Nagtutulungan Dapat ang mga Magulang at Guro sa Pag-agapay sa Batang Nag-aaral

Nagtutulungan Dapat ang Mga Magulang

At Guro sa Pag-agapay sa Batang Nag-aaral

Ni Apolinario Villalobos

 

Kadalasang maririnig sa magulang ng isang batang nag-aaral at nakitaan ng magaspang na ugali sa bahay ang, “yan ba ang itinuturo sa iyo ng titser mo?”. At ang titser namang taklesa o walang preno ang bibig ay nadudulas sa pagsabi sa batang sutil sa klasrum ng, “ganyan din siguro ang ginagawa mo sa inyo at hindi ka sinisita ng magulang mo!”

 

Kung may makitang hindi maganda sa isang batang nag-aaral, ang magulang at titser nito ay parehong may tungkulin sa pag-agapay o pag-alalay sa kanya upang mahubog nang maayos ang kanyang pagkatao habang lumalaki. Hindi sila dapat nagbabatuhan ng sisi. Dapat alalahaning magkaiba ang sitwasyon sa tahanan at sa paaralan kaya ang uri ng kanilang paghubog ay nagkakaiba rin, subalit may iisang layunin tungo sa kabutihan ng bata.

 

Ang mahirap lang ay kung ang mismong magulang ng bata ay wala man lang inilalaang panahon para sa anak dahil baka ni hindi man lang ito maipaghanda ng maayos na pagkain bago pumasok o di kaya ay mapaalalahanang magpakabait sa paaralan. Ganoong problema din ang kakaharapin ng bata kung ang titser niya ay hindi man lang makakapagparamdam ng pagiging “pangalawang magulang” sa labas ng tahanan. May ilang titser kasi na bukod sa malupit na sa mga bata ay halos nakatuon ang pansin sa mga oras ng recess, tanghali, at uwian.

 

May patakaran ngayon ang mga paaralan na dapat ay magulang o nakakatandang kapatid ang kumuha ng card ng batang nag-aaral, kaya sana ay gamitin ang pagkakataong ito upang maiparating ng mga guro ang mga hindi pangkaraniwang napansin nila sa bata. Ang problema lang ay kung sobra ang dami ng mga mag-aaral kaya hindi posible ang sinasabing “one on one” na pag-uusap ng guro at magulang. Subalit may kasabihan na kung kinakailangan ay may magagawang paraan, at diyan masusukat ang katapatan ng isang guro sa kanyang layunin, ganoon din ang magulang na nagbigay ng buhay sa bata na hindi naman humiling na siya ay iluwal.

 

 

Wanted: Honest-to-goodness Community Service of Civic Organizations and Students

Wanted: Honest- to- Goodness Community Service
Of Civic Organizations and Students
By Apolinario Villalobos

With the onset of the school summer break in the Philippines and the official declaration by the weather bureau, PAGASA, of the start of summer season, expected are the “visits” of student groups and civic organizations to the shores of Manila Bay and the city esteros, to purportedly undertake “clean up drive”. While the civic organizations do it for the promotion of their groups to let the people know that they are active in community projects, the students do it to earn scholastic credits and enthusiastically, too, for photo opportunities – something for uploading on facebook. Aside from the facebook, expect community and academe sections of the broadsheets to splash “action” photos, in their weekend edition.

How can these supposedly concerned Filipinos be expected to do an “honest-to-goodness” community service with their tight-fitting denim pants, white shirts, and jogging shoes? They look more like going on a picnic in their attire. Their sight reminded me of a lady senator whose supposedly advocacy is about ecology, nature, trees, and who was shown in a photo, gingerly holding on to a shovel while in the act of planting a sapling… prettily attired in white long sleeves blouse, slacks, a pair of walking shoes, earrings, necklace, and bangles!

As regards the students who brave the sun with sunblock, why can’t the schools base the merit system on the number of bags of garbage collected at the end of the day? At least, the credit is fairly measured, rather than use a notebook to record their attendance. And, for the adult civic organizations, why can’t they just collect contributions from the members to come up with a substantial amount that can be paid to a couple or more “real” garbage collectors? In this way, aside from getting a real result, they have also helped the needy, unless, of course their real aim is just to pose while holding on to a broom, to perpetuate their “contribution” to the community – something that can be shown proudly to their grandchildren later on, and of course, for uploading also on facebook!

Not only is the country suffering from the never-ending corruption and dishonesty of lawmakers and officials, but also from hypocrisy of its young citizens whose training in school is questionable, as well as, the adults who boastfully show the youth, their own kind of hypocrisy. We should no longer wonder why the country never ever had a chance to recover from the infection of dishonesty that continually deteriorates its culture. So with the exit of the senior corrupts later, the questionably trained youth enters the scene….a never ending cycle. From here… where are you going, poor and helpless Mother Philippines?

The Importance of History and the Educated Youth of Today

The Importance of History

…and the Educated Youth of Today

by Apolinario Villalobos

 

Some educated youth of this generation do not seem to know or are familiar with the country’s history. Just imagine the consternation of a field TV reporter interviewing a student who was asked, who the first President of the Philippine Commonwealth was. The student was obviously caught by surprised and could not utter a word. The reporter asked her another question about Tandang Sora to which she finally replied as “a place in Quezon City…in Commonwealth Avenue”. When asked about her school, she proudly mentioned a university along Espaῆa St. in Sampaloc. Her current school has got nothing to do with her ignorance, but her previous schools, those she went to as an elementary pupil and the one she attended as a high school student. Still, on her own, she should have, at least, exercised a little diligence in enriching her knowledge about her country. The danger here is that, she may transfer this ignorance to her siblings, a cycle which is happening now.

