Category: Education

Colegio de San Agustin road rage! Is the Philippines home to a decent society?

November 5, 2014November 5, 2014 benign0 50 Comments

We make one big assumption whenever we express indignation and outrage over the instances of banal injustice that make regular news fodder in the Philippines — that ours is a “decent” society. But step back and ask a more fundamental question: Is Philippine society really a decent one? Just now I spied a recent post…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Education, Lifestyle, Society

Rubbish at the Manila International Airport: Nakakahiya sa mga Kano!

October 27, 2014 benign0 28 Comments

When I posted that photo tweeted by former Bureau of Customs chief Ruffy Biazon of the rubbish mess left by passengers in a lounge at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3, I didn’t realise what a big wave it was going to make. Indeed it was interesting to note how deeply-revolted many Filipinos…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Education, Lifestyle, Society

#HereWeGo! Stuff to occupy Filipino kids’ minds #NgayongSemBreak

October 21, 2014 Kate Natividad 9 Comments

It’s the semestral break in the Philippines! Filipino students refer to it by its obvious abbreviation, “sembreak”. With much of the Philippines’ youth now free from the oppression of paper deadlines, exams, and 7 a.m. classes, what are they to do with all this free time? In the age of ubiquitous internet access, social media,…

Crime, Education, Glitz and Glamour, Lifestyle, Media

Noynoy Aquino’s arrogance is forcing Filipinos to take matters into their own hands

September 19, 2014September 19, 2014 Ilda 25 Comments

The mobbing of Budget Secretary Butch Abad by angry students from the University of the Philippines (UP) is a sign that the system in the Philippines has broken down. The fact that a large group of Filipinos did not hesitate to verbally abuse a public official and were even prepared to physically assault him shows…

Crime, Education, Government, Politics, Society

DBM Secretary Butch Abad faces the wrath of the ‘Iskolars ng Bayan’

September 18, 2014 benign0 22 Comments

A video has emerged showing Department of Budget Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio ‘Butch’ Abad being mobbed by activists at the University of the Philippines School of Economics building in Diliman, Quezon City last night. In the video, youths loudly chanted, among other phrases, “Noynoy Patalsikin!” and then heckled Abad as he left the building and…

Crime, Education, Government, Politics

Wendy’s Salad Bar is back, Pinoy lamon mentality along with it!

September 11, 2014September 11, 2014 Kate Natividad 7 Comments

I know I’m a bit slow to the news but I heard that Wendy’s infamous salad bar has returned. Yeah that was a relic of the 1990s reincarnated! I remember as high school kids pigging on that and the occasional all-you-can-eat offering Pizza Hut would come out with every now and then. Unfortunately I wasn’t…

Culture, Education, Glitz and Glamour, Lifestyle

How to stop Philippine Media’s systematic dumbing down of an entire nation

August 22, 2014May 19, 2022 benign0 51 Comments

It is pretty much a no-brainer. The idea that the Philippines’ entertainment industry is a massive contributor to accelerating erosion of the collective intellect of Filipinos has long been a widely-accepted fact in Philippine society. As far back as 2006, Isagani Cruz wrote about this in an Inquirer article. I cited the key excerpt in…

Civics, Culture, Development, Education, Government, Media, Society

Study confirms need to establish English as medium of instruction also at elementary school levels

August 20, 2014April 1, 2023 benign0 36 Comments

A study jointly conducted by the University of the Philippines’ Assessment Curriculum Technology Research Center-College of Education (ACTRC) and the University of Melbourne on the effectiveness of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education in (MTB-MLE) in the Philippines has confirmed something many Filipinos have known for some time — that English remains a highly-prized skill that most…

Culture, Development, Education