How Intelligent Is Your Teacher? If As Smart As Mr Vladimir Queta, You Have A Problem!

Again: “How intelligent is your teacher?” I’m referring to the one trying to teach you something, whether s/he has a license to teach or not – I don’t know about Vladimer Queta, Chair of the Alliance Of Concerned Teachers (ACT), who above is quoted as saying in a lecture sponsored by ACT & Ateneo De Manila:

“The teaching of Mother Tongue as a subject is foundational in developing literacy skills as learners can learn to read and write the easiest with the language that they use and most understand” (Unnamed, “22nd Jaime V Ongpin Memorial Lecture Spotlights Challenges, Difficulties In Philippine Basic Education” (21 Nov 2023, Ateneo De Manila, ateneo.edu).

Immediately, we have a multiple of problems there:

“What if the teacher does not know the mother tongue?”
“What if there are several mother tongues among the learners?”
“What if the teacher did not learn how to teach in the mother tongue?”

Mr Queta is saying, “The teaching of Mother Tongue as a subject is foundational in developing literacy skills.”

I teacher am saying, “Such purpose in the teaching of the Mother Tongue is nowhere found in any educational theory in the world! Teaching is not that simple!

Where are the review/s or somment/s on Mr Queta’s lecture? That’s the lookout of The Editor In Chief of that website of Ateneo De Manila!

I say:

With those 54 words, Mr Queta is changing the very essence of education in the Philippines – “Teach the local language first!” As a teacher, I disagree. If Mr Quetua is right, then we should start educating our students at home, not at school!

Lengkon Sera says, “Unesco says (18 Feb 2022, Unesco, unesco.org):

“Unesco has been leading the way and advocating for multilingual education based on the mother tongue from the earliest years of schooling. Research shows that education in the mother tongue is a key factor for inclusion and quality learning, and it also improves learning outcomes and academic performance.”

Where are the research results of teaching the mother tongue as a factor for quality learning? Googling, I cannot find any!

As a teacher, I would instead recommend the teaching of Multiple Intelligences (MI), the educational philosophy of Harvard professor Howard Gardner. With MI, all the students would love to learn! (If you don’t know MI. you have much to learn especially if you are a teacher!)

MI says there are 10 in-born intelligences of every human being:

1. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
2. Creative Intelligence  (added by FAH)
3. Existential Intelligence
4. Interpersonal Intelligence
5. Intrapersonal Intelligence
6. Mathematical-Logical Intelligence
7. Musical Intelligence
8. Naturalist Intelligence
9. Spatial Intelligence
10. Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence.

It’s up for the teacher, whoever s/he is or wherever, to nurture the innate intelligence of a learner. Whatever Mr Queta says, the cultivation of cultural identity is not an objective of the school at whatever level, Grade School to Grad School. Let the schools instead cultivate the hidden talent(s) of each learner! Anytime, anyhow, somewhere, somehow.

Multiple Intelligences is for me, for us all!@517

­“What Did You Do In The War, DevCom?”

“What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?” was the open letter I wrote some 57 years ago, addressed to the alumni of my alma mater, the UP College of Agriculture (UPCA, now UP Los Baños), belittling their “loyal” (if you will pardon the expression) observation every year. In that letter, I said the faculty & students of the 1918 UPCA who volunteered to fight in Europe where World War 1 was happening, thousands of kilometers away – were showing loyalty to the Americans who founded UPCA, not to the Filipinos. Ouch!

What did I get writing that open letter? A termination of my appointment as Substitute Lab Instructor in Horticulture! “Goodbye, UPLB!”

I was unhappy, but my being declared persona non grata to UPLB turned out to be the best for me! I had a wonderful chance to propagate my newfound field, “Organic Agrculture.” I had learned that from the book “Plowman’s Folly” by American gentleman farmer Edward H Faulkner, his book published in 1943.

At the Xavier University College of Agriculture (XUCA), happily approved by Fr William Masterson, Dean of XUCA, I produced separate syllabi in the 4 areas of Horticulture: Landscape Horticulture, Oliriculture (vegetabkes) Ornamentals, and Pomology (fruit trees), Based on my horticulture syllabi, with my organic lectures, I produced a winner of the world-class Right Livehood Award in 2003 in the person of Nicanor “Nicky” Perlas. (Since then, every time he sees me, he says, “Thank you for Organic.” How sweet is that?! I feel like I am also a winner of the Right Livelihood Award!)

Because of “What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?”, the observation of Loyalty Day changed from loyalty to the Americans to loyalty to the Filipinos, especially to the farmers, as it should be.

