this title may be reused. i have many of them. but here's something i just read today, from How Computer Games Help Children Learn by David Williamson Shaffer:
Young people in the United States today are being prepared - in school and at home- for standardized jobs in a world that will, very soon, punish those who can't innovate. Our government and our schools have made a noble effort to leave no child behind: to ensure, through standardized testing, that all children make adequate yearly progress in basic reading and math skills. But we can't "skill and drill" our way to innovation. Standardized testing produces standardized skills. Our standars-driven cirriculim, especially in our urban schools, is not preparing children to be innovators at the highest technical levels that will pay off most in a high-tech, global economy.
Well some may feel the ideas are out of context, as this is an American writer referring to an American system, but keep in mind that our own educational system is based on that of the Americans.
Making this more relevant for me is the fact that the school where I used to teach modeled itself after the Americans and implemented whatever findings it could that were based on the Western models. I generally approve of new ideas, new theories, but in their implementation one must learn to localize. Need a good metaphor? Look at the tanks that fill up with sand and become dead weight in desert settings? that tank would have mowed people down and blown up buildings elsewhere, but in the desert it's just a big heap of metal if the sand gets into the machinery. So if we are to implement innovative ideas from elsewhere, then they should be implemented with a strong understanding of context.
i said this a lot. and i got in trouble for many things. ah well.
these ideas also caught my eye because my school of former employment was also wacky over standardized testing. test here, test there, table of specs, diagnostics, achievement tests, whatever whatever whatever, but then aside from not many students testing well, outside of the testing sphere there wasn't much that they could really accomplish in terms of thinking out of the box and solving real problems or understanding real contexts.
I believe that this world we live in, it's different. The world changes but people are the same. So we have to educate, we have to adapt, we have to learn with all these things in mind, with all the contexts that we occupy and must understand. And being given a list of what we ought to know on a very mechanical level, and answering tests that show students can perform those basic functions and that teachers can teach those basic functions just doesn't cut it. In the age of information we should be striving for more, we should be better.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Reformat/Unemployment and the Price of Gas
I'm going to be changing the format of my blog. What's happened is that I would update sporadically and make long posts. Now I'll be going for shorter posts and more frequency. Let's see how it goes.
So the first post in the new format has to do with economics, which means that though I shoot for brevity, this may be long despite the change in format.
Well, I've got no work til June. No employee work anyway. I am on the prowl for rackets though, as is Cha, who resigned a few weeks after I did. So we're both down to our last pay checks and clinging on to the hope that we can stop spending and thus hold out until the final pay we'll receive gets to us. But this week sees us visiting Serendra twice and that's a wallop in terms of gas sadly. I had not really been watching the gas trends until I started splitting gas costs with Cha. Seeing the thing hit 47 was crazy. We were getting a full tank of gas and what was formerly 1200 went on going and going. We cringed waiting for the thing to top out and it just wouldn't, that price kept rising til it got to near 1700. This and the other option of commuting looking similarly unsavory as there seems to be a looming fare increase that is supposedly going to make it 9 bucks for basic.
What does this bode for us? Everyone's screaming crisis and I am inclined to join that line. Cost of rice is crazy and going to the groceries, man, i mean, just buying a few cuts of meat costs an arm and a leg. But a good economy thrives on a good balance of savings and consumption. How will we save, and how will we consume, if everything's so expensive. I'm inclined to try and stay at home as much as possible to save money. besides it costs so much to just leave the house anyway.
but aside from complaining we have to start asking for tangible answers to these problems that are hitting us over the head. how do we address the food problem? many of the reasons behind it are ones that are very difficult to face, for example overpopulation. or how about the consumption of first world countries? and while we're talking about excessive consumption anyhow, we best mention fuel and first world countries and everyone with their SUVs. we need better options.
i though of getting an electronic motorcycle. but charging time takes 6 hours. and it'll only run for 1 hour. and only at 20 mph max. that's just plain inefficient. so we need to be offered options that work within the contexts of our lives.
who will answer these questions? who will address the various problems at various levels of society? do the decision makers for example take into account the tricycles and how much they pollute? but how they are also a necessity in many communities. What's to be done? Subsidized transportation? like the MRT which has many flaws and though i'm happy with it is the subject of many complaints.
when will we get answers?
So the first post in the new format has to do with economics, which means that though I shoot for brevity, this may be long despite the change in format.
