I am not a teacher, but an awakener.
Robert Frost
Two days ago, in my grade eight class, a student said that school dulls the mind. He got the idea from someone else. Whether he understands the full extent of its meaning I do not know. I observed that schools in the Philippines, for so many students, are factories that produce learned ignoramuses.
If teaching is a revolution, this revolution is courting a bleak future. Most of the revolutionaries are now disillusioned and lost.
Our students are told to speak in English always since the individual success of a student is pegged on his ability to speak the language. I Observed that many teachers are impressed by those who could jumble the highfalutin' English words which most of the times are not understood by the speaker (the student) and by the listener (the teacher). These students were made to understand that “deep” words are better.
Many students are made to parrot a parrot. Examine closely the examination paper for communication arts. The paper contains questions on vocabulary, grammar, literature, and writing.
The vocabulary question is easy. Students can easily be experts overnight. They were told to memorize and to use the words in sentences. They all do until the examination day. After that, the words vanish into thin air. The person with a very retentive short-term memory gets the prize.
The grammar questions look like a repetition of the seatwork given long before the test. They sometime contain the same item. A careful examination would reveal that the students could answer it despite the instruction of the teacher. They just follow the patterns. Parrots.
They are invited to be critical in answering the literature questions. Even then, these test only the memory of the students. High-level question were given. Their answers were given also during their class discussion, and it was the teacher who answered her own questions since the students are to shy to show that their answers are not like that of the teacher. The rest of the questions are of knowledge level which were also discussed in the class. You can learn these, too, despite the teacher. The answers usually appear in a single page of their textbook. Parrots are good in memorizing literature, too.
The writing part is the easiest part. Scribble long enough and you will get your desired score.
… AND TEACHERS EXPECT THEM TO SPEAK THEIR MINDS WHEN THEY ARE NOT EVEN ENCOURAGED TO USE THEM.
School dulls the mind.
Great words from the student.
Nov. 30, 2002
P.S. Today is Andres Bonifacio’s 139th birthday. He is the Supremo of the Filipino Revolution. He is an awakener, not a teacher.
Robert Frost
Two days ago, in my grade eight class, a student said that school dulls the mind. He got the idea from someone else. Whether he understands the full extent of its meaning I do not know. I observed that schools in the Philippines, for so many students, are factories that produce learned ignoramuses.
If teaching is a revolution, this revolution is courting a bleak future. Most of the revolutionaries are now disillusioned and lost.
Our students are told to speak in English always since the individual success of a student is pegged on his ability to speak the language. I Observed that many teachers are impressed by those who could jumble the highfalutin' English words which most of the times are not understood by the speaker (the student) and by the listener (the teacher). These students were made to understand that “deep” words are better.
Many students are made to parrot a parrot. Examine closely the examination paper for communication arts. The paper contains questions on vocabulary, grammar, literature, and writing.
The vocabulary question is easy. Students can easily be experts overnight. They were told to memorize and to use the words in sentences. They all do until the examination day. After that, the words vanish into thin air. The person with a very retentive short-term memory gets the prize.
The grammar questions look like a repetition of the seatwork given long before the test. They sometime contain the same item. A careful examination would reveal that the students could answer it despite the instruction of the teacher. They just follow the patterns. Parrots.
They are invited to be critical in answering the literature questions. Even then, these test only the memory of the students. High-level question were given. Their answers were given also during their class discussion, and it was the teacher who answered her own questions since the students are to shy to show that their answers are not like that of the teacher. The rest of the questions are of knowledge level which were also discussed in the class. You can learn these, too, despite the teacher. The answers usually appear in a single page of their textbook. Parrots are good in memorizing literature, too.
The writing part is the easiest part. Scribble long enough and you will get your desired score.
… AND TEACHERS EXPECT THEM TO SPEAK THEIR MINDS WHEN THEY ARE NOT EVEN ENCOURAGED TO USE THEM.
School dulls the mind.
Great words from the student.
Nov. 30, 2002
P.S. Today is Andres Bonifacio’s 139th birthday. He is the Supremo of the Filipino Revolution. He is an awakener, not a teacher.
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