it's always nice to have intelligent parents. XD

I'm just wondering- why the sudden change of heart? Whereas there was talk of lawyers and court orders- there is now a respect for a decision. What changed? And what was supposedly a school issue is now a private matter? Just wondering... .


************ ****

This parent's group was formed as a support base for the students. (There were a lot of times when I felt that the parents were going overboard. Just doing too much for the students would lessen their chance for more life experiences; delving too much into their affairs lessens their independence. I believe I've been quite vocal about that.)
Anyway, as a support base for the students, it should also complement the standards and ideals of the school, both academically and morally; upholding excellence and justice at all times.

************ ****

Schools have rules to set the standard for behavior and performance. We choose the schools we send our children to, based on the preconceived level of learning and experiences we expect the school to provide our children. Expected excellence and learning go hand in hand with rules and standards. We cannot claim to support the school if we do anything to make them lower their standards to accommodate our wishes.

************ ******

Students are given ten months worth of CHANCE to study and learn. Removals are given to those who took a bit of time and effort to do that.

************ *******

From the very first day we knew of Pisay- we knew of its standards and the pressure that would go with privilege of being scholars. From the very first letter and interview- we knew of its academic rules, the failing marks, the 1/3 rule, the IRs. I just couldn't fathom why we suddenly complain "foul" now! I think the teachers on their own realized the "unfairness" of the Math final exam, thus they changed the weight given to it. Sensible enough not to let 90% of the students fail the finals. All the noise after it just lowered the morale of the whole school, students included. If the teachers were truly tormenting the students-hindi ba nagtataka yung parents why the students are still on the side of the teachers?? Please don't forget- our children are intelligent. I just don't know the lessons this episode has imparted to them. If the result is not to your liking- cry "foul" and intimidate the authorities with the might of even higher authorities? Following the rules will teach them fairness and justice and the virtue of hard work. We as a people have not learned that from our justice system- look at Marcos and Erap and Gloria- all have stolen us blind- and not one of them behind bars. Sana naman sa loob ng paaralan- matutunan nila ito, ang hustisya- at lalong sana , na hindi sa mga magulang manggaling ang mga maling leksyon

I've just signed the petition I've sent you. it was authored by a student from batch '09. I believe most of them just want things to be "fair". Rules are rules.
What will become of rules if their implementation becomes arbitrary? And what will become of pisay?


************ ****

Maraming salamat,
Alice

---

I'm not glad that Mother has common sense. If she didn't, I would have been the one replying, which would have gotten my mouth into trouble. But it would have been fun. XD

Fair is fair. We put in four years of blood and tears and sweat for our diplomas, or at least we put in four years of trying to remember to put in blood and tears and sweat, even if it was only after playing Counter Strike or Harvest Moon. Now, it's not fair for me to say that they didn't. For all we know, maybe they did. Maybe they had problems at home we weren't privy to. Maybe they put in honest effort, only to find that they weren't good enough.

But even if you have problems, you learn to cope. Everyone has problems- if you can't get what you need to get done, you suffer the consequences. (And you don't even have to! If you're not a senior you can appeal for another chance, only to flush your grades down the proverbial toilet the next year, because they'll let you appeal a second time, and even a third! All that is asked of you is to get things done right in your last year!) If you weren't good enough, you wouldn't be in the school in the first place. If luck was on your side when you took the exam, you'd have been kicked out at least by third year. (To tell you the truth, luck isn't likely to hold out for an exam, much less for en entire school year- ask any Pisay scholar.)

The rules are unfair? Maybe. But you don't change them at the last minute, ten days before graduation- or, if you do, you don't have the new rules apply to the graduating batch. Neither do you try to get teachers students like kicked out in the process, of course, but that's beyond the point.

As William Goldman says, life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all. Only I have this strange feeling that we should be doing all we can to make it fair, especially when the rules are set and all you have to do is follow them.

it's always nice to have intelligent parents. XD

I'm just wondering- why the sudden change of heart? Whereas there was talk of lawyers and court orders- there is now a respect for a decision. What changed? And what was supposedly a school issue is now a private matter? Just wondering... .


************ ****

This parent's group was formed as a support base for the students. (There were a lot of times when I felt that the parents were going overboard. Just doing too much for the students would lessen their chance for more life experiences; delving too much into their affairs lessens their independence. I believe I've been quite vocal about that.)
Anyway, as a support base for the students, it should also complement the standards and ideals of the school, both academically and morally; upholding excellence and justice at all times.

