Articles in Education Issues - Article Example

1) The article is about a Filipino educator d Efren Peñaflorida who won the CNN Hero of the Year award for his Kariton Klasroom (pushcart room) which currently tries to educate children from depressed areas in his hometown, Cavite. Peñaflorida won $25,000 cash for making the top 10 finalists and eventually the grand prize of $100,000 cash. He said he and his volunteers will use 90% of his winnings in their program while he will donate the remaining 10% to church. Peñaflorida is a public school teacher. Mr. Peñaflorida started his unique teaching program in 1997 in an effort to encourage street children to make the right choice and not take up drugs or gang life. He has more than 10,000 volunteers helping him. They go around Cavite, pushing a kariton with teaching aids, foldable tables and chairs and a mini-library. They teach reading, writing and hygiene to around 1,500 young people. Because of the success of his teaching style, other youth groups in Davao, Metro Manila, Zamboanga and even Kenya have asked Peñaflorida’s group if they can also set-up kariton klasrooms. Through this story, I have realized that education can go beyond the four walls of a typical classroom. Mr. Peñaflorida’s actions are truly admirable and should continue to be an inspiration to others. He has shown that with willingness and true concern for the poor, one can accomplish something others might think impossible or difficult. If given the chance, I would readily spend a day or two with a volunteer and learn as much as I can about kariton klasrooms. I would bring what I learned to America where the idea would be a novelty yet hopefully achieve the same success with the depressed people in America. 2) In this article, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in the Philippines declared that the private colleges and universities’ decision to increase their tuition fees by an average of 10% is unstoppable. According the CHED, as long as the institutions meet the requirements, the schools can raise their school fees. The schools need to submit a letter of intent to increase tuition, consultation with students and parents and certificates of said consultation and intended compliance by April 1. (Calleja) The decision has been met with disapproval from militant youth groups. As per the youth groups, the CHED broke its promise of 2010 that it will discourage tuition hikes this school year. The tuition fee hike is nothing new since American universities have also increased their schools, one even at 12%. Unlike in America however, part-time jobs in the Philippines require applicants to be at least 2nd year college students. After reading the article, I felt sorry for the elementary students. If the tuition fees in the Philippines increase every year and the economic trend does not change, there is a good chance that many of the current elementary students will not be able to afford college 5 or 10 years from now. Consequently, they will not be able to find work and earn money for college in contrast with American students. If given the chance, I would like to go to the Philippines and visit these colleges that are increasing their tuition fees. Hopefully, the visit would make me understand why there is a need for tuition hikes in a developing country like the Philippines and also what is so special about their education system that it is required for only part-time jobs. This fact is intriguing for me because I am positive that the teaching curriculum in American schools is a bit more advanced than that in the Philippines. Despite this, an American can get a job without a college degree unlike in the Philippines. 3) Aside from education, another interest of mine is photography. The article about Palawan’s underground river caught my attention because UNESCO has declared it as a World Heritage Site. The people of the Philippines, where Palawan is located, tried to garner as many text and Internet votes as possible so the tourist attraction can be named as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. If I could visit Palawan’s Underground River, I would satisfy my desire for photography. It has long been considered a tourist attraction in the Philippines. The river is one of the longest navigable subterranean rivers in the world and contains a limestone karst landscape in and around the cave. The forest around it is considered a full mountain to sea ecosystem with unique flora and fauna. (Yuboco) I think I will enjoy taking pictures of the unique tourist attraction. Although there are magnificent underground lakes and rivers in America, I believe it would be interesting to see what the Filipinos and UNESCO find beautiful with Palawan’s Underground River. What intrigues me about this is the fact that the Filipinos’ have worked together to have the Underground River recognized as a New Wonder of Nature. The tourist site was able to occupy a spot among the 28 finalists because it had the 8th most international votes and the 3rd most national votes. The current president of the country has also made a proclamation in support of the movement. Government offices and local businesses and organizations have also joined the cause. Some have even set-up Internet and cellular phone kiosks so people who do not have access to the Internet can cast their votes. I want to understand this sense of unity the Filipinos have. I believe Americans can be unified as well when the situation calls for it but not the same way as the Filipinos. 4) An article I came across and found interesting is about the increase in the number of foreign students in the Philippines in 2011. According to the article, the Bureau of Immigration has discovered that the foreign students studying college in the country went from 18,353 last year to 19,121 this year. Since one of my areas of interest is education, I am intrigued that for a country considered a third-world country a lot of foreign students including Americans would choose to study college there. The article does not mention what degrees foreign students usually take up in the Philippines. There are also many foreign students who want to study in America so this news about the Philippines is not unique. However, what I would like to discover if given the chance to attend a class in the Philippines is their standard of education. Is it the reason nationalities from South Korea, China, Iran, Japanese, Taiwan and others want to study in the country? Or is it the difference in school fees? It may be the teaching environment since I have heard that Filipino teachers are more patient than teachers of other nationalities. I believe education is important and it should not matter what country the lessons come from as long as the students learn and learn well. Nevertheless, I am curious as to what in the Philippine collegiate educational system is so appealing to foreign students that their number has increased. It is difficult because it takes money and separation from family and friends. Work Cited Calleja, Niña. “Average 10% hike in colleges’ tuition justified- CHED.” Breaking News/ Nation. Inquirer. net. 17 May 2011. Web. 30 October 2011. “Pinoy ‘Kariton’ Educator is CNN ‘Hero of the Year’.” People. Planet Philippines. 24 January 2010. Web. 30 September 2011. Yuboco, Adeline. “Palawan’s Underground River vies for New 7 Wonders of Nature List.” In the Media. Digital Journal. 31 July 2011. Web. 3 December 2011. Read More