Devoid, Bare

 

                                              (image:Sara Duterte FB page)

Bare. Devoid of anything.

With the issuance of DepEd Order 21, series of 2023 which is also known as the 2023 Brigada Eskwela Implementing Rules and Guidelines, a lot reacted on Section B.2 where it states: Classroom walls shall remain bare and devoid of posters, decorations or other posted materials. Classrooms should not be used to stockpile materials and should be clear of other used items or items for disposal.

Thus, Operation Baklas became the tagline of teachers on their social media posts during the duration of the schools’ maintenance week. There were those who are happy about the introduced change and, as expected, there are those who ranted.

Aside from allowing the teachers to concentrate on teaching than be busy with updating their bulletins and unit boards, are there studies relative to this mandate?

Psychology researchers Anna V. Fisher, Karrie E. Godwin and Howard Seltman of Carnegie Mellon University looked at whether classroom displays affected children’s ability to maintain focus during instruction and to learn the lesson content. They found that children in highly decorated classrooms were more distracted, spent more time off-task and demonstrated smaller learning gains than when the decorations were removed.

Rode (2022) posits: The Journal of Experimental Child Psychology that gave a group of students two cognitive tasks to complete: one in a highly-decorated classroom and one in a bare-bones classroom. Overall, the students did better surrounded by blank walls, which flew in the face of what teachers had been told for years. The study concluded that too many visual stimulants could overload a child’s brain and get in the way of their learning.

These studies are the anchorage of the new order from the department. Yet, there are those who repel change since most of us want to stay in our comfort zones. And to protect us from being pulled out of our comfortable areas, we react since we fear that we would be rejected and we dislike doing things rather than those we are comfortable with.

But then again, education is dynamic. It is a continuum. We as educators cannot just sit and allow things to happen. We are there to cope since we vowed to educate our learners.

Also, we are happy embracing these changes since we are grateful enough to have jobs which we consider as meaningful. Without the meaning in it, we can NEVER be motivated to work since we only see the comfort side of it.

Yes, we are there to TEACH. But other professions also prepare their tools prior to their main work. Scientifically, work is defined as Force multiplied by Distance. If we do not exert effort using force with movements, then what are we being paid to do?

Nothing But Gas!

 

                                                   (image:youtube.com)

Yay panhibay-anan!

There are those people who got threatened to others when they feel that they know better than them. Basic psychology tells us about insecurity, If these people are expected to lead, they then delegate and perform deflection.

Deflection is a tactic where someone avoids criticism or blame by shifting the focus or responsibility onto something or someone else.

This phenomenon happens when one over-delegates responsibilities. Leaders sometimes find delegation as an excuse when they are threatened by a task or they simply get away with the responsibility given to them.

Deflection is a psychological defense mechanism, which is essentially a way of protecting oneself from experiencing uncomfortable emotions like anxiety, pain, guilt, or distress, says Aimee Daramus, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist.

When can this thing become abusive?

When an individual uses deflection as a means of abuse, it is typically done in an effort to manipulate and control others. For example, a person who is constantly deflecting blame onto their partner for problems that they themselves are responsible for may be using this tactic as a way to maintain power over their partner (newzealandrabbiclub.net).

Deflection as a form of abuse can also take on a more insidious form. Gaslighting, for example, is a type of deflection that is specific to emotional abuse. Gaslighting is a tactic used by abusers to make their victim doubt their own feelings, memories, and perceptions.

In the end, deflection and gaslighting are primarily caused by narcissism. That is why mental health has become a worldwide issue since those who are mentally-ill seem to dominate organizations and the society.

Hungrier

 

Kinahanglan mapansin.

Ever wondered why some people want to be in the spotlight most of the time? They are not interested in events when they are just onlookers. They need to have a role to be in the limelight. They even get offended when they are not recognized.

You prioritize other things rather than what you are being paid to do. Although you see your work as meaningful and important, there are instances when you put this aside to address an unmet need. Example, you tell a lie just to attend a gathering where you feel that you are recognized. Chances are, you have this hunger for recognition or even affirmation.

Eric Berne, the one who theorized Transactional Analysis, defines recognition hunger as the need to be noticed or to receive attention and acknowledgement, which can only be supplied by another human being. It is a need for a sense of belonging and a feeling that other people know you exist in the world.

While all humans need affirmation from others, different people have different sorts of recognition hunger. Some are so internally weak; they need constant validation and applause. They seek publicity for themselves. They want to be noticed, and they ache when they are not noticed.

The hungrier they are for recognition, the weaker they are within themselves. They don’t think their life matters unless they receive constant attention, however superficial or ephemeral. It may seem odd, but it is often very true, that the most “popular” and “powerful” people are also the most lonely and insecure people [Angel, 2021].

Often, if people did not receive enough love, care, nurture, attention, protection, security, or support as a child, they seek these needs out from others. Seeking validation or approval from others or staying in a bad relationship are manifestations of this need.

Others also rely on other external means, such as materialism, throw themselves into work, over-eat or drink excessively.

Feedback from family and friends is important. But when the need persists to the point that the actions are already unhealthy, psychotherapy and counselling are deemed necessary.

Lookism

 

                                              [image: yotbe.com, tiktok.com]

Kilig!

Lately, there is a content creator named Risky Rian who is making girls swoon over his good looks. He suddenly sits beside a girl and smiles charmingly. The girl would then be charmed and smiles back with all the exhilaration there is.

Kilig according to the Urban Dictionary is an expression, reaction, or feeling that makes someone blush after an event. It is now accepted as a word paired with other English ones.

But what if the person does not have the same looks of Rian? Would the girls feel kilig over an unattractive male?

The ‘beauty bias’, or lookism, is the idea that someone is privileged because they are pretty, good looking or attractive. It’s not usually something that we talk about much, but it’s out there. Unfortunately, it means that if you don’t fit into society’s standards of beauty, or you’re not considered good looking, you could well miss out a lot [Owen, 2020].

Broadly speaking, the beauty bias concerns the favorable treatment that individuals receive when they are deemed more attractive, regardless of whether this happens consciously or unconsciously – and few individuals, let alone employers, admit to preferring to work with others based on their higher levels of attractiveness.

The poor will then be marginalized since they cannot afford cosmetics and beautiful clothes. They cannot augment their looks by plastic surgery and cannot afford moisturizers to soften their skins.

While the effects of being unattractive are arguably not as bad as discrimination based on gender, race, class, or disability, discrimination based on looks presents an injustice. However, there are certain epistemic injustices unattractive people may suffer in addition to being deprived of other social and economic goods [Mason, 2021].

Paired with the ignorance of people, we are always judged by the way we look. But then, those whose mindset are geared towards actualization, see people as they are.