It Matters

There were people discussing if there is a correlation between the school and the performance of the alumni. If given the chance to research, some of the social scientists will not agree with the direction of the study for it may sound bias and subjective. But Statistics tells us that the number of passers in any board or bar exam is synonymous to most of the renowned universities in the land. Lately, we see the schools redundantly paired with topnotchers to the latest result of the Bar examination.

It seems that the conversation was pointing at standards and school culture. The two are always great factors in making good outputs once the school adheres to certain standards and project a culture of excellence. These would cascade to the learners and their attitudes towards the learning process would be the things to propel them towards academic success.

It has been repeatedly mentioned that skills could be acquired if they are practiced constantly for a period of time. In college, I was  introduced rigidly to the basics of Mathematics since we were told we could not proceed to Physical Science unless we master Algebra, Calculus, Geometry and all the mathematical disciplines. We were surrounded with professors who constantly bombard us with math equations telling us the importance of them in construction, transportation and even in daily life. This was in a school being monitored by the Augustinian Recollects.

When I took my diploma in Physics at Ateneo de Davao University, I realized the strict standards of gaining competencies in all the topics learned. I need to reach the mastery level of each subtopics with a rating of 85% before I could proceed to other subtopics in the syllabus. Else, we need to take remedial lessons to be able to reach the cut-off grade. We need to put a lot of our resources to the subject so to attain the desired goal.

Most of the school I studied are sectarian schools. They always adhere to the values and mission of the institution  to the point that strict self-monitoring of attitudes  and behaviors were instilled.

But this could not be considered as a sweeping theory since generalization is a fallacy. There were those who thrived and wilted. It is the individual’s reaction to the stimuli that count. And that is the main point of this discourse. There are those schools who offer a lot of stimuli and there are those who are lenient in giving the learners the exposure and opportunities they need. That is the reason why the learners could not expand their horizons. They are limited to the belief that what the teachers are giving them are enough to face the cruel and challenging world.

There is this school which pride itself of having teachers who are good in the English language. The teachers are so good in pronouncing the words to the point that the students think that an intelligent person is that who could speak the English language. The teachers indirectly communicate this idea. They failed to realize that they are also offering business courses and the tech-voc tracks. They do not care if the concepts given are shallow and trivial. They laugh at those persons who mispronounce words but they do not laugh at the banal ideas presented to them. They draw their confidence to the mastery of a borrowed language and not on the mastery of expressing ideas using a borrowed language. Their syntax could sometimes make an amateur writer die a natural death.

When I had my two-week stint in UP Diliman for Science teaching and a week at UP Los Banos for Cultural Education, I realized how important it is for these schools to develop progressive thinking linked with the love for country. The professors do not care how you deal with the lessons as long as you get the point. They do not label persons through uniforms and social status. They grimace on status quo and push you to discover many things. They stretch your mind and make it a point to utilize your learning for your roots. They are so Makabansa/Makabayan to the point that they will leave their classrooms to rally for a cause since the point of their learning is to make the Philippines a better country. So, if there’s a threat to national stability, they leave the classrooms because they will then ask: What is the point of these concepts and knowledge when we do not have the freedom to apply them soon?

The foundation of competencies comes from the school you studied. You might not notice it but the culture you embraced was the same as what you have witnessed and experienced as you mold your being and becoming.