Archive for August, 2007

The Harsh Truth

Wednesday, August 29th, 2007

Everyone is aware of the standards society put to beauty. There is a standard that everyone should conform to. Aesthetic beauty and economic class seems to count most in this world.  It might not be an issue to someone who is already blessed with good looks and a good life, but I still want to share this to you and I want the world to know how much I loath society’s ”standards”.

This afternoon, I was at Dunkin’ Donuts, enjoying my cup of coffee and doughnuts after lunch while crafting my talumpati for Filipino13 class. I heard the security guard talking to somebody outside the store so I looked up and saw an old woman who looked dirty and unkempt. The guard was asking her what she wanted and the old lady said that she wanted to buy something. The guard obviously did not believe her because she looked so poor that he found it unbelievable. Fortunately, the ladies behind the counter told the guard to open the door and let her in. She had a huge smile on her face when she was finally let in and walked to the counter saying, “Mupalit ko. Naa ko’y kwarta.” while waving her folded money in the air. After purchasing a box of doughnuts,  she gleefully told the guard, “Nipalit ko noh? naa lagi ko kwarta.” Then, she was out of the store.

This is a perfect example of how harsh society is, especially to poor people. Economic class plays a big role in how the people treat you. To think the the old lady’s mere appearance played a big role in the guard’s decision not to let her in the store! How discriminating! But then, if we look at the ladies behind the counter and incorporate them into the context of the real world, I’m glad to know that some people still care and that these people exist. I wish we could have more of these people in society. 

Economic class and appearance play a big role in society today. It determines how kind or how harsh people woul treat a human being. But we don’t have to conform to these “standards”. Knowing that this is wrong and undesirable, we can still change this perception in our own little way. I’m encouraging you to break away from the mold society has set on everyone. Hopefully, we can slowly change the way the world thinks and sees.

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Forced Decisions

Friday, August 17th, 2007

An article from New York times entitled,
“Forced To Take Major in High School”, I was shocked (I think that
“shocked is an understatement here. I just can’t recall a better word
at the moment). The first question that came to mind was how on earth
can a high school freshman decide on a major?

In high school, I was looking into different career options. First,
I wanted to be a pediatrician. The next year (after I got hooked on
fashion magazines) I decided that I wanted to be a fashion designer and
stuck to it for two years. After I realized that I couldn’t even draw a
simple sketch of a gown, I gave up that dream and decided that I will
take up Medical Technology (because “playing” with test tubes and
microscopes looked cool). When I had Chemistry as a subject, I realized
that Med. Tech. is not just about the test tubes and microscopes and
slides. I hated memorizing the table of elements and computing and
drawing chemical bonds and whatnot. So, I fell back to what my family
wanted me to take up…Nursing. But after much thinking and research on
the different career options out there, I decided that nursing is just
not for me. I finally decided on Mass Communications when I got my test
results from Silliman. I wrote Masscom as my third choice (by the way,
I never considered taking up Masscom before). That was a long process
of thinking and agonizing and visualizing my future job. Now imagine a
high school freshman (probably aged around 11-14) deciding on what
he/she wants to take up. That’s pure torture.

But at Dwight Morrow High School in Bergen County, high school
freshmen are forced to think about what they want. It would take me
about 20-30 minutes every morning to decide what to wear to school!
What more a high school freshman making a decision as big as that.

“…establishing majors is a way to make their students stay
interested until graduation and stand out in the hypercompetitive
college admissions process.”

Making students stand out in the hypercompetitive college admissions
process is not a bad goal at all. It’s just that high school is
supposed to be a time for thinking things through and enjoying general
education. It’s also a time for getting to know yourself better and
trying out different versions of you before settling on a certain you
that you want to be. Plus, we wouldn’t want high school freshmen
experincing burnout in the hallowed walls of high school. Burnout is
reserved for college students and professionals only.

But then, if we look at the bright side of this situation, it’s
actually kind of cool. According to MItchell Stevens, an associate
professor of education and sociology at New York University:

“This is like the middle-class version of what affluent families
have been doing for years. They tailor academic instruction around the
needs and desires of their children in order to encourage them to do
well in school.”

It’s not a bad thing to aim for such. You’re simply giving the
children a big responsibility early on. Sarcasm aside, I really do not
approve of such a thing. Imagine if that was implemented here in the
Philippines when I was a high school freshman, I would probably be a
fashion designer at some arts school and I wouldn’t love what I’m doing
because I realized that I just appreciate fashion. I don’t want to make them.

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