Honesty… A Lonely Word? December 10, 2008

School days will soon be over. In the Philippine educational system, the school year closes with the traditional achievement tests given to students and pupils to measure just how much they learned during the current school year and to measure the effectiveness of teaching and the teaching-learning process.

Personally, I have nothing against this achievement tests if results are derived out of honest achievements. But most often than not, the corruption that is all too evident in government has wormed its way into the educational system as well— that same system which supposedly molds the minds of the youth to become good leaders and productive citizens in the future.

When I was still a student, I have heard my teachers instructing us to share our answers with others who are slow learners so we get a high rating in the achievement test. Back then, I didn’t take much notice. I wasn’t overly confident but I didn’t even try to cheat. If I knew the answers, good. If not, I suffered the consequences by getting low scores. I did the same thing until I graduated in college. When I took the Board Exams, it was still the same “try my best” thing. I made it with fairly good marks without copying from my seat mates. I am trying to pass the same value to my daughter. I tell her to be honest in every test, no matter how she fares. I have told her that an honest zero will always be better than a stolen perfect score. I don’t drive her to achieve more than she possibly can because I want her to enjoy her studies and not make it a burden. But it seems that what I have sown in her, honesty in tests, have been a bit tampered by her teachers — and all because of the quest of a teacher’s lifetime: to make an impressive mark during achievement tests.

I am a teacher too, but I have never ever asked my students to sell their souls to the devil just so I could make a favorable impression to my superiors. I haven’t made it to the top of the ranks. There were years when I was at the bottom, but I graciously accepted the verdict because it was my students’ honest performance. But if all teachers payed the game fair and square, will I still have ranked lowest? During the last meeting that we had in preparation for tomorrow’s Regional Achievement Test, our head clearly implied that we know what we should do to ensure high ranks when the result will be posted. I told him, “Sir, so we have to sacrifice morality in exchange for mock academic excellence?” He said it’s all up to us. Oh well, this is a free country and I choose the road less taken. He tells us that teachers whose students get a mean score of below 35% will undergo training all over again. Fine, I say.

Numbers, they say, don’t lie. But in times like these, I can safely say that they do. Mean scores don’t stand for the real achievements of students…for if the high mean scores weren’t achieved through fraudulent means, the educational quality of this country wouldn’t have been as pathetic as it is at present.

I am not washing my hands because I am a part of the system and whatever stain the system has, I have also been indirectly smeared by it. I am just a pissed off at having to hear from my daughter that to copy from a seat mate is acceptable if it is to ensure a high mark in the achievement tests.

Ah, honesty… where hast thou gone???

Better Teach A Cat To Speak… Will It Ever Learn? December 10, 2008

A history teacher was preparing for the day’s lesson about Ancient Mesopotamia. Because no good books are available, the teacher printed pictures from the computer the day before — visual aids for topics she was yet to introduce to her classes.

Finally, the bell rang to signal the start of classes. Students soon filled the hallway and entered her classroom …and the session for the day began.

The teacher was excited and of course, confident that everything will turn out right because she has prepared for the day’s lesson.

“Good afternoon, dear students,” the teacher cheerfuly asked.

“Good afternoon, ma’am.” replied the students.

“How are you today?” the teacher asked, attempting to establish rapport with her students.

Most of the students answered, “Oh, fine, ma’am!”

“Does that mean everyone’s ready for today’s lesson?”

“Yes, ma’am!”, the students readily replied.

Confident with her preparation and further motivated by the students’ evident enthusiasm, the teacher started her day’s session.

“Yesterday, we discussed about the Age of Metals. As a review, who among you can name the metals that were discovered by the early humans?”

A student raised his hand. It was Doliver.

“Yes, Doliver,” acknowledged the teacher.

“The metals discovered by the earliest humans were copper, bronze and iron.” Doliver answered.

“Very good, Doliver!” was the teacher’s comment. “You are correct. You really took note of yesterday’s lesson. “

“You have been discussing about metals in your Chemistry class. In Chemistry, you have learned that matter are could be in the liquid, gas, or solid phases. And you must also have learned that most metals are solid… but are all metals in the solid phase?

The class was clearly confused. Some answered yes, some answered no and majority just gave the teacher a blank stare…

So as not to waste time, the teacher just supplied the information instead.” Not all metals are solid. There is, in fact, one well-known metal in the liquid phase. The name of this metal starts with the letter M.”

Kenneth, another vibrant student, raised his hand,” Oh, I know what that metal is, ma’am. it’s Manganese !”

The teacher’s expression changed from serious to playful. Instead of getting angry, she told Kenneth, “Of course not, Kenneth. We are not talking about manganese here.”

Kenneth scratched his head, sheepishly smiled and went back to his seat. Cricyl, who was sitting at the back, raised her hand. The teacher called her, ” OK, Cricyl. Go ahead… What’s your answer?”

Confidently, the girl said, “Mercury!”

“Very good, Cricyl. Your answer is correct!” said the teacher. “Mercury is the metal we are talking about in here. And you know what, class, mercury is used in a particular medical instrument. This instrument is used to measure temperature. Do you know what this is?

The class, once again, became quiet. Not one of the students wanted to say a word.

To give a clue, the teacher rephrased the question, “What do you put in your underarm when you have fever so you will know your temperature? “

The ever vibrant Kenneth raised his hand again.

“Yes, Kenneth, what do you put on your underarm when you have fever so you will know your temperature?” said the teacher.

“Rexona, ma’am!” Kenneth replied.

The teacher was taken aback. Rexona was an underarm deodorant!

What followed was a roar of laughter from the class. Left with no choice, the teacher laughd with them.

“No, Kenneth. What you put under your arms to get your temperature is a thermometer.. not an underarm deodorant.” the teacher informed the boy.

As soon as the class settled and the laughter died off, the teacher proceeded to introduce the intended lesson… about Ancient Mesopotamia.

After the necessary introductions and motivation, the teacher said,” You have already met this topic in your Second Year . So, this is but a sort of review. I bet everyone is very much well versed with the topic… Anyone here who can tell me what he/ she remembers about Ancient Mesopotamia?”

Everyone seemed unsure all of a sudden. None of the students would look at the teacher in the eye.

Thinking he was right, Pwpito, a tall and lanky student gave an answer, ” A kind of polygon, ma’am!”

Oh, my God! Ancient Mesopotamia? A kind of polygon?

The teacher felt funny and sick all of a sudden. But instead of bursting into an angry tirade, she just smiled, her face showing a lot of different expressions. Sensing the situation the teacher was in, the class, once again, broke into a roar of laughter, including Pepito.

Amidst comic antics and all, the teacher, so as not to demoralize the students who apparently had no idea what the discussion was all about, provided her students with necessary information and proceeded with her lesson, hoping that everything will turn out right this time.

And things did turn out right… for a while.

The discussion finally moved forward with the teacher doing most of the talking while the students sat sleepily on their seats… To do away with the monotony, every once in a while, the poor teacher asked questions for the students to react to. The discussion was relatively smoothsailing until the topic veered off to the contributions of Ancient Mesopotamia.

The teacher said, “One of the contributions of Ancient Mesopotamia is the cuneiform system of writing. Historians claim that it is one of the first, if not the first system of writing ever invented. This writing composed mainly of pictographs engraved on clay tablets…. do you have any idea what clay tablets are?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Bryan said.

“So, what is a clay tablet, Bryan?”

“Paracetamol!” the student proudly answered.

My goodness! Paracetamol???!!! What does paracetamol have to do with clay tablets?

Whew! What a teaching experience! And I know the story by heart because I am that teacher and that story is my story. And to think that I meet this situation almost everyday….