Well, I've got no work til June. No employee work anyway. I am on the prowl for rackets though, as is Cha, who resigned a few weeks after I did. So we're both down to our last pay checks and clinging on to the hope that we can stop spending and thus hold out until the final pay we'll receive gets to us. But this week sees us visiting Serendra twice and that's a wallop in terms of gas sadly. I had not really been watching the gas trends until I started splitting gas costs with Cha. Seeing the thing hit 47 was crazy. We were getting a full tank of gas and what was formerly 1200 went on going and going. We cringed waiting for the thing to top out and it just wouldn't, that price kept rising til it got to near 1700. This and the other option of commuting looking similarly unsavory as there seems to be a looming fare increase that is supposedly going to make it 9 bucks for basic.
What does this bode for us? Everyone's screaming crisis and I am inclined to join that line. Cost of rice is crazy and going to the groceries, man, i mean, just buying a few cuts of meat costs an arm and a leg. But a good economy thrives on a good balance of savings and consumption. How will we save, and how will we consume, if everything's so expensive. I'm inclined to try and stay at home as much as possible to save money. besides it costs so much to just leave the house anyway.
but aside from complaining we have to start asking for tangible answers to these problems that are hitting us over the head. how do we address the food problem? many of the reasons behind it are ones that are very difficult to face, for example overpopulation. or how about the consumption of first world countries? and while we're talking about excessive consumption anyhow, we best mention fuel and first world countries and everyone with their SUVs. we need better options.
i though of getting an electronic motorcycle. but charging time takes 6 hours. and it'll only run for 1 hour. and only at 20 mph max. that's just plain inefficient. so we need to be offered options that work within the contexts of our lives.
who will answer these questions? who will address the various problems at various levels of society? do the decision makers for example take into account the tricycles and how much they pollute? but how they are also a necessity in many communities. What's to be done? Subsidized transportation? like the MRT which has many flaws and though i'm happy with it is the subject of many complaints.
when will we get answers?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The Failed Experiment
I suppose that this entry should be longer and might become a full blown essay, but it seems right to put something here and now. It's over.
After two years of teaching high school, I've resigned. With the myriad conflicts that I've faced, it's a wonder that I lasted this long. It wasn't a well-thought out thing to begin with, but then very few things that I do are. It was a good idea at the time. So I started teaching in an exclusive girls' school. I thought, hey I'm done with the crazy days of my life, I'm ready to settle down and become part of a system, to try and do something important by teaching.
Well, system wasn't ready for me. And no matter how much I tried to avoid trouble and keep my head down, I was always getting into trouble. One case after another, one even leading to "anger management" sessions while the actual students who perpetrated the whole shenanigan got away with nary a slap on the wrist. Complaints about my behavior which was irreverent led to many uncomfortable meetings. I don't know; it's like those cowboy movies (and please, kung pwede lang, if I make mention of cowboy movies can we not fall into that stupid too easy trap where one mentions brokeback mountain and winks as if he were a genius for injecting some homoerotic humor that is not there) where this guy just wants to go out to a quiet town and keep his head down and do honest work and disappear. But then, some way or another, something comes to haunt him, to bring out that thing that he's been trying to keep quiet. Think of Viggo Mortensen in A History of Violence and you've got a similar idea.
I thought I could keep quiet and just do my work. But there are too many things that I could not stomach, and I just can't keep my big mouth shut. You can try to change yourself, you can try to change the system, and if both fail, well, you have to leave the system.
What kept me here last year was the way that I felt I was able to affect students, to influence them to do well using my own methods, my way of teaching. But this year, the students' reactions aren't as enthusiastic. In fact, though there are a number that have responded, I feel that I've been met more with resounding indifference. The big bosses in charge also seem to have clamped down, and I've just done too many bad things for this fiasco to go on.
The question is always, where will you go now? What do you plan to do? I don't know.
At the moment I really want to stand outside the school and scream *&%^ #*# all! It would be a moment of great catharsis. For all that I have endured, for everything that I went through while here, god i feel like I deserve to do something massive and memorable and big. But I think I'll leave with little more than a whimper, just to be gone.
Goodbye students. No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks. School's out for summer. School's out forever.
After two years of teaching high school, I've resigned. With the myriad conflicts that I've faced, it's a wonder that I lasted this long. It wasn't a well-thought out thing to begin with, but then very few things that I do are. It was a good idea at the time. So I started teaching in an exclusive girls' school. I thought, hey I'm done with the crazy days of my life, I'm ready to settle down and become part of a system, to try and do something important by teaching.
