CONTRIBUTION
Equal treatment of students needed
I find it a sad fact that the quality students produced by the Philippine Education systems are fast declining. Some 20-30 years ago, to be called an "iskolar ng bayan" was indeed a great title to wear. At present, students often go to school for various reasons other than to learn. Many, with the exception of the few, go to school mainly to get away from home, to display their latest gadgets and sometimes just to fool around. These youths are just wasting their time. Each year the number of authentic students whose aim in life is to have a better future is dwindling. Majority of these students go to school with high aspiration of leaving the country and seek employment in other countries. What happened to the "makabayan" mentality? The idealism to serve the country, I think, is down the drain now. The government in a way has something to do with this. If only our long dead national heroes can see what is going on in the country, to which they had given their lives, they would be rolling in their graves out of being angry to the situation.
The teachers can be partially blamed for the decline of the quality of education. Partially because we cannot totally blame these poor teachers when they only get small wages just enough to feed and take care of themselves. The salary condition is a big demoralizing factor for these teachers. Also, the fact that the corruption-infested Department of Education, in connivance with the other dirty politicians, makes all the policies worsens the teachers' conditions. Hence, I cannot blame these teachers if they tend to look for sidelines or other income earning schemes during their duty hours. No wonder there are some teachers who include making money from the students themselves either by selling them stuff or even to the point of selling them their grades.
These pitiful situation negatively affect the growth of the students especially the young children who are most vulnerable. These young students are exposed to corruption at an early age in their very own classrooms that they carry these experiences with them when they grow up. One classic example of this effect is when the students are witnessing preferential treatment by their teacher to those rich kids. Their young minds would learn that whoever has money will be treated well. This experience alone can develop the ideas in these young minds that corruption is okay because it can bring you money which can give you all what you need in life like respect and attention from other people. Another common negative result of this is that children who are intelligent but have no money usually are ignored by the teachers and usually not given chance to excel; only few of those have the courage and the right mind set to fight the system. Many who absorbed these negativities eventually come out as dumb and useless person in the society. Many lose self reliance and faith in them, while many end up lives of self defeating and hopelessness. Most, if not all, usually quit school and end up wasting their lives away.
In my personal experience I always been tagged as dumb even if I can beat most of the teachers' pets when it comes to trivial questions and other academics, even sports. I even tried out once for the school quiz team but I was declined not because I am dumb but because of the fact that I did not have money to pay for my fare to the competition venue. I was even deprived of honors and other merits due to many various reasons my teachers would make up. They would even use my hand writing against me, that according to them is so bad like chicken scratches. They usually just gave me a passing grade because they know they cannot fail me with my work. Besides I am not writing a novel anyway like what most honor students do, just go around the bushes and their works full of empty ideas. Just because they can write smoothly and on a fine piece of paper with perfumed ink sometimes, they get high grades. I just told myself it’s only I who can make my life better.
If only teachers can realize that they are the ones molding the future of the country, I think that they would be more equal and fair in treating their students. I cannot blame them any further because they are also victims of the bad society we are all in. There are still good teachers out there who consider teaching and helping the students learn as their main priority in life. It is a sad fact though that the teaching profession will not make any teacher rich like the nursing career; like any other jobs it just pays enough. It's up to the person if he is going to accept that challenge of being a teacher or chicken out and misrepresent the teaching profession by doing illegal things. Teachers, on the other hand, should be given support by the government and the Department of Education should be rid of corruption. Paano ka nga makapagtuturo ng maayos kung ang tiyan mo ay kumakalam sa gutom? A society that teaches its youth the wrong things is a society that eventually is killing its very own future.