Today, yesteryears actually, the war is on homegrounds, War Against Poverty, especially the poverty of millions of Filipino farmers. We have so far failed them!
(Image fromdailysignal.com)

What I have not seen, what I don’t see is communication from the DevCom people dedicated to getting the poor farmers out of Poverty and getting them into Prosperity. That is a tall order, but that is what development communication is all about!

Time to learn more. Here is what we can learn from MassCom.com (studymasscom.com): 5 different approaches to development communication, and these are:
(1) participatory communication,
(2) advocacy and awareness campaigns,
(3) behavior change communication,
(4) media for development, and
(5) capacity building and skill development.

DevCom people, where are you in there, in any of the 5? I google everyday, and I don’t see encouraging signs from anyone of you! DevCom must be practiced, not simply claimed in one’s biodata.

In 1960, the first communication course in UPCA was offered; in 1974, it offered academic programs in Development Communication (Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org). Today, 64 years later, I ask:

What did you do in the war against Farmer Poverty, DevCom?

Here’s hoping you will produce a million of winners among the poor millions of Filipino farmers, and someone will greet you to your face, “Thank you for DevCom”!@517

“How To Read!” Or “Why Read, Read, Read, Read!”? Forty Reasons – Or Faulty Reasons?! This Is The Editor In Chief Speaking

 

Today, 11 Oct 2024, I saw Myrna Magboo Bigueras’ 10 Oct sharing titled “How To Lead” – but always The Editor In Chief, I immediately saw that it should be “How To Read.” The post is actually “40 Reasons Why Reading Books Can Be A Transformative Habit.” At 84 and with poor eyes, I don’t read books anymore – but from high school to college (UP Los Baños) to employment, 1950s to 1980s, I loved reading, reading, reading!

(Major Lesson: To be a creative writer, learn to read more and more.)

There are 40 reasons in the list, too long to present here; so here are the subtitles:

1. Mental Stimulation.
2. Stress Reduction.
3. Knowledge Acquisition.
4. Vocabulary Expansion.
5. Improved Focus.
6. Better Writing Skills.
7. Empathy Building.
8. Cultural Understanding.
9. Self-Improvement.
10. Entertainment.
11. Improved Memory.
12. Critical Thinking.
13. Inspiration and Motivation.
14. Increased Creativity.
15. Improved Sleep.
16. Emotional Management.
17. Escapism.
18. Conversation Starters.
19. Goal-Setting.
20. Building Discipline.
21. Lifelong Learning.
22. Perspective Shifting.
23. Cognitive Flexibility.
24. Self-Reflection.
25. Mindfulness: Reading can be a meditative practice, promoting a state of focus and mindfulness.
26. Improved Imagination.
27. Development of Analytical Skills.
28. Time Management.
29. Increased Productivity.
30. Emotional Intelligence.
31. Learning from Others' Mistakes.
32. Entertainment on a Budget.
33. Breaking Monotony.
34. Family Bonding.
35. Developing a Growth Mindset.
36. Enhanced Communication Skills.
37. Boost in Self-Confidence.
38. Exploration of New Ideas.
39. Learning to Think Independently.
40. A Positive Habit.

(Top image, Negative – Don’t be a kangaroo and just store books!
Lower image, Positive – Read the Reader’s Digest and you will want to read more!)

Ms Myrna’s sharing continues: “Whether for personal development, entertainment, or education, books offer endless benefits.” I revise that to insist: “For personal development, entertainment, and education, reading many books offer endless benefits.”

Before reading, don’t stop first and think, “Do I want to develop, or entertain, or educate myself – with this book?” You just grab what is available and read! The benefits come later.

[Now I want to tell you: In high school in my hometown Asingan, Pangasinan, at the Rizal Junior College high school, I went home on many a Friday with a beltfull of books – I wrapped my belt around the books 3 or 4 – I never borrowed just 1 book. American and British highly-rated books, some Filipino, I was that avid a reader! Even then, my favorite was the Reader’s Digest. I couldn’t get enough of the Reader’s Digest; it helped me think, think more – and write some more!]
(image from Alphastream Marketing Facebook sharing)

Many, many years later – In 2011, the UP Los Baños Alumni Assocation honored me with the award “Outstanding Alumnus For Creative Writing” when Elpidio “Pids” Rosario was alumni President. You cannot be a good writer without reading!