Well, system wasn't ready for me. And no matter how much I tried to avoid trouble and keep my head down, I was always getting into trouble. One case after another, one even leading to "anger management" sessions while the actual students who perpetrated the whole shenanigan got away with nary a slap on the wrist. Complaints about my behavior which was irreverent led to many uncomfortable meetings. I don't know; it's like those cowboy movies (and please, kung pwede lang, if I make mention of cowboy movies can we not fall into that stupid too easy trap where one mentions brokeback mountain and winks as if he were a genius for injecting some homoerotic humor that is not there) where this guy just wants to go out to a quiet town and keep his head down and do honest work and disappear. But then, some way or another, something comes to haunt him, to bring out that thing that he's been trying to keep quiet. Think of Viggo Mortensen in A History of Violence and you've got a similar idea.
I thought I could keep quiet and just do my work. But there are too many things that I could not stomach, and I just can't keep my big mouth shut. You can try to change yourself, you can try to change the system, and if both fail, well, you have to leave the system.
What kept me here last year was the way that I felt I was able to affect students, to influence them to do well using my own methods, my way of teaching. But this year, the students' reactions aren't as enthusiastic. In fact, though there are a number that have responded, I feel that I've been met more with resounding indifference. The big bosses in charge also seem to have clamped down, and I've just done too many bad things for this fiasco to go on.
The question is always, where will you go now? What do you plan to do? I don't know.
At the moment I really want to stand outside the school and scream *&%^ #*# all! It would be a moment of great catharsis. For all that I have endured, for everything that I went through while here, god i feel like I deserve to do something massive and memorable and big. But I think I'll leave with little more than a whimper, just to be gone.
Goodbye students. No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks. School's out for summer. School's out forever.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
God Rocks!/ Recessions EP
With my brother's arrival comes my guitar hero 3 and les paul controller. Woohoo. And hence the title God rocks. I've unlocked the God of Rock, and well, it's pretty awesome watching him churn out the riffs.
For the record, i'm not very good at guitar hero. I can pull off a few songs, sure, but i'm still workin on it, needing the practice. It's, funnily enough, got nothing to do with how you play real guitar, except for keeping in time. But nonetheless, it's a helluva lot of fun. and as always the songs you get to play to are killer, some from the ancient baul of rock. Sad thing is that the contemporary rock just doesn't measure up. Rock out to Metallica's "One" and "Welcome to the Jungle" or even "My Name is Jonas" or "Even Flow" and the stuff that's from the past coupe of years really fails to measure up. Here I go again bashing contemporary rock, but hey, it's just not happening like it used to.
Like a relationship, when it's not happening anymore either you find something to bring the passion back (which rock isn't doing) or you wind up looking elsewhere (like I look to hip-hop, or look nostalgically back at the time when rock knew how to, well, rock).
This discontent with contemporary music served as some of the fuel for playing with Chupacabras. OF course easy is an outstanding songwriter, and anyone would like to work with someone like him. But there was also our clear vision of rock and what we wanted to sound like. As I always mention, the band's still finishing the album, but angel radio has regular gigs. Two this week, tuesday at magnet katipinan, friday at magnet high street.
And as a side project to the side project, Cha and I did this EP thing for school. Faculty has to come up with artwork, so we did a garage recording with the help of student Justine Serrano who did all the tech recording and mixing and everything for us. We're calling it Recessions since we recorded almost all of it during the recess and lunch breaks. There are only about 30 copies, but we hope that we can sell them all. What we did was we just took some songs from the angel radio playlist and recorded them in a very raw way. It's so raw that you can hear the ambient sounds like electric fans in the neighboring room and the loud laughter of students from across the way. If we could, we would've come out with something studio sounding, but we made do with what we had, and it was a fun experience. I'd listen to it. But hey I made it.
Last new development is the fact that i'm typing this entry on my brand spanking new asus eee. I could never afford a laptop before, and this isn't much of one in terms of power, but then it's pretty functional and I can't complain at all as it's been serving me well the past couple of days and helping me get a lot of writing done.
For the record, i'm not very good at guitar hero. I can pull off a few songs, sure, but i'm still workin on it, needing the practice. It's, funnily enough, got nothing to do with how you play real guitar, except for keeping in time. But nonetheless, it's a helluva lot of fun. and as always the songs you get to play to are killer, some from the ancient baul of rock. Sad thing is that the contemporary rock just doesn't measure up. Rock out to Metallica's "One" and "Welcome to the Jungle" or even "My Name is Jonas" or "Even Flow" and the stuff that's from the past coupe of years really fails to measure up. Here I go again bashing contemporary rock, but hey, it's just not happening like it used to.
Like a relationship, when it's not happening anymore either you find something to bring the passion back (which rock isn't doing) or you wind up looking elsewhere (like I look to hip-hop, or look nostalgically back at the time when rock knew how to, well, rock).