 

That is the irony of the current educational system. Schools give attention to their need in developing with the time, referring to fast technological transformation of practically everything that influence life. So, schools are worried when their computer system is outdated or they do not have the latest modules for courses that they offer to be more competitive with other educational institutions.  But sadly, these courses do not fit in any way to jobs that employers require. This lackadaisical approach in the current educational system shows well in how institutions seem to have disregarded the importance of basic knowledge in our country’s history, finally manifesting in the ignorance of some students who thought they have learned enough.

 

On the other hand, some students, themselves, may be blamed for their ignorance. At an early age they got fascinated with the games of the internet. Growing older, they got glued to its social webs….facebook, twitter, etc. They would rather browse for photos that they could share in their timelines or exchange messages about trending issues. They disregard sites that are just clicks away from the facebook or twitter pages. These are sites from which they could have gained insights on what the Philippines was years ago, and the people whose gallantry propelled the country towards democracy.

 

Worse is the discernible attitude of some students who are seem to be just proud about their ignorance of their country’s history, as if trying to give an impression that they belong to the modern hi-tech age.  They give the impression that they are not interested in what happened before. During the latest May 1 Labor Day protest rallies, one young student was asked why he joined the march. Without any hesitation, he said, “there is no class anyway, and I am with my boardmates”. Obviously, he has no knowledge about the historical significance of the traditional May 1 celebration, and the historical issues behind the insufficient wage for which the different labor unions are fighting for. All he knew was that he was having fun, marching and shouting slogans with his boardmates.

 

There is a popular adage among the Filipinos which says, “one who does not look back to where he came from will not reach his destination”. This could be one of the reasons why graduates whose parents pawn properties and spend lifetime savings for their education, find it difficult to land a reputable job. They do not look back to historical information about the courses that they have chosen, courses that become useless as they do not fit the requirements of prevailing jobs. These are the young graduates who look forward to jobs in the airconditioned offices but come in trickles compared to the surge of good paying technical jobs, some of which require only two years of studies and on-the-job trainings.

 

A little looking back will not result to a stiff neck, but still, most of us, especially, some of the educated youth who believe they belong to a different realm, refuse to do it. We just refuse to learn some lessons from the past, lessons that could give us a push forward. For their failure to find a job, these ignorant youth blame the government for “not creating jobs”, insult the President for being a “slave” of America, blame employers for low wage, etc. They blame practically everybody, except themselves who wasted precious time playing internet games in cafes, aside from having all the choices for courses that could have landed them on ready jobs as soon as they have received their diplomas or certificate of vocational course completion.

 

Given a chance to rise from his grave and live again for even just a few minutes, I cannot imagine what Jose Rizal would say about the Filipino youth of today. Will he still say that “the youth are the hope of our nation”, when some of them may not even have an idea that it was he who uttered this hopeful statement? They who have no idea where Mt. Buntis is? They who do not know where Maragondon is? They who have not heard of Princess Tarhata? They who do not know how to pronounce the letter “R” properly when speaking in Filipino? They who shout obscenities in front of the US Embassy but toe the line for an American visa mark on their passport?

 

For the youth who may happen to view this discourse, don’t lose heart if you honestly think that you do not belong to the “some” whom I mentioned. Instead, extend a helping hand by admonishing those whom you think are concerned.

 

 

Ang Guro nating Mahal

Ang Guro Nating Mahal
By Apolinario B Villalobos

Sa pagsibol ng ating kaisipan
Mula nang tumapak tayo sa unang baytang
Silang sa silid-aralan, ating nadatnan –
Itinuring na nating pangalawang magulang.

Mayroong animo’y santo sa kabaitan
Mayroon ding parang tigre sa katapangan
Mayroong malayo pa lang ika’y ngingitian
Mayroon ding nakakakilabot sa katarayan.

Sa mga mag-aaral na matigas ang ulo
Guro ang panakot sa mga pasaway na ito
Sila’y isusumbong kapag nagpatamad-tamad
Kaya susunod, dahil mataas na grade ang hangad.

Kung hindi sa guro nating mahal
Wala tayong presidente, senador, kongresman
Wala tayong doktor, enhinyero, pulis, sundalo
Wala tayong pari, madre, at iba pa, lalo na guro.

Sila ang naghuhubog ng ating kaisipan
Upang maging may pakinabang na mamamayan
Sila ang inspirasyon, tinitingala nating bantayog
Sila na ang buhay, sa mga kabataan umiinog.

Inaabot ng hatinggabi sa paghanda ng leksyon
Madaling araw gigising, sa almusal walang panahon
Halos takbuhin ang paaralan, sa kwarto’y dapat mauna
Upang sa mga mag-aaral sila’y maging halimbawa.

Sa mga liblib na paaralan may mga kuwento
Nakakadurog ng puso kung malaman ninyo
Mga kuwento ng mga gurong nagsasakripesyo
Mairaos lamang ang mga araw ng pagtuturo.

Mayroong binabawas sa kakarampot na suweldo
Pambili ng chalk, papel, lapis, at kuwaderno
Kagalakan nilang makita, saya sa mukha ng bata
Sa pagkakaroon ng gamit, di mabili dahil dukha.

Sila ang ating mga mahal na guro
Karapat-dapat mahalin, bigyan ng respeto
Kulang ang salitang “bayani” na sa kanila’y ituring
Sa sakripesyo, kahi’t kanino hindi sila maihahambing!