity in academics, that child may take up any course in college based on the result of sub-domains in Science and Mathematics. Other career options are for the student to take up technical-vocational courses or an entrepreneurial course.
Most people fear that the NCAE may become an obstacle to a college degree. This is not true since there is no law passed providing the exam this authority. DepEd plans to make the NCAE as such in the future anyway.
For those who think that college is the only way to success, please reconsider. Although a college degree is needed to be employed or promoted, most company policies I have read also considers equivalents to a degree.
The Technical Educations and Skills Development Authority of the Philippine Government offers certifications for technical-vocational course graduates. A National Certification Level III (NC3) I thinks is equal to a college degree. Following this trend, NC4 and NC5 are equivalents of a masters or doctoral degree.
So kids, troop down to your schools on Tuesday, August 28 and take the test. Who knows, you may end up having a higher position in a company compared to someone who took the college degree you have dreamed of.
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