************ ****

Schools have rules to set the standard for behavior and performance. We choose the schools we send our children to, based on the preconceived level of learning and experiences we expect the school to provide our children. Expected excellence and learning go hand in hand with rules and standards. We cannot claim to support the school if we do anything to make them lower their standards to accommodate our wishes.

************ ******

Students are given ten months worth of CHANCE to study and learn. Removals are given to those who took a bit of time and effort to do that.

************ *******

From the very first day we knew of Pisay- we knew of its standards and the pressure that would go with privilege of being scholars. From the very first letter and interview- we knew of its academic rules, the failing marks, the 1/3 rule, the IRs. I just couldn't fathom why we suddenly complain "foul" now! I think the teachers on their own realized the "unfairness" of the Math final exam, thus they changed the weight given to it. Sensible enough not to let 90% of the students fail the finals. All the noise after it just lowered the morale of the whole school, students included. If the teachers were truly tormenting the students-hindi ba nagtataka yung parents why the students are still on the side of the teachers?? Please don't forget- our children are intelligent. I just don't know the lessons this episode has imparted to them. If the result is not to your liking- cry "foul" and intimidate the authorities with the might of even higher authorities? Following the rules will teach them fairness and justice and the virtue of hard work. We as a people have not learned that from our justice system- look at Marcos and Erap and Gloria- all have stolen us blind- and not one of them behind bars. Sana naman sa loob ng paaralan- matutunan nila ito, ang hustisya- at lalong sana , na hindi sa mga magulang manggaling ang mga maling leksyon

I've just signed the petition I've sent you. it was authored by a student from batch '09. I believe most of them just want things to be "fair". Rules are rules.
What will become of rules if their implementation becomes arbitrary? And what will become of pisay?


************ ****

Maraming salamat,
Alice

---

I'm not glad that Mother has common sense. If she didn't, I would have been the one replying, which would have gotten my mouth into trouble. But it would have been fun. XD

Fair is fair. We put in four years of blood and tears and sweat for our diplomas, or at least we put in four years of trying to remember to put in blood and tears and sweat, even if it was only after playing Counter Strike or Harvest Moon. Now, it's not fair for me to say that they didn't. For all we know, maybe they did. Maybe they had problems at home we weren't privy to. Maybe they put in honest effort, only to find that they weren't good enough.

But even if you have problems, you learn to cope. Everyone has problems- if you can't get what you need to get done, you suffer the consequences. (And you don't even have to! If you're not a senior you can appeal for another chance, only to flush your grades down the proverbial toilet the next year, because they'll let you appeal a second time, and even a third! All that is asked of you is to get things done right in your last year!) If you weren't good enough, you wouldn't be in the school in the first place. If luck was on your side when you took the exam, you'd have been kicked out at least by third year. (To tell you the truth, luck isn't likely to hold out for an exam, much less for en entire school year- ask any Pisay scholar.)

The rules are unfair? Maybe. But you don't change them at the last minute, ten days before graduation- or, if you do, you don't have the new rules apply to the graduating batch. Neither do you try to get teachers students like kicked out in the process, of course, but that's beyond the point.

As William Goldman says, life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all. Only I have this strange feeling that we should be doing all we can to make it fair, especially when the rules are set and all you have to do is follow them.

panalo si Dondon. XD

Sagot niya sa post ni Tricia:

"ganito na ang turo sa pisay ngayon eh.

ok lang na bumagsak ka na sa lahat ng subjects mo!! kahit lagpas kalahati ka na, ok lang. siguraduhin mo lang na may connections at power ka ha?? basta naman, wag ka lang magsingko. kasi kahit ilang uno pa yang card mo.... isang singko lang mas mabigat na sa sandamakmak na 2.75 mo.

ay, wait lang. tinuturuan din pala tayong maging masamang tao ano? sayang. dapat hindi tayo nagpakabait. hindi pala kasama sa pshs diploma ang pagiging mabait. tutal... may pagagawin lang naman yata satin na extra work sa clearance weeks. pero ok lang! at least gagraduate.

at kahit ilang beses pa tayo babalaan na nasa panganib na ang scholarship status... kahit buong stay mo ng pisay ay aware ka nang nasa panganib ka --- don't worry!! nagjojoke lang sila. hindi mangyayari yan no."

---

Mas panalo pa si Sir Arghs.