This discontent with contemporary music served as some of the fuel for playing with Chupacabras. OF course easy is an outstanding songwriter, and anyone would like to work with someone like him. But there was also our clear vision of rock and what we wanted to sound like. As I always mention, the band's still finishing the album, but angel radio has regular gigs. Two this week, tuesday at magnet katipinan, friday at magnet high street.
And as a side project to the side project, Cha and I did this EP thing for school. Faculty has to come up with artwork, so we did a garage recording with the help of student Justine Serrano who did all the tech recording and mixing and everything for us. We're calling it Recessions since we recorded almost all of it during the recess and lunch breaks. There are only about 30 copies, but we hope that we can sell them all. What we did was we just took some songs from the angel radio playlist and recorded them in a very raw way. It's so raw that you can hear the ambient sounds like electric fans in the neighboring room and the loud laughter of students from across the way. If we could, we would've come out with something studio sounding, but we made do with what we had, and it was a fun experience. I'd listen to it. But hey I made it.
Last new development is the fact that i'm typing this entry on my brand spanking new asus eee. I could never afford a laptop before, and this isn't much of one in terms of power, but then it's pretty functional and I can't complain at all as it's been serving me well the past couple of days and helping me get a lot of writing done.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
lyrical ruminations
This was a hell of a week. Went as follows: Premier, gig, premier, gig, meeting for hiphop movie. Saturday was a small respite followed by today which I spent most of hammering out a scene breakdown of the film. I've still got a review to write later and a short story that's been commissioned and due for the end of feb. Oh, and i'm waiting for those submissions from all of you interested in writing for 1-Up.
It's weird that I'm working on a hip-hop film. It's something I've always enjoyed. No doubt if you catch a chupacabraz gig (yes I know there's a scarcity these days) you'll see our love for hip hop rear its head. It's interesting though that Cha told me the other day that by looking at me you'd never think that I knew a lot about hip hop or listened to rap. music afficionado, yes, hip hop scholar, no.
Brings back memories of those first few days in this country when I was asked the ever crucial, dividing line question of the time, hip hop ka ba, o metal?
At the time, hip hop. And things changed. Still today i've got a strong inclination to listen to hip hop along with everything i'm listening to. Granted i'm overdosing on the boss and bob dylan. But I'm also rocking out to kanye and common.
One of the guys i'm working on the hip hop project with hooked me up with some Stephen Marley, which is some pretty good stuff. And i've been listening to blue scholars and lupe fiasco. Man, lupe fiasco's daydream (i think that's the title) is such an awesome track, through and through, and it makes a powerful statement about pop music.
blue scholars is some mind-blowing hiphop. If you are disgusted by the senselessness of hiphop on the radio, (God save us all from sean kingston, akon, and soulja boy) then it's time to start digging blue scholars' rhymes. They're intelligent, socially aware, and know how to lay down awesome beats like no other. For those interested, i've posted a couple of videos on my multiply. Screw the social justice blah blah i'm made to teach. If only I could pop in some blue scholars and let them do the talking, maybe, maybe something might get through. Oh, another one of those selling points, they're pinoy! well, at least the rapper is anyway. too bad that we don't pay as much attention to him as other pinoy hip hop artists who barely measure up artistically.
in terms of social awareness and the like, i always fall back on springsteen and his ability to portray the plight of his countrymen with a concern and love that is rare. i'm not the only one to pick up on this, and i've just gotten a book called bruce springsteen's america which shows how non-fans and various people have responded to springsteen's music. it's really interesting stuff. written by pullitzer prize winner robert coles, it gives voice to those listeners whose voices springsteen emulates. it also situates him in the pantheon of american poetry, with coles comparing springsteen to walt whitman and william carlos williams.
It's weird that I'm working on a hip-hop film. It's something I've always enjoyed. No doubt if you catch a chupacabraz gig (yes I know there's a scarcity these days) you'll see our love for hip hop rear its head. It's interesting though that Cha told me the other day that by looking at me you'd never think that I knew a lot about hip hop or listened to rap. music afficionado, yes, hip hop scholar, no.
Brings back memories of those first few days in this country when I was asked the ever crucial, dividing line question of the time, hip hop ka ba, o metal?
At the time, hip hop. And things changed. Still today i've got a strong inclination to listen to hip hop along with everything i'm listening to. Granted i'm overdosing on the boss and bob dylan. But I'm also rocking out to kanye and common.
