Problems in Education in the Phil

Problems and Issues in the Philippine Educational System Notes About the Problems and Issues in the Philippine Educational System: A Critical Discourse by Prof. John N. Ponsaran Colonial historiography. Most of the past and present teachers, book authors, and Social Studies consultants give heavier premium to the history of the colonizers in the Philippines, and not to the history of Filipinos. Mostly, this has been the case in the teaching of History subjects from the elementary to tertiary levels and will most likely perpetuate in the next generations to come.The history of the Filipino people and the colonial history of the Philippines are two different topics altogether. Internationalization of the division of labor. To a certain extent, the Philippine educational system conditions its students to be skillful in arithmetic and computer literacy, fluent in foreign languages (specifically English and Nihonggo), and docile in order to serve as workers of the transnational businesses of the advanced, capitalist countries. Take the case of the call center phenomenon in the Philippines, India and other developing states.Emasculation and demoralization of teachers. Teachers, more often than not, are victimized by the over-worked and under-paid policy of the system of the past and present dispensations. This leads to the emasculation and demoralization of their ranks. This probably explains why the teaching profession is not attracting the best and the brightest from the crop of students anymore. Expectedly, this will correspondingly result to the vicious cycle of mediocrity in education. Fly-by-night educational institutions. By any measure, the proliferation of fly-by-night educational institutions is counter-productive.In the long run, it produces a pool of half-baked, unprepared, and incompetent graduates. Alarmingly, the country is having an over-supply already. Some would even consider them as liabilities than assets. This case is true for both undergraduate and graduate studies. Culturally and gender insensitive educational system. Women, the common tao and the indigenous people are almost historically excluded from the Philippine historiography in favor of the men, heroes from Luzon and the power elite. Women are marginalized and trivialized even in language of education.Take the case of the terms female lawyer (as if lawyer as a profession is exclusive only to men) and manpower (which should have been human resources or human capital to be more politically correct). State abandonment of education. In the name of imperialist globalization, the state—in an incremental fashion—is abandoning its role to subsidize public education particularly in the tertiary level. This comes in the form of matriculation, laboratory and miscellaneous fee increases in order to force state colleges and universities (SCUs) to generate their own sources of fund.Ironically, the bulk of the budget (in fact, more than one-third in the case of 2005 National Budget) goes to debt servicing. Sub-standard textbooks. Some textbooks which are already circulation are both poorly written and haphazardly edited. Take the case of the Asya: Noon at Ngayon with an identified total number of more than 400 historical errors. Unfortunately, it is just one of the many other similar atrociously written textbooks which are yet to be identified and exposed. This is a classic case of profit-centeredness without regard to social accountability. Widespread contractualization.In the name of profit, owners and administrators of several private schools commonly practice contractualization among their faculty members. Contractual employees unlike their regular/tenured counterparts are not entitled to fringe benefits which consequently reduces the over-all cost of their business operation. Job insecurity demeans the ranks of the faculty members. Undue disregard for specialization. Some colleges and universities encourage their faculty pool to be genera lists (under the guise of multidisciplinary approach to learning) in order to be able to handle various subjects all at once.But some faculty members have turned out to be objects of mockery and have lost their self-esteem since some of them were pushed to handle Technical Writing, General Psychology, Filipino, and Algebra at the same time. This is prevalent among some franchised academic institutions even if the subjects are already off-tangent their area of interest and specialization. Copy-pasting culture. Over-dependence to the cyberspace has dramatically reduced the capability of students (even teachers) to undertake research. Copy-pasting’ has even turned into a norm among some students whenever they are tasked to submit a research paper or even a film review. Needless to say, plagiarism has already transformed into a more sophisticated form in the context of today’s electronic age. Mcdonaldized education. The system, methodology, and even content of education in the Philippines are mere haphazard transplantation from the West. It is therefore Eurocentric, culturally insensitive, and non-reflective of the local milieu.This is based on the xenocentric (foreign-centered) premise that other culture or system is far more superior than one’s own. The problem of non-sustainability and non-continuity. Teachers, administrators and publishers are all left in limbo whenever the DepEd would come up with another totally different directive from what it used to have in a rather very sudden interval. Take the case of the grading system, timeframe allotted to various subjects, MAKABAYAN program, readiness test, and learning competencies (LC). Poor regard for liberal art/education.Liberal education is intended to form a holistic individual equipped with communication, critical thinking, mathematical, creative, inter-personal and intra-personal skills. This explains why we also have Philosophy, Languages, Humanities, Natural Science, Social Science, Physical Education and even Theology in our college curriculum, and not only our major subjects. The curriculum is specifically designed to produce a total person, and not only a technical specialist. Unfortunately, the desired objective is not being met at all since liberal ducation is regarded only as a set of minor subjects. With the way these subjects are being handled (taking into account both content and methodology), students view the entire exercise as an unnecessary duplication of what they have already covered in high school. Equally alarming is the lack of enthusiasm and motivation exhibited by some professors to handle the subject especially if they believe that it has nothing to do with the course or area of specialization of their students (say, Art Appreciation for Accounting majors or Algebra for Creative Writing majors).Education a purveyor of myth. Education has been very effective in mainstreaming and perpetuating the social myths in a subtle and indirect manner. Some of these myths are the perceived superiority of white, educated men, ‘official’ history as advanced by the western point of view, globalization as the only way to achieve economic development, and stereotypes against the minoritized and the disenfranchised. Further marginalization of the undersubscribed courses.In the name of profit and as a response to the dictates of the market forces, colleges and universities prefer to offer more courses in line with the health sciences like nursing, medical transcription, and care-giving. This is done at the expense of the already undersubscribed yet relevant courses like Area Studies, Pilipinolohiya (Philippine Studies), Development Studies, Philippine Arts, Art Studies, Community Development, Social Work, Islamic Studies, Clothing Technology, and Ceramics Engineering. Monolithic education.Some educators in the name of conservatism and for the sake of convenience, prefer the old-style teaching paradigm where they view themsel ves as the fountain of knowledge and their students as nothing but empty vessels to be filled up (banking method of education). Modern education has ushered in learner-centered approach to education (from being the sage in the stage to just a guide on the side). Atrociously boring teachers. As I always underscore, there are no boring subjects, only boring teachers. But at least we should recognize them because they still serve a purpose. They serve as bad examples.