Editor’s Advice – I have been in love with the Reader’s Digest for 70 years. To write better, you cannot read too many Reader’s Digest – or books!@517

The Internet As A Library Is Open – Our Cellphones & Laptops Are Fully Opened, But Our Minds Are Half-Closed! Let’s Learn Manna From Dennis The Menace

Looking at the Internet as an enemy, here are “7 Lessons From 100 Things We've Lost To The Internet By Pamela Paul” (Denish Shastri, Medium, medium.com):

1. The Value of Deep Focus
2. The Importance of Boredom
3. The Loss of Face-to-Face Interactions
4. The Erosion of Privacy
5. The Decline of Reading for Pleasure
6. The Shift in Cultural Knowledge
7. The Need for Digital Detox.

“These lessons encourage readers to reflect on their relationship with technology and to seek a more balanced, fulfilling life that values genuine experiences and connections.”

No! Ms Pamela is looking at the Internet as enemy, not ally. As a writer, I look at the Internet as the best thing that ever happened to creative writing!

See: Either (1) The Internet floods you with thoughts and you drown. Or,
(2) The Internet floods you with thoughts and you swim!

In short, the Internet is a medium as well as source of choice.

Above image shared by Jenta Reeds 02 Oct 2024: Dennis the Menace says, “C’mon, Joey. If you wanna see a rainbow, you gotta put up with a little rain” (Facebook sharing 06 Oct 2024). Dennis is teaching you the rain is not a menace!

“No, it’s not the Internet, not the rain – it’s the way you look at things.”

I do not worry about any of the 7 in Jenta Reed’s negative list from Pamela Paul! If you don’t get out of your negative thoughts, you’ll ever be hardly-creative.

For much creativity, you have to learn the “Po Technique” of Edward De Bono – that’s in his book The Mechanism Of Mind (1933). I’m happily lucky that I have a copy of that which my Pacifica Publicity Bureau copywriter friend Orli Ochosa (+) gifted me some 50 years ago. With Po, I learned to cultivate a positive or two from even the negative thoughts! How to do that? How: To cultivate a creative mind, do not immediately reject any bad thought – you examine it for possibilities; you look beyond the negative and see what might be lurking there! Try it sometime.

Po is how I never run out of ideas to write about. Note that I started blogging in 2000, when I was already 60 years old. I just turned 84, and I have blogged at least 50,000 essays in the last 24 years. [Just an example: If you visit one of my blogs, “Communication For Development Of Vibrant Villages, blogspot.com, you can see a list of 1,108 essays published since March 2019 (I do have several blogs)].

You cannot run out of ideas to write about if you have an open mind!

If you look at the Internet as an enemy – it becomes your enemy! You have to be more intelligent than that, brainier, wiser, more understanding, more astute, more forgiving.

"The Internet has made it easier to access information, but it has also made it harder to access our own thoughts." Negative!@517

“UP Oblation,” This Old UP Alumnus’ New Interpretation For An Old Symbol – From Restricted To Released, From Criticality To Creativity!

Here is the UP Oblation photo (left) taken by me with my Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ100 camera on Valentine’s Day, 14 Feb 2019 (the digital record says so), at the campus of UP Los Baños, my alma mater. Today, a mischievous thought suddenly strikes me: “We have been looking at the UP Oblation with a closed mind!”

I am not surprised. I am the one and only “Outstanding Alumnus For Creative Writing” in the entire 100+ years of the UP System! That honor was bestowed on me in 2011 by the UPLB Alumni Association (UPLBAA) when Madecor President Elpidio L “Pids” Rosario was UPLBAA President.

I declare today: “Old symbols never die, they just fade away.” We just find a way to recreate them. In this case, we inspire people away from instant criticism towards instant creativity. Away from despairing towards inspiring” Thoughts suggested by the images above (right image my re-interpretation).

Old UP Oblation: “You can think only as wide as this.”
New UP Oblation: “You can think as wide & wonderful as all this!”

Even as historically the one-and-only “Outstanding Alumnus For Creative Writing”of the entire UP System, I had been uneasy looking at and thinking of the symbolic statue UP Oblation (Obli). Today, Tuesday, 02 Oct 2024, it suddenly came to me that Obli is best seen as a symbol of two kinds of openness:
(1) openness to criticism, and at the same time
(2) openness to creativity!

Historically, with the Oblation, the UP System had imprisoned itself for almost 90 years in a UP faculty-imposed “largely open opposition to change”!

So, beginning today, Tuesday, 02 Oct 2024, I am one with Edward Albee who said, “I don't like symbolism that hits you over the head. A symbol should not be a cymbal”

Albee, American playwright, wrote “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?” With my rethinking, now I can write: “Who’s afraid of the UP Oblation?!”

