Unfolding

              Some teachers today still hold a rather peculiar view that essays are subjective and multiple-choice exams are objective. This kind of view (once taken as a sweeping view for both MCQ and essay assessment type) is a result of misalignment of what objectivity and subjectivity are in connection to the method to elicit such results. More so, using multiple-choice exams may be objective but it can also not inspire higher-thinking skills and the same can be said for those who use essays for trivial purposes.               Most teachers are afraid to conduct essay-type of exams because they do not know how to construct one that avoids the dangers of trying to rate and pit subjective answers with each other. (A rubric cannot just address the rating if the nature of the question or task is too loose.) They think as well that each student is entitled to their opinion which is also ...

People think that when they start to speak their thoughts out, they deserve respect. Respect should never be a default reaction especially when one refuses to engage in meaningful and truthful discourse. More so, such is cowardice and evidence of intellectual immaturity when they hide behind the veil of a pretentious plea for respect and freedom of expression. The freedom to express and respect are supposedly anchored on truth because civil society would disintegrate when lies become the currency of public discourse. People think that opinions are harmless, and they see those who are prepared to question them as annoying. This is because that they never see or refuse to see how opinions spill to the “practical” world. They think that arguments and conversations are the mere exchanges of mere utterances, when in fact, these are the processes to shape and dictate reality’s course. When unchecked opinions dominate the public discourse, then it would be fine to blow up statues of histori...

                Every time I have philosophy and social science-oriented classes with my college students before, I always make it a point to discuss with them the basics of social systems. Poverty is a major topic along with the facts that make it happen such as capitalism, systemic exploitation, and class struggle. The first step in my class is to break the ice of privilege by making students feel the dread of the system. I start with exposing the supply chain of sugar-related products and tying it to a documentary on the plight of the Hacienda Luisita farmers. I make them imagine all products related to sugarcane and reflect how each individual household (their own) has sugar (sometimes put to waste) and coincide it with the facts of the farmers’ blood and sweat (all hard work). I made them think carefully that the farmers receive below 10php as compensation for their weekly hard work. Moreover, add the fact that...

  I was told to not bite the hand that feeds me because I was giving raw data of actual students’ performance during the implementation of distance learning amidst the pandemic. I know that I must be considerate. Since the finals are not here yet, whatever grades that I gave were undeniably temporary because I was still hoping for those students to catch up. I mean no disrespect to the institution, but I would not lie to the system and pretend everything is fine. The problem is present, and it must be confronted. And the hand that feeds me is not the cash disbursing agent of the institution, rather it is those who are taxed. The institution simply reallocated the funds, but as to one feeding me, it is the people via tax. Thus, it is my duty to serve them well by maintaining honesty at all cost. I am at lost being a recipient of an outdated paternalistic pretentious adage of subservience. I know that our students are experiencing a huge toll and burnout in this pandemic. This refl...