Assess the Sociological Explanation That Childhood Is a Social Construction

Assess the sociological explanation that childhood is a social construction. Childhood is the time of a person’s life when they are a child. Childhood is said to be socially constructed, meaning that it has not been influenced by nature but has been shaped by the quality of family life and the culture within society. The social construction of childhood points out that childhood is dependent on a number of social factors rather than a biological stage. Sociologists argue about what the term ‘childhood’ actually means. They claim that childhood is a social construction, rather than biological or natural. In this essay I will assess the sociological explaination that childhood is a social construction by showing experience of childhood today. Some sociologists argue that childhood is socially constructed because people of what people define as childhood. What we consider as childhood today is different from the past and what different cultures/societies consider as childhood varies. Societies are individual in the way they have different social construction, childhood is an important feature in some societies but doesn’t really exist in others. Philippe Aries (1962) explored the fact that childhood was a social construction. He used history to explain this also his paintings. Aries claimed that childhood experience in pre-industrial society, children were viewed as ‘tiny adults’ and that there were no real differences between children and adults. They joined in similar leisure activities to adults, toys and games especially did not exist. Children worked from a young age and were regarded as an economic asset which meant bringing in money and supporting their families. Those who did not help with domestic production usually left home to become servants or apprentices. Aries ‘march of progress’ view argues that today’s children are more valued, better cared for, protected and educated, enjoy better health and have more rights than children of previous generations. Schools specialised in educating of the young, influence of the church which saw children as fragile and in the need of discipline. Separate clothing for adults and children separated childhood and adulthood. Childhood was extended in 19th century because there were concerns over juvenile delinquency, beggars and child prostitution which led to wanting to get children off the streets that show that childhood is a social construction. Aries argued that childhood is socially constructed, however, some sociologists like Pollock (1983) have criticized Aries by saying that it is more correct to say the pre-industrial society just had a different idea of childhood rather than turning a blind eye to it. Pollock argued that Aries work is outdated and his reliance on paintings makes work invalid. Paintings are just interpretations and not necessarily what reality is. The people who paid for his paintings were wealthy, so only represent the society of wealth so it did not reflect on middle-class people. Although Pollock disagrees with Aries, Cunningham (2006) argues that the 19th century saw the social construction of childhood by adults. Childhood was seen to have three major characteristics. One, it was the opposite of adulthood, where children were seen to be in need of protection, to have a right not to work and to be dependent on adults. Two, the world of the adult and the world of the child were to be kept separate. The home and the school were known to be the ideal places to children and were often banned from adult places such as a pub or workplace. Three, the children were seen to have the right to ‘happiness’ Nevertheless, there is considerable evidence that children continued to be badly treated during this period of time, also child prostitution and child abuse were occurring in most cities. This continued until the turn of the 20th century where the age of sexual consent was raised to 16 years old. However, many Functionalists and New Right thinkers believe that children have been given too many rights in recent years and that it is wrong that parents are increasingly criticised and even punished because of their ways in discipline, e. . smacking children. New Right thinkers believe that childhood is under threat because the period of innocent childhood has been shortened and also because children have been exposed too soon to the adult world. They see children in need of protection from ‘threats’ such as homosexuality and media violence, this links to Postman’s view (1982) of childhood. Nei l Postman sees childhood is ‘disappearing at a dazzling speed’. He says that the cause of the appearance and disappearance of childhood is because