My Education in the Philippines

From The Manila Times:

On Thursday Rep. Mary Ann Susano of Quezon City submitted a bill [HB 4370] adjusting the school calendar from June through March to September through June.

This is quite a string of thought since this quote was from an article dealing with an approaching typhoon and is barely connected to what I have to say.

The last time I was in the Philippines was in the summer/fall of 2003 when I participated in MSU's Study Abroad Program and went to UPLB. Before making my application to Study Abroad, I was planning to take a heavy summer session load plus a heavy fall load so that I could graduate on time. I was supposed to have graduated in May 2004. UPLB's semesters are staggered from MSU's. So it started in the middle of MSU's summer session and ended in the middle of MSU's fall semester. That meant that I would only be able to do one semester's worth of credit in the Philippines when I could have done two in America. I went to UPLB anyways and I have never regretted it. I came in during the rainy/typhoon season (hence the article.) Let me tell you-- thank god for typhoons (hurricanes for us who live by the Atlantic.) With the weather in the Philippines going from the low 80's to low 90's, typhoons brought down the temps for a little while. Two of them came by when I was there and I got to enjoy some comfy 70's for a little while.

In 1987, I moved to the Philippines where I went to school at Beehive Elementary in San Fernando, LaUnion. It was a private school and I had to wear these dorky uniforms. Nah, they weren't so bad... they were green and white (hmm... what a coincidence). Checkered and solid patterns. Anyways, students there are two years ahead of American students. They graduate at grade 10 versus our grade 12. When I got there, I was such a dumbass. In fact, I'm confident that I never passed. I think they graduated me just because I was the foreigner that they felt sorry for. Yet... I owe them a jump start on my academic studies. My grades pre-Philippines were pretty poor but when I got back, they shot straight up. When I enrolled at North Elementary in Mountain Home, ID I was ahead of my classmates. With that jumpstart, I continued to be at the top until I caught senioritis during my sophomore year. Then it just went downhill from there.

Back to the blurb. I think it's a good idea to adjust the semesters. I wonder what they think about it over there.

Comments

mell ditangco (this is my pseudonym) said…
:) quite a story you have there.

although Philippine academics are stricter and more disciplined compared to the US, it stiffles your creativity.
Sat Jun 04, 01:55:00 AM EDT
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meet Bob

Image
 I ordered my Ford Escape PHEV on October 13, 2022 and I finally took delivery on September 1, 2023. h/t to my salesman Meet Bob. Actually, I thought I would come up with a better name since my last car was named Patty because I got her on St. Patrick's Day. But after spending about three minutes trying to think of something clever, I threw in the towel and settled on Bob. So this is a base model PHEV. It doesn't have things like a heads up display, 360 degree camera, premium audio system, etc. Mind you, I came from a base fiesta. Patty had roll-down windows and didn't even have cruise control. This is a very big upgrade for me. A little over two weeks in, I've hit 1,000 miles. I've tried to force some non-ev time. I'm not sure what kind of engine break in is needed for this. I figured I should do some of that and get its first oil change before I head down to Florida with it in November. So far, just one and one-quarter tanks of gas used. Averaging 86 mpg. Most
Read more

Be fruitful and multiply...by ten.

Some coworkers and I were talking about that lady in Arkansas that just delivered her 17th child. The Associated Press announced the good news a couple days ago and I remembered the family from the Discovery Channel . The Duggar family had been the subject of a number of specials dealing with large families. They are especially memorable given that the number of kids as well as their, well, peculiar lifestyle. The people that I was talking to balked at the idea of having that many kids with a few of them openly calling the Duggar parents crazy. I have to admit, I think that they are little bonkers in the head too. But you know, that’s cool on the other hand too. And it’s actually impressive that they are able to afford to have such a large family. There are some parts of me that would like to have a large family. (My definition of large stops at five kids just so you know.) But their criticisms largely used the Duggars' religious faith. From what this article indicated, they are pa
Read more

Whatever happened to the Queer Golden Rule?

Image
Wow, Tyler Whitney is popping up all over the gay blogging circuit but the rest of America doesn’t care. Mr. Whitney is an 18 year old staffer for a Republican candidate for President. He was outed. This has caused a little firestorm amongst the gay bloggies with many calling this guy a bigot, an a-hole, and even worse. The way some people have responded to this, Mr. Whitney is fit to be tied to the stake and burned for not being a good little gay. I do not deny that Mr. Whitney has done some pretty offensive stuff. Carrying anti-gay placards that aren’t even fit to be called “homophobic” certainly strikes points against him. However, as I read more about him the more I genuinely feel the need to reach out and hug him. Because I know that he has got to be feeling pretty alone. He’s getting grief from two communities who are openly hostile to which he belongs -conservatives and gays. I have to ask though, is he really deserving of such scorn? Look, his “crime” is working for an
Read more