Turns out, we were fighting a system which rewards both good work and bad behavior. Hell, it even rewards bad work, if you could believe that. And the bottom line? I really don’t know. Perhaps, in this empowered age, schools have become more timid regarding lawyers and their suits. Schools have made a devil’s bargain these days, not wanting to face the courts and instead taking the easy way out, even if they are right. Never mind if it means negating all the values that their teachers try to impart to the students. Never mind that by turning a blind eye, they are allowing “monsters” to graduate as the press declared during the height of the school’s poisoning case. Never mind that their teachers are being disrespected not only by their students but also by the parents of some students. Never mind if everyone in school loses his or her credibility. Never mind if the heart and soul and mind of a school are relegated to the sidelines and made to watch the body die of cancer. Those things are more convenient than facing a lawsuit.

That’s the defining thing in this age: Convenience.



And:



When idealism is that time between waking up and brushing your teeth, when teachers can get away with racist statements in the classroom simply because they’re permanent, when you get told that your opinions matter less just because you’re a member of the junior faculty, when you get bamboozled mainly because the number of years you have as a teacher is less than half of some of your colleagues, when students still graduate despite their grievous offenses and dismal academic records, when rules are simply guidelines one day and guidelines become rules the next day, when black and white are simply components of grey, when NORTURE rhymes with torture, when you’re more afraid of lawyers than producing “monsters”, when might becomes right, when injustice is synonymous with convenience, when rules are swept away like the Sahara redraws its territory at the end of the day, when the school you love and serve is simply a shadow of the country you live in when it could have been so much more, when nothing makes sense anymore but everything still makes sense, you can come up with one conclusion about your school: I’ve always thought I was in a different place, apparently, this is Africa, too.

panalo si Dondon. XD

Sagot niya sa post ni Tricia:

"ganito na ang turo sa pisay ngayon eh.

ok lang na bumagsak ka na sa lahat ng subjects mo!! kahit lagpas kalahati ka na, ok lang. siguraduhin mo lang na may connections at power ka ha?? basta naman, wag ka lang magsingko. kasi kahit ilang uno pa yang card mo.... isang singko lang mas mabigat na sa sandamakmak na 2.75 mo.

ay, wait lang. tinuturuan din pala tayong maging masamang tao ano? sayang. dapat hindi tayo nagpakabait. hindi pala kasama sa pshs diploma ang pagiging mabait. tutal... may pagagawin lang naman yata satin na extra work sa clearance weeks. pero ok lang! at least gagraduate.

at kahit ilang beses pa tayo babalaan na nasa panganib na ang scholarship status... kahit buong stay mo ng pisay ay aware ka nang nasa panganib ka --- don't worry!! nagjojoke lang sila. hindi mangyayari yan no."

---

Mas panalo pa si Sir Arghs.


Turns out, we were fighting a system which rewards both good work and bad behavior. Hell, it even rewards bad work, if you could believe that. And the bottom line? I really don’t know. Perhaps, in this empowered age, schools have become more timid regarding lawyers and their suits. Schools have made a devil’s bargain these days, not wanting to face the courts and instead taking the easy way out, even if they are right. Never mind if it means negating all the values that their teachers try to impart to the students. Never mind that by turning a blind eye, they are allowing “monsters” to graduate as the press declared during the height of the school’s poisoning case. Never mind that their teachers are being disrespected not only by their students but also by the parents of some students. Never mind if everyone in school loses his or her credibility. Never mind if the heart and soul and mind of a school are relegated to the sidelines and made to watch the body die of cancer. Those things are more convenient than facing a lawsuit.

That’s the defining thing in this age: Convenience.



And:



When idealism is that time between waking up and brushing your teeth, when teachers can get away with racist statements in the classroom simply because they’re permanent, when you get told that your opinions matter less just because you’re a member of the junior faculty, when you get bamboozled mainly because the number of years you have as a teacher is less than half of some of your colleagues, when students still graduate despite their grievous offenses and dismal academic records, when rules are simply guidelines one day and guidelines become rules the next day, when black and white are simply components of grey, when NORTURE rhymes with torture, when you’re more afraid of lawyers than producing “monsters”, when might becomes right, when injustice is synonymous with convenience, when rules are swept away like the Sahara redraws its territory at the end of the day, when the school you love and serve is simply a shadow of the country you live in when it could have been so much more, when nothing makes sense anymore but everything still makes sense, you can come up with one conclusion about your school: I’ve always thought I was in a different place, apparently, this is Africa, too.