of the growth of television which means that there are no more secrets from children. This gives them unlimited access to the adult world, being exposed to sex, disaster, death and suffering. Social blurring has occurred showing that there is little distinction between adults and children. Children’s games are less childlike today, taking part in adult activities like smoking and drinking and are committing adult crimes such as murder. They speak, dress and behave like adults, this has meant that children are being given the same rights as adults. Society is pushing children to behave in a manner that encourages them to take part in activities that are unsuitable for their age group. Nearly all the traditional features that mark the transition to childhood, (e. g. getting a job, leaving home, getting married) no longer apply. Therefore childhood is not a social construction and it is children disappearing rather than childhood. Sue Palmer agrees with this view and claims that parents are benefiting enormously from living in a wealthy society in which technology has enriched their lives. Palmer argues that rapid technological and cultural changes over the recent years have damaged children’s physical, emotional and intellectual development. The cultural changes range from electronic games, junk food and television, these are negative influences and are often used as a substitute for parents spending quality time interacting with children. Children are therefore deprived of traditional childhood and family life. This is a problem in today’s society because every year, children become more distractible and self-obsessed- less able to learn and enjoy life. This shows childhood in a child-centred society rather than dependent on society’s cultures and believes conforming to social construction. Some sociologists believe that childhood is dependent on society’s cultures, beliefs and laws, meaning socially constructed. Stephen Wagg (1992) said that Childhood is what members of particular societies at particular times and places say it is. He argues that although humans go through the same stages of physical development like puberty, different cultures construct or define them differently which means childhood is not the same in all societies. Wagg believes that there no single universal childhood experienced by all because it isn’t natural nor defined by mere biological immaturity. Melanie Phillips differs to Wagg’s view, she argues about the negative impact of the media and consumer culture. Phillips believes that the media and peer groups have become more influential than parents and sees the media in the form of magazines aimed at young girls, pop music videos and television as a particular problem, because they encourage young girls to see themselves as sexual from a younger age. These trends are to show that the period of childhood has been shortened, it is no longer a sacred and innocent period lasting up to 13 or 14 years. Phillips argues that children don’t have emotional maturity to cope with the rights and choices that they have today. The result of these processes, she believes are an increase in social problems such as suicide, eating disorders, self-harm, depression and drug/alcohol abuse. This view shows that childhood is not socially constructed and that the media and the peer group have more influences on childhood rather than the parents. The conventional approaches to childhood that I have outlined have been criticized by sociologists who have focused on researching how children see and interpret the world around them. They say that the Functionalist and New Right view ignores the fact that children have their own unique interpretation of family life and that they tend to generalize about children and childhood. Morrow (1998) found that children did not want to make decisions for themselves, but they did want a say in what happened to them. Historical period, locality, culture, social class, gender and ethnicity all have an influence on the character and quality of childhood which shows childhood as a social construction. In conclusion, there are a range of critical, contrasting views that I have assessed to show that childhood is socially constructed. Aries and Cunningham both claim that childhood as we know it today did not exist and they were known as ‘little adults’, childhood was considered to have three major characteristics which gives evidence of the social construction by adults in the 19th century. However there still remains a debate how childhood is now disappearing as its cultural changes have had a negative influence on childhood also how childhood is under threat because the media and peer groups have become more influential than parents.

