Comments on: Only 9.30% of All Grade 6 Students Got 50% or More of the Questions Right. :(

By: Leo Salinel

Leo Salinel — Tue, 07 May 2013 06:16:10 +0000

I think it’s a cultural thing. I’ve noticed that Filipinos in the USA would rather hang out with blacks and Chicanos than with fellow Asians. Not to be racist but hanging out with the low-waist, hiphop blacks instead of the entrepreneurial and intellectually-oriented fellow Asians of ours (Indians, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, etc.) causes us not to be as achieving as other Asians. Here in the Philippines (issues such as overcrowded classrooms, budget shortfalls, and underqualified teachers aside), people would much rather watch inane, mind-numbing variety shows featuring Vice Ganda and chismis talk shows featuring Kris Aquino rather than substantial fare, such as documentaries. It seems we can’t stand the thought of becoming “boring” even if therein lies our salvation. We would rather be “maporma” and collect iPads, iPhones, oversized headphones, etc. rather than invest in mutual funds, study the financial markets, read books. We would rather be “biritera” singers and NBA wannabe basketball players instead of geeky scientists and engineers and technicians wearing short-sleeved white collar shirts and neckties and boring gray pants and hardhats like the Germans and the Japanese. And finally, we are afraid of Holy Mother Church, which we wouldn’t be if we only loved to research and study history, after which we would realize that Holy Mother Church isn’t necessarily what we thought she was.

By: Getter Dragon 1

Getter Dragon 1 — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:27:15 +0000

Just don’t want to let this go. It’s too much of an interesting subject on both sides of the Pacific. Indeed Connie C. For Fil-Ams, the one thing I notice is the passive resistance to assimilation. They seem to cling to an immigrant identity.

By: Lani

Lani — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:20:40 +0000

This is really very alarming.

By: ConnieC

ConnieC — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:25:33 +0000

After a dismal report on the state of our National Diagnostic Test, here is something to be positive about:

https://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-03/the-philippines-astounds-the-skeptics

But perhaps we as a people get complacent too soon and rest on laurels too quickly. The country needs to stay on course and hopefully chip off the overwhelming problems that plague the country, slowly but surely. We can not rely too heavily on foreign remittances, service employment and assembly plants that have no technology transfer. Why, we can’t even assemble our own transistor radio. Building more elementary and high schools is good but we need teachers! teachers! teachers! Consider them a national treasure.

We also need to lobby our lawmakers to PASS THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ACT NOW!!!! or efforts to reduce poverty will come to naught.

By: MP

MP — Sun, 06 May 2012 04:51:49 +0000

Hi Crabbychef, thanks for the info. I just asked a friend to hook me up with an NGO that provides adult literacy courses to out-of-school youth. I hope to work with them until I get enough credentials to be able to teach at the basic educ level (I prefer grade or middle school).

By: Getter Dragon 1

Getter Dragon 1 — Sat, 05 May 2012 05:59:12 +0000

@ J – That might be a point of contention. I know foreign medical grads from the PI and have yet to succesfully pass their boards here have settled for jobs instead of becoming doctors. On the other end I was suprised to see an older Filipino gentleman bussing tables at YVR and noticed his class ring – engineering.

As children may see, they understand that their parents may have been ‘high achievers’ and professionals. But the risk is as one immigrates to a new home. Those same opportunities may not always pan out. Sometimes other priorities take over. The children realize, and perhaps to their parents dismay, that it can be ok to not be as educated and not to be a professional. As long as the basics are met and that there’s a little extra to spend on luxuries.

By: chp

chp — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:43:25 +0000

I am a Korean. Let me share with my story(a middle class South Korean) little bit. I was born in 1967 in a southern region of Korean peninsula. Until 1973, No electricity in my house. US donated bread for my school lunch meal once a week. Since my father worked as a city hall officer I was relatively well fed compare to most of my friends. However my 2 brothers died from the cause still unknown to me since my parent declined to my question. But I almost sure the reason was the lack of enough health care money. Now I have 2 brothers and one sister. A total number of children including myself is 6. Me and my youngest brother has only one child. The other brother and my sister has 2 kids. This is an average composition of South Korean family size. They all finished college education. Two of them, Top schools in Korea. By 1990 all my brothers were offered by a job by Korean companies which now claimed as global companies.

How they achieve the development in such a short time period? Well, we had a strong leader, Park and his elite group.However,I believe most achievement was a result of EDUCATION. A devoted, dedicated and passionated sacrifice from the PARENTS.

Koreans are obsessive with their child’s education. Why? They feel EDUCATION is SURVIVAL.
Among China, Korea and Japan, Korea had a war 900 times with their neighbors during the history. And still competing in industries massively. And South Korea is being threated by its own people, the North group. I was focused on to study Korean History and world history during elementary, and secondary schools to PASS college examination. They teach HISTORY heavily. They are alerted by what happened to their parents just half a century ago. They teach Jews and palestins. They teach How EU economy is doing now? They teach Why American WASP chose a half Black as their leader. Once people really wants to survive, they will start look into the way.

By: Gej

Gej — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:20:41 +0000

Thanks for this post MM!
The comments on the need for excellent teachers reminded me of a story my high school teacher told me and his other former students some time ago. In his class, some of the students were complaining that their other teachers were lousy. What followed went more or less like this:
Sensing a teaching moment, Sir ( I call him Sir to this day) asked the students, “Very good. What qualities should an excellent teacher possess? Let’s list them down.” Enthusiastically, the students rattled off … ” should speak English excellently, should be attentive to each student’s needs and abilities, should be able to inspire, should be highly intelligent, should communicate the noblest traditions of the school, and many more. Dutifully, Sir listed each quality the students enumerated, and repeated what they said….”very good, should speak English excellently … ”
After the class had run out of every virtue they could possibly think of, he then asked them, “Where do you think these teachers can come from?”. After a brief silence, one of the students answered . ” it will be best if the teachers are also graduates of our school!”
Then came Sir’s clincher. “Very good! It would be best if the teachers had also studied in this school ! Now … who among you plan to become teachers? Raise your hand!” A long silence followed. Not a single student raised his hand. ” If none of you want to become teachers yourselves, then how can you expect to have excellent teachers? . And why don’t you want to become teachers? Because the pay is too small…
I remember this story vividly to this day .
By the way this teacher of mine walked his talk. He did study in the same school under a scholarship, and spent his whole adult life as teacher – a legendary one- in the high school. He is now on his 60th year of teaching.
I do not conclude of course that everyone should therefore become teachers. But this great problem can slowly be licked if each one would do his and her part within his area of ability and influence. I am certainly inspired by the fact that while your blog, MM, is mainly a food blog , many of the readers are actually helping, or have, at one point in the past, helped , in a large scale, or in modest ways, uplift education in our country. But so much remains to be done.

By: Yvette

Yvette — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:07:24 +0000

Thank you po. I actually knew about Beacon well before I knew of its
connection to this site. It was one of the first schools I sent feelers to along with the other 2 big schools there 3 years ago when I started my search. As with most intl school newbies, I learned quickly that the better schools require overseas experience. I am paying my dues at an IB world school now in Uzbekistan with my sights on “home” ;)

By: Marketman

Marketman — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:26:27 +0000

Yvette, you might want to check the Beacon Academy out some day… :)