(photo: Primer.com)
Di kibali makasabot? Simple instruction, you cannot follow?
This is what people are asking right now as others continue to go out, ride in
tandem and do their usual activities outside their houses despite the millions
of pleas and requests by the authorities to STAY AT HOME. Some are drinking
with their friends; others are spending their time in their backyards having
cockfights.
Basically, following
directions is a learned skill. The mastery of it might NOT be on the independent
level as what teachers observe in language subjects.
Following oral
directives, interpreting the needed steps to complete tasks, understanding
critical-thinking questions, and discerning written instructions are just a few
instances of how people need to know how to navigate the subtleties embedded
within a language. For many, learning to follow directions is a complex task
that requires explicit instruction, and the mastery of this skill involves
vocabulary development, mental flexibility, and attention to details, listening
skills, receptive language skills, verbal reasoning, and expressive language
skills (Warren, 2011).
But are the words
STAY AT HOME difficult to follow?
When persons have
trouble following directions, they often encounter the annoyance and
frustration of others. In fact, a true misunderstanding can even result in ridicule
and sanctions.
Despite dire warnings
about the exponential growth of COVID-19 cases we can expect in lieu of
stringent social distancing efforts, reports continue to come out of people
carrying on with life as usual — lazing outside and having gatherings.
Social psychologist Vanessa
K. Bohns (2020) mentions that the vast majority of the people who are defying
calls for social distancing are not doing so because they don’t care about
other people. Rather, they are doing so because they don’t realize the
influence their actions will have on others. They are trapped in their own
heads, looking out at what is going on in the world around them, and failing to
recognize their own role in it. She underscores EGOCENTRIC deeds as the main
culprit.
Baruch Fischhoff, a
professor at Carnegie Mellon University who studies human judgment and decision
making, had a handful of potential answers. First: “There are very few reported
cases in most places, so maybe people [think], ‘This is still not here yet,’”
he said. “If you haven’t been following the fact that we haven’t been testing
[very much], you might not realize how deceiving the reported cases are.” He
mentioned research suggesting that the human brain is well adapted to recording
how often specific numbers are reported, but not as well adapted to
understanding when those numbers might not be representative of reality.
Now that the
supposedly COVID-19-free Caraga Region has reported its first case, a certain
hush is in the local atmosphere. People might follow the features of an
Enhanced Community Quarantine.
But is it really the
main reason or something else?
Most of those who are
outside are looking for a living. There are people who can be hungry if they do
not go out and work. Although the government is doing a lot of measures to
support the poor, it is incapable of doing a swift job due to prior weak
processes like profiling. Also, the different departments assigned for the task
are either understaffed or unskilled to dole out the needed amount to augment
the daily needs of those who do not have stable jobs.
Philippine President
Rodrigo Duterte said he's inclined to extend a lockdown of more than half the
country's population on its main island until April 30, 2020 to further stem the
corona virus outbreak. Mr Duterte, in an address late on Monday (April 6, 2020), also
said he's considering tweaking this year's 4.1 trillion peso (S$115.90 billion)
budget to allocate more funds to virus response, as some 200 billion pesos set
aside for cash grants to poor families won't be enough (straitstimes.com). The
other regions can follow suit.
The president
repeatedly mentioned the request to STAY AT HOME!
Social distancing is
the only way to slow the spread of this disease, and that means we’re all made
responsible. “If we don’t change our behavior now, the disease will spread
faster and our healthcare system will be overwhelmed.” Leana Wen (2020) warns
that, as a result, “that would cause a lot more harm and a lot more deaths.”
Consequently, very
few people think they need to follow directions. But, in fact, following orders effectively is
something that very few of us do. It's
not because it is so difficult. Most of
us have just never developed the habits that would make us effective followers.
True learning
experiences should somehow change the individual—and these experiences
cropping-up every day are springboards of people to follow orders from the
authorities.
Leaders must also
consider these facts so that effective movements and equitable services will be
delivered in abnormal situations like a pandemic.
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