Students should not do H.W after school day Essay

Students should not do H.W after school day - Essay Example Adding more studies in the evening only makes it worse for them. Their minds cannot focus accurately in academics at this time of the day, and all they require is some time to rest. This resting period is vital since it allows the brain to process whatever they learned during the day, and to internalize it. Secondly, sporting activities are neglected over the excuse of having too much homework to do after school. The lack of sports and gaming activities creates lazy and unhealthy students, since they have no time to keep fit. The hours after the school day should be used by the sports teams to practice and perfect their gaming techniques. These sporting activities are essential for brain growth and development. They relieve students of any stress they got in class. This time, when used in sports, will allow for the planning of tournaments with the neighboring schools and other community teams. These tournaments create new social networks that are very useful in life. They also enhance the sharing of ideas and knowledge among students of different schools (McManus, 2005). Another reason why students should not do homework after the school day is taking part in community work (Royse, 1999). There are many voluntary activities that students can take part in, including the cleaning of the environment, visiting the sick and attending to the homeless people. They can also plant trees and hold community education forums, whereby they can educate the public on matters affecting the modern world. Such factors include soil erosion, environmental pollution, communicable diseases, and wildlife conservation. These forums are important in enlightening the community. The charity events that involve taking care of the less fortunate also help build responsible, understanding and caring students (Hothersall, 2010). It is also clear that some students have after-school jobs to cater for their school fees (Lincoln, 1999). As such, they should be

The High Renaissance & Mannerism in Italy and the High Renaissance in Essay

The High Renaissance & Mannerism in Italy and the High Renaissance in the North - Essay Example This differed from the stylistic and artistic ideals of the high renaissance, which focused on the exploration of the harmonious ideals. Mannerists painted figures by using twisted or contorted poses and foreshortening. They used this technique to achieve an illusion of form projecting into space. This is evident in Michelangelo and Raphael’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. The paintings in the chapel appear stretched. The figures have elongated necks and torsos, which create unrealistic illusions of space (Murray, 2007). Additionally, the paintings in the ceiling of the chapel show sharp jumps from the foreground to the background instead of the usual gradual transition. In this case, Raphael and Michelangelo experimented with traditional subjects from mythology or the Bible in order to intensify emotional responses from the audience. This was also used in order to add to the visual or literary references. Mannerism differs from high renaissance in terms of approach, content and form. High renaissance was the apex of visual arts. This was a period of extraordinary artistic production. The most popular artwork of this period is the Last Supper by Leonardo. Artwork of the high renaissance emphasized on classical tradition and the expansion of the network of patronage. During this period, there was a gradual attenuation of figures into an artistic style, which was later known as mannerism (Murray, 2007). Though the frescos of Michelangelo and Raphael were produced during the period of mannerism, their standards are considered as a culmination of the high renaissance style. These paintings are viewed as high renaissance because of their ambitious scale, complexity of composition, use of pointed iconographic and closely observed human figures. The paintings of Raphael and Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel have differences and similarities to the artwork of the high renaissance. The

