21 August 2009 Dear Senators and Congressmen of the Philippines: RE: Taxes, Duties and Fees On Books I am uncertain if you are aware of this. The Great Book Blockade of 2009 continues in spite of repeated government “press release” that it has been lifted. Our Republic continues to persecute readers in spite the fact [...]
Open Letter to the Congress of the Republic of the Philippines On Taxes, Duties, and Fees on Books
August 21, 2009 By 9 Comments
On the Road to 2010: This is Why Chiz Escudero Shouldn’t be the Next President
July 21, 2009 By 32 Comments
On February 2007, Atheista wrote a post on Chiz Escudero for a Dumber Philippines. I’m going to quote the same privilege speech because ironically the house server couldn’t open it out: So here goes the privilege speech: Mr. Speaker, ang isang dahilan kung bakit kada taon marami tayong classrooms na kinakailangan ay dahil napakaraming nasisira [...]
The Hungry and The Foolish On the Road to 2010
July 3, 2009 By 62 Comments
Over a hundred years ago, a Republic was born. It was born amidst a era of nationalism. It wasn’t a unique idea. It was borrowed from Western thought. And a people, like many across the world wanted to self-govern. That Republic was short-lived and it became a Commonwealth of the Americans. But the dream never [...]
English opens doors
June 9, 2009 By 27 Comments
We’d like to believe that we deserve a society that treats people fairly regardless of how well they speak and write English and regardless of whether they speak it with a regional accent or not. We think, if we continue stomping our feet enough in a loud appeal to nationalist sentiment, that we could one [...]
On grade inflation
May 12, 2009 By 81 Comments
It isn’t a secret that Pinoy education culture is 1) credential conscious and 2) grade conscious. Our culture tends to equate high grades to being educated and getting high grades can get you that credential. The “bulakbol” types like yours truly had for a mantra “don’t let your classes get in the way of your [...]
The Stupidification of the Filipino — Bureau of Customs Deliberately Hindering Our Opportunities to Read?
May 5, 2009 By 12 Comments
UPDATE: Do read The Great Book Blockade of 2009: Timeline and Readings for in-depth coverage. Kudos to MLQ3. A couple of days ago, I read this post The Great Book Blockade of 2009 and ended up being yet again pissed off at the stupidity of government agencies. But let the post speak for itself. Quoting [...]
Thoughts On Philippine Education, Intelligence and Creativity
April 22, 2009 By 34 Comments
Most certainly like clockwork, questions on how our education system works, broken school buildings and textbooks and questions on what language to use will come out. My question is this: are we thinking too shallow, too small?
One more year! of college?!?!
April 2, 2009 By 15 Comments
Professor Isagani Cruz of De La Salle University has written much on the shortcomings of basic and higher education in the country. He believes that the country has no choice but to add a year or more to the years we have to spend in school if we are to meet international obligations. (I recall [...]
Religious Education As Mental Child Abuse
February 2, 2009 By 131 Comments
A CASE CAN BE MADE against certain private religious schools — namely the biggest, most lucrative and most prestigious ones — for exercising a little-noticed form of mental child abuse. Both in the manner and content of instruction, I assert that early childhood education by organized Religions is a form of brainwashing against helpless children [...]
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