ED.u.Cate.

A teacher friend, ABD, just sent his whole class outside. I thought it must be the 2-hour brown-outs. I was wrong; said it’s not PECO-related but brain-da related.

It’s is just not the only but one of the many whines I would often her from my teacher friends: students just getting dumber and dumber.

(News is…there’s a budget cut for the state universities. I wonder where that will lead us.) 

I wish to present a listing of valuable statistics on the decline of Philippine education but I still don’t have them.

One of my bosses, a former university professor, says the same. Teaching post-bacc is getting to be more and more frustrating because each year, students, she said, seem to be getting dumber and dumber.


What about us? In what spectrum of dumbness do we belong?

Then again…perhaps it’s where we are really heading? (If you googled for “Philippine education+students getting dumber” you’d get links to articles not only talking about Philippines dumbness.) Who knows what the teachers complained about me, or my batch perhaps? – students getting lazier to edit because of MS Word spellcheck and grammar auto detect? And how about the students, decades before? And the ones before? I’m wondering what the Egyptians or the Incans would complain when they see us now. Maybe laugh at our buildings and the atrocious planning? I’ll give them the liberty because after all, the Burj Dubai is really nothing compared to Machu Picchu.

Sending students out do not help, ABD knows that but sometimes it’s really too much. Either that or a heart attack. I will choose sending them out. Better to preserve ABD than a class of 30 morons. 

On to another friend. He helps students make their papers readable. He’s rather amazing, this friend of mine, because he’d actually allow himself to be subjected to such torture. He does it for a pay of course, and frankly, the pay is chicken feed compared to what these dumb students are subjecting him to. On some occasions where, I’d help revise a chapter or two, sometimes he’d beg me to help him. revising requires a lot of mental preparation. To prepare, I’d scan the first page, pencil in hand, to see the extent of work I’d have to do. Seldom would I encounter a paragraph, more so a sentence, that does not need any form of revision. And patience is a virtue that I always try to keep but standards is something else and before I lose them both, I’d resort to revising the whole first page. It doesn’t end there. Eventually, the decision would be to revise the whole chapter. It's no use revising a chapter what can be more clearly explained in 2 paragraphs (because the remaining 80% of the chapter is pure trash--apparently there's too much copying and pasting that happened).

This kind of black market “employment” is not commendable in the university where ABD, paper-revising friend (PRF)and I come from. I personally keep mum about it because it embarrasses me. I do not want to be called a thesis reviser, nor the local version of Recto. But I understand how it works with PRF—he has actually had a handful of “best in thesis” (both masters and undergrad) in his portfolio and numerous network established because of it. He should be proud of this achievement, and of the fact that in all of those things he’s done, he’s virtually made himself a dengue expert, a peace and order expert, a computer science expert, a childcare expert, to name a few. He learns a lot from them, I wonder if the experience is the same to the other party.

Of course, PRF learns from them because that how he’s reared by our university, the way ABD and myself were reared also. We know learning does not end after university education (and motherhood—thou shouldn't be your children’s slaves).

So how do we really make these dumbasses want to love school? How do we make them ask intelligent questions? How do we make them learn to problematize (beyond the “how’s” in getting the latest model iphone or ipod, or the latest in facebook), feed their curiosity, make them go to the library, make them read book other than their text books, make them work on their paper—not by copying and pasting, but, this time, by using their head, when we've practically done everything possible?

Dumbasses and morons, stand up. It’s time you defended yourselves.

dialect tics

This weekend, while discussing our recent personal projects, among others, i happened to mention the "workshop-workshop " that I've participated in these past few months. Liby (he doesn't have a site i could link his name to but i think  THIS will do) grinned. And mentioned something about people repeating words. I was confused there a bit (in short, nag-mango ng 5 seconds) until he mentioned "theater-theater" and the thing i just uttered: "workshop-workshop". Apparently, he found this practice rather weird and i was compelled to explain, despite my obvious lack of expertise in linguistics.