One of the guys i'm working on the hip hop project with hooked me up with some Stephen Marley, which is some pretty good stuff. And i've been listening to blue scholars and lupe fiasco. Man, lupe fiasco's daydream (i think that's the title) is such an awesome track, through and through, and it makes a powerful statement about pop music.
blue scholars is some mind-blowing hiphop. If you are disgusted by the senselessness of hiphop on the radio, (God save us all from sean kingston, akon, and soulja boy) then it's time to start digging blue scholars' rhymes. They're intelligent, socially aware, and know how to lay down awesome beats like no other. For those interested, i've posted a couple of videos on my multiply. Screw the social justice blah blah i'm made to teach. If only I could pop in some blue scholars and let them do the talking, maybe, maybe something might get through. Oh, another one of those selling points, they're pinoy! well, at least the rapper is anyway. too bad that we don't pay as much attention to him as other pinoy hip hop artists who barely measure up artistically.
in terms of social awareness and the like, i always fall back on springsteen and his ability to portray the plight of his countrymen with a concern and love that is rare. i'm not the only one to pick up on this, and i've just gotten a book called bruce springsteen's america which shows how non-fans and various people have responded to springsteen's music. it's really interesting stuff. written by pullitzer prize winner robert coles, it gives voice to those listeners whose voices springsteen emulates. it also situates him in the pantheon of american poetry, with coles comparing springsteen to walt whitman and william carlos williams.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Before Chinese Democracy
It's getting pretty tough to answer the question, "When's the album coming out?" I attempt to cough and cover up and say, "Ahem, mmm, aherm, patapos na, ahem, ahem, cough cough." I mention it because, I think it might set a record, being second only to Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy, for most times that a release date has been moved.
Chinese Democracy is getting on around ten years and still nothing really in sight. I'm loading a supposed single from the album on youtube, but well, there's still nothing on the record rack. We've already seen most of the GnR move to superband Velvet Revolver, but that only further piques our interest in what Axl will come up with.
I get to talking about GnR because I've just picked up the greatest hits. What I've really been looking for is some 20th century anniv rerelease of Appetite for Destruction, but you take what you can get. I've been wanting to get it so that I could let Cha have a good listen.
One of the cool things about a recent party that we went to was that thanks to her exposure to Guitar Hero 3 she's gotten very very interested in heavy guitar rock. It's a cool feature in our relationship that we both love music very much, but we've been listening to very different kinds of music. Thus while she teachers me about classical music and jazz and the formal elements of music theory, I'm getting her to listen to The Beastie Boys and RATM, and GnR.
Listening to GnR brings back a lot of memories. I remember watching that concert video from Use Your Illusion over and over when I was in high school. That stuff was so awesome, it really helped to define my concept of rock and roll. Of course there are some things that are more cerebral or more technically proficient, but it's hard to find a band with the loud, raunchy, bash down the doors sound of GnR.
If anything though, this purchase of yet another greatest hits album shows the lack of great stuff at the record store. There are some beautiful albums that are out there, but they aren't sold at our local music stores (bibili na nga ng orig, wala naman dito)so there you go, another argument for piracy and downloads. And it goes to show that finding some great guitar rock is so difficult these days.
Chinese Democracy is getting on around ten years and still nothing really in sight. I'm loading a supposed single from the album on youtube, but well, there's still nothing on the record rack. We've already seen most of the GnR move to superband Velvet Revolver, but that only further piques our interest in what Axl will come up with.
I get to talking about GnR because I've just picked up the greatest hits. What I've really been looking for is some 20th century anniv rerelease of Appetite for Destruction, but you take what you can get. I've been wanting to get it so that I could let Cha have a good listen.
One of the cool things about a recent party that we went to was that thanks to her exposure to Guitar Hero 3 she's gotten very very interested in heavy guitar rock. It's a cool feature in our relationship that we both love music very much, but we've been listening to very different kinds of music. Thus while she teachers me about classical music and jazz and the formal elements of music theory, I'm getting her to listen to The Beastie Boys and RATM, and GnR.
Listening to GnR brings back a lot of memories. I remember watching that concert video from Use Your Illusion over and over when I was in high school. That stuff was so awesome, it really helped to define my concept of rock and roll. Of course there are some things that are more cerebral or more technically proficient, but it's hard to find a band with the loud, raunchy, bash down the doors sound of GnR.
If anything though, this purchase of yet another greatest hits album shows the lack of great stuff at the record store. There are some beautiful albums that are out there, but they aren't sold at our local music stores (bibili na nga ng orig, wala naman dito)so there you go, another argument for piracy and downloads. And it goes to show that finding some great guitar rock is so difficult these days.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
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