Preparing a comprehensive case analysis, Part 2 Assignment

Preparing a comprehensive case analysis, Part 2 - Assignment Example He further notes that since the inflation and the Gross National product (GNP) have a substantial impact on the market growth, they are included an index. The range is divided between two divisions: high growth depicting industries and firms growing and expanding faster than inflation and the gross domestic products and are shown above the line while low growth depicts those industries and firms growing slower and at a less than inflation rate or GNP rate. Headley (1977) notes that the horizontal axis (x) shows the relative market share. The share is computed relative to the largest competitor in the market. Consequently, both the range and the division are arbitrary. He incorporated the scale of 1.0 to show the line where market leadership will occur. This implied that market leadership would occur where the market share exceeded 1.0 As put forward by David (2011) and Headley (1977), the BCG Growth/share matrix is divided into four quadrants, each representing a particular type of b usiness. The circles represent products. Therefore, the size of the circle reflects the relative significance of the product to group sales. Furthermore, its development reflects the profit contribution to each division and occasionally represents in the pie segments within the circle. The Boston Consulting Group’s Growth Share Matrix Fig 2 (DISASTER SEQUENCE AND SUCCESS IN PRODUCT PORTFOLIO STARS QUESTION MARKS CASH COWS DOGS The disaster sequence moves from the dogs to stars to dogs in that order while the success sequence moves from the dogs to stars. Key Y AXIS – MARKET GROWTH RATE X AXIS – RELATIVE MARKET SHARE Disaster sequence (anticlockwise) The clockwise is the success sequence a) THE QUESTION MARKS These product or businesses compete in high growth markets, but where the markets share of the firm is relatively low. For instance, a new product launched into a high growth market and with an existing market leader is normally considered a question mark. B usiness firms with such products normally align themselves with either of the following intensive or divestment strategic options in order to improve the competitive position, sales volume and reputation of the firm: market penetration, market development and product development (David, 2011; Headley, 1977) b) THE STARS These are successful question marks (David, 2011). However, as Headley notes an investment is still normally required to maintain growth and defend the leadership position of the firm. As noted by Headley (1977), occasionally, they are marginally profitable products. However, as they achieve a more mature status in their life cycle and growth levels, they appear more attractive. He further notes that these products provide a basis for the long-term growth and profitability for the firm. During this business period, the firms normally adopt some strategic options such as market penetration; market and product development, joint ventures and integration. These defensiv e strategies are aimed at defending the market share and the leadership position from its competitors (David, 2011). C) THE CASH COW These are characterised by a relatively high market share in low growth industries. As the market matures, the need for the investment reduces due to a reduction in operating costs. As noted by the David (2011) and Headley (1977), these products are the most profitable products in the business portfolio. In addition, usually the market situation is boosted by the economies of scale

Can we get along Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Can we get along - Essay Example â€Å"In Australia, Canada and the United States, one of the most important factors determining levels of inequality is race. In western New York state, for instance, nearly 40 percent of the black, Hispanic, and mixed-race households earned less than $15,000 in 1999, compared with 15 percent of non-Hispanic white households.† (UN-Habitat) â€Å"One should bear in mind that larger cities offer very different kinds of opportunities that allow the poor to better their lot. However, there is compelling evidence that these cities have much higher crime rates than small cities. (Glaeser and Sacerdote, 1999). In addition, urban polarization is strengthened by â€Å"spatial segregation† in education and access to the job market, which in turn fosters criminality.† (Delacote, 92) â€Å"... the widening of income and wealth inequality in the United States has placed great financial pressure on lower-income families. This pressure has encouraged legislatures and governing boards to accommodate easier college entry and to subsidize poorer applicants, relying primarily on the tuition revenue of students who have the ability to pay.† (Policano and Fethke, 16) â€Å"While African-Americans and whites at higher income and higher educational levels were more likely to desire fewer hours than their lower-income, less-educated counterparts, African-Americans are still more likely than whites to desire more hours at all income and educational levels. This racial difference most likely is due to greater wage inequality among African-Americans than whites. (Negrey, 94) The disparity between different income groups gives birth to the question: Can we get along? It is imperative for America to be America again, in order to reduce the crime rate, and agonistic feelings that people belonging to lower income groups harbour for the higher-income group. â€Å"The burgeoning inequality threatens the integrity and moral authority of the social order. Those locked out of the

Article Critique Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Article Critique Assessment - Essay Example This paper aims at discussing the article and to find the issues and possible loop holes of the paper. The main reason this article has been chosen is that it deals with the security threats of eCommerce as well as the various threats to the accounting information systems. The authors have also discussed the implications to the management as well. This article is appropriate in the current times, where almost every business has launched an eCommerce website and the numbers of businesses online are constantly increasing every minute, this article is helpful in bringing out the threats being faced and the repercussions that these threats have on the management helps the businesses focus on the factors that need to be taken into account. Hence this article is very relevant in the current times and to a great extent provides the readers with a clear and well explained list of implications on various parties including, management, accountants and auditors, and academics. The article is al so very insightful as it provides a clear explanation of the need for security which can be easily overlooked in the current times. On the whole, the article provides a great insight into the security issues that relate to accounting information systems and excellent ways to reduce the threat levels of these systems. The article is very effective with a detailed explanation of the various aspects and views for different audiences. The article by Beard and Wen has touched upon a few essential aspects of accounting Information systems. The authors have discussed a wide range of issues that are being faced by companies across the world. An excellent point that the authors have included in the paper is the issues that are being faced due to the wide expansion of the internet and the newer opportunities that are being opened up for almost every business and the easy accessibility to break down all barriers of trade and all the physical barriers. The article has a major focus