It's not only Liby who's pointed this out to me-- the tendency of Filipinos, if not just Ilonggos, to repeat words( and even names – my nickname is Bimbim, my brother, Dindin). I've been asked by my Japanese boss about this before. Take (ang) saya saya (tagalog phrase meaning "very happy/utmost happiness"), for example. Doubling saya here does not entirely change the meaning of the word--the context maybe? -- and saya can certainly stand on its own. On the other hand paro-paro which, if devoid of its other half would mean nothing (maybe like the funny word: irregardless). The Japanese language, however (as per story of my boss) has a different story to tell. One example is this: Japanese language technically assigned cho-cho as the equivalent of butterfly but one can just use cho and it would still mean the same: butterfly. Tagalogs do not and will not call the butterfly by its half-a-name, paro. We kiniray-a and hiligaynon speakers don't cut the name short to alibang either. Alibangbang. it's always alibangbang. (Boss mentioned other japanese words but of course i cannot recall any of them anymore.)

"Maybe it's a form of humility," I say, referring to "workshop-workshop" and "theater-theater". I'm not trying to say that by using the "workshop-workshop" the writing workshops I've been involved in are lesser in value than those considered by the literature majors the "ultimates". ABD is a wonderful mentor. He's inspired me in many ways than i could possibly think of, and i am completely satisfied by what i'm getting from all of these WS's. I meant to say “workshop-workshop” because I am not gaining any additional scholastic degree from it, nor will I be given additional academic credits. But no, it is not something that I do not take seriously.

And comes the remembering: when we say dugay-dugay (short pronunciation, not the /doooogay-doooogay/, which has a different meaning), we mean "sooner" than soon. Medyo-medyo = lesser version of medyo. I'm not sure about sala-sala, though. But it seems to me that this becomes some form of a mockery to the doer.

Ms. Raj's speech, in my opinion, is a direct result of this language quirkiness of ours. "Major-major" to signify a lesser form of the "major" -- or maybe she meant the opposite?

Gamay-gamay, dako-dako, hinay-hinay, todo-todo, laba-laba, lip-ot - lip-ot – doubling them rather exponentially changes the meaning of the "singles" (imagine: gamay squared), unlike the medyo-medyo.


Hmm…that is really something I should read about.

But then, the listener seemed satisfied by my short, amateurish explanation, and i don't think i'd like to expound further. He got up and went to look for the missing head of his wayang golek.


Fin.

Ghosts of Childhood

(featuring the flowers of Antique, Philippines)


August 30 was a National Heroes' Day, therefore a national holiday. On August 27, my family left our house in the city for a long-weekend at my parents' place in Antique. Borrowing my father's digital point-and-shoot, i went around taking macro shots of the common weeds, flowers, trees -- plants! -- found in our residential lot and in our farm land across the river. 

My knowledge in basic biology came handy.

I wish though i knew how to take landscape photographs but the point and shoot is limiting and much as i wanted to, the stitched panorama i took were not what i wanted. 

On the bus on the way home, I told Keith of the my dream shots. this part requires a separate post. So here...now...are the plants of Antique in their boldest form:

Unidentified ornamental plant.

Unidentified but very common weed. 

Young corn with blazing hair.

si-o si-o. Thought to be the chinese lantern (Physalis alkekengi) plant but most chinese lantern plants i saw were red. this barely gets orange when ripe. or maybe it depends on the variety?  

  

unidentified grass

baho baho (tagalog: lantana; kantutay) (english: coronitas) (Lantana camara L.)

squash -- the fruit -- field. and beyond that, the Sibalom River.

String beans. With pickers. 
These string beans landed on our plates that night -- and eventually inside our stomach.

Unidentified grass usually found in the river banks.

Withered flower of an unidentified grass.

Red kulitis in its perfect adaptation form.

Flower and a miniature fruit of the garangan (tagalog: balimbing) (english: star fruit)
(Averrhoa carambola)

Flower of the batwan/batuan tree (tagalog: binukau) (Garcinia binucao).

Used to make dishes sour (like how some people use the tamarind).

Buds of the mansanilya flower (Chrysanthemum indicum)

 

Flower of the shrub tugabang (tagalog: saluyot) (english: jute) (Corchorus capsularis L.). 
Also a favorite vegetable.

Wax begonia, the pink variety (Begonia semperflorens)

My mother tells me this is also begonia but really?
Kinda bears no resemblance from that pink wax begonia above.

            

Flower and leaves of this vine are very similar to ampalaya (Momordica charantia) -- similar in taste too! -- but apparently this is not a bitter gourd judging by its orange fruit (not to mention that it looks much closer to a puffer fish than the actual bitter gourd).

