school bukol + uhhh

School has started again. You see kids dragging their moms to buy the Barbie stroller bags at National Bookstore, or if not, the Ragnarok one's for the boys. They choose the notebooks with Sandara Park on the cover, or if not, Hero Angeles. Sometimes, I wonder, with all the jazz that comes with the opening of the schoolyear (oh yeah, I forgot to mention, parents slaving over their jobs just for the extra money, getting a loan from the SSS, or 5-6 people...) how come, the Philippines still has a low literacy rate?

Children, when they graduate from High school (if they ever do) or elementary, a lot of them still know not how to read or write. I wonder what's the point of sending them to school even...We babble about how education seems so important to all of us, how it is the only treasure that parents can leave to their children, but what's all they hype with the opening of classes and the expenses when no one really learns from the teachers who still sell tocino, longganisa and biko to their students (for extra income)?

I'm not from a public school, I never was. But I had a few encounters with them when I was younger. Back in grade school, we had math seminars in Quirino High School. It's in Quezon City, the teachers who taught us were, public school teachers. They taught us, we learned, so I don't think that the teachers have a problem when it comes to teaching, so do all fingers point towards the students now? Not so. The teachers, though without fault in teaching, have a problem with discipline. And well, how could undisciplined teachers ever produce disciplined students?

For example, I remember sitting in one of those classmates with one of my Jubilee classmates. We were teased for being Chinoy, always looked upon like aliens and such, there's this vague memory of a teacher telling my friend in class, "one day, my student, if you become the president, I will jump in front of everyone and say, 'estudyante ko yan, estudyante ko yan, intsik yan, intsik yan, .... beho pa'" and everyone then laughed at us... Mind you, at that moment, it was really awkward to have someone you should be respecting make fun of you...

Sabi nga nila diba? Ang bata ginagaya ang mga nakatatanda...

But it isn't all the teacher's fault, we can always add in irresponsible parents who never find the time to teach their kids (either walang oras or hindi rin sila nakapag-aral :( ), parents who spoil their children and don't send them to school when they cry, parents who simply keep on producing children without planning what they can do to better the lives of their already existing basketball team... things like that...

But individuals never liked to be blamed. I can testify to that. SO we blame the government and the government go blames God and the church and whoever comes their way. ORYT already. I'm ranting. So stop first, I haven't had sleep and I want some coffee.

Care to sit with me?