Remaining flower parts of the plant we call "marya marya". 
Its round fruits are as big as the typical marbles, usually green, and turns to orange when ripe. 
Collecting and eating the marya marya fruits during summer is a big part of most Antique's kids' childhood.

Kasla (Jatropha curcas)

Unidentified plant

Alusiman (english: Purslane) (Portulaca olearacea L.) -- but this needs to be verified further

Unidentified grass

Will have to recall the name of this tree

Kulitis (english: Amaranth) (Amaranthus spinosus L.). One of my favorite vegetables.

Called "bariri"and when you search this scientific names comes out: Panicum stagninum Retz. 

I have a feeling it's not it.

Okra (english: lady fingers) (Hibiscus esculentis)

C-o-c-o-n-u-t! (Cocos Nucifera)

Monggo/Munggo (english: mung bean) (Vigna radiata)

flower of the corn

2 kinds of Zea Mays.

Corn field. When i took this shot, the farmer is out there, harvesting some corns for us. 
the corn, just like the string beans, landed on our plates and inside our stomach later that day.








Fin.

summit

just a little background on my present job (in two months, it will be my "previous" job):

Our Project Team organized a transport summit (yes, if you click on the link it will take to the Holy Land --- nah, I'm bursting your bubbles. But seriously? you'd like to be transported to the Holy Land?) for MIGEDC on August 20, 2010.

I have been nervous about this since june 2010 because of the amount of work (that will ultimately including sleepless nights and impossible deadlines to beat!!) I imagined i'd do.

Fortunately the staff of the project management office were kind enough to assist us (meaning my boss and I) with the faxing of invitation and the confirmation of attendance. The speakers were also kind enough to keep in touch even with their own very busy and tight schedule.

One event out, one more to go: the Advanced Traffic Administration Course (which will be conducted by the UP-NCTS (yes, again the link will transport you to the -- site of NCTS :D) on September 20-24 -- limited pre-determined slots!) and off to maybe a month's vacation (read: finish my memoir, help alfredo finally publish that collection of memoirs from the Wide White Space writing workshop, help liby make that proposal to NCCA, and yes, help myself get some money for graduate school).

And after the memoir is done, some reflecting whether to proceed to MaURP (and coerce my close friend and fellow DURP, Miriam, to start on her thesis) or to TRY HARD to get into the S.P.R.I.N.G program of Dortmund University (who knows, i'd get lucky?) :D

pedestrians are road users too.

Our driver made a comment yesterday that really bothered me:


"Our government sure love to spend millions for a jogging space," he said, reiterating what he heard on the radio earlier.


It was about the boardwalk (not to be confused with the Iloilo Boardwalk complex). The local radio station has been lambasting the local government about not opening that stretch of road to vehicular traffic.

Taking the safe side, I explained that that road is not really supposed to be used as any ordinary thoroughfare. That 2-lane space is in an easement that should not be opened to regular traffic, nor should it be used as an alternate route. AND, I still feel that if there's a way for us not to use easements to build our homes, our restaurants, our stores and our roads on, we should go ahead keeping it an open, free space. There is a reason for it's “non-use”.

Secondly, I don't really feel we need wider roads than the roads that we have now, nor do we need more roads within the city. Circumferential roads, yes, i agree to that because it will largely reduce the need to go through the city as much of our adjacent LGUs are not "safely" connected to each other. Safely, meaning, the roads that connect them are more often narrow dirt roads devoid of street lamps and other road safety devices. It;s even more dangerous during rainy season because pot holes could go as deep as the center of the earth.

Didn't anyone ever think of "regulation"? You know, where you regulate the number of cars on the road, or maximize the use of these cars. And i don't mean number coding because that has been proven ineffective for long term application. High occupancy vehicle. safe, comfortable, convenient and efficient public transportation. walkable blocks--o lazy people won't need to ride a jeep to get to the place they want to go, three small blocks away.

But the driver didn't buy it. He told me, "Why build a road in the first place--if you won’t open it to vehicular traffic?"

"Well, because that road is not a road for that kind of traffic. It's built so that the engineers can conveniently access the area for regular maintenance. It is not for people like you to use," I explained, keeping the last sentence to myself.

"Because you see,” he continued, “if it is opened, it won’t be subjected to heavy traffic because only private cars will use it. There's no franchise for public jeepney serving that route. It will certainly reduce the traffic congestion in the major roads." 

Says who?