I repeat: Today, the 89-years-old UP Oblation I see differently as symbolizing two kinds of openness: (1) openness to criticism, and at the same time (2) openness to creativity! The UP System has imprisoned itself for almost 90 years in UP-faculty-imposed “open opposition to change”!

Now, how do you deal with a critical-creative Obli? There is the “Po Doctrine” of Edward De Bono that says “Yes” even to any wild, offensive, negative or impractical suggestion – De Bono advises us to look at it in the eye and see if it is suggestive of any number of positive ideas. That is to say, “In creativity, there are no negative ideas – only negative people!”

So! Today I begin to look at the Oblation with a new vision.

The whole UP System has been living a dangerous life, being almost all-the-time a critic of popular national issues.

With an open mind, I take it today that the UP Oblation signifies “openness to mild as well as wild ideas,” which is what “creativity” requires of each of us.

Welcome, re-sculptured critical-creative UP Oblation!@517

Tuesday, 17 Sept 2024. Welcome to Los Baños! This Beloved Town Is Celebrating The Day, Which Is My Birthday! How Lucky Can You Get?!

Unbelievable. Oh God, I must be the most blessed person in the world – today, a whole town is celebrating my birthday! With Bañamos Festival. Holiday in a big-shot town, Los Baños, Laguna. An unbeatable tourist destination. Why? What follows is what I know.  

(image from sg.video.search.yahoo.com)

If you didn’t know, in Los Baños (LB), you will find all these and more:

(1)   #1 university of agriculture in the Philippines: University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB);

(2)   Philippine Council for Agriculture & Aquatic Resources Research & Development (PCAARRD) – R&D for the whole country.

(3)   PhilRice Los Baños Station;

(4)   University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) – you can study by correspondence or digital means.

(5)   Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), covering Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam,

(6)   International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) – IRRI has an interesting Rice Museum.

When you visit Los Baños, you are actually visiting a municipality of educational, research and extension offices local, regional and international!

My birthday, yes. Personally, what is there to celebrate – and give thanks to God for? Me, Frank A Hilario:

(1)   1950s: High School, Rizal Junior College (Asingan, Pangasinan) – the American Reader’s Digest inspired this avid reader to think creatively and write.

(2)   1975-1980:  I was inspired to be the founder and Editor In Chief of the 3 Forest Research Institute (FORI) publications: monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly color magazine Habitat.  These publications made FORI known here and abroad.

(3)   1965-1985: I must be an excellent teacher! Graduating in 1965 with a BSA major in Agricultural Education from UPCA (now UPLB). I taught myself writing, editing, desktop publishing, and blogging. I began learning digital works on Innocents Day, 1985, at the Office of the Director of the Farming Systems & Soil Resources Institute (FSSRI) of UPLB, when Madecor President Elpidio “Pids” L Rosario was FSSRI Director.

(4)   2000-2008: Self-taught in desktop publishing (DTP), I brought the Philippine Journal of Crop Science (PJCS) from being late 3 years to up-to-date in 3 years. Working doubletime, I did the DTP and in 2007 the PJCS had produced quality issues it was included in the elite international list “ISI” (now “Web of Science”) – an extraordinary achievement.

(5)   2007-2013: A writer from home (WFH) for the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) based in India, and ICRISAT published 7 books of mine based on my blog (ICRISAT Watch). Not to forget: I did the preliminary DTP of those books. These were the basis for judging me the 1^st and one-and-only “Outstanding Alumnus For Creative Writing” in the entire 100+ years of UPLB by the UPLB Alumni Association in 2011. (Ask Pids Rosario.)

Again, Happy Birthday to me!

I thank the Lord very much for all of the above. Today, now 84, I pray for 33 more years, to a ripe old age of 117!@517

On My Birthmonth, September – I’m Encouraging People To Think, Believe & Behave Better For Themselves – And For The World!

I was born in September 8 decades ago in my hometown Asingan, Pangasinan – not really that “the best people are born in September” as DarlingQuote puts it (darlingquote.com), but I am the best I can be, thank God! With personal efforts and prayers to God, yes!

I have a great many blogs; suffice to see/visit any or better just these 4:

(1)   “Communication For Development Of Vibrant Villages” (ComDev2) (blogspot.com) – To think about & act for the good of people in Agriculture.

(2)   “Regenerative Agriculture, Help! 13” (blogspot.com) – To think about & act for better practices in Agriculture.

(3)   “SHeLF. She/He Self-Help Farming” (blog/posts) – To think about & act for self-help in Agriculture.

(4)   “The Editor In Chief” (blogspot.com) – To think about and act for higher-quality theses, journals & scientific publications in Agriculture.

In this my birthmonth, September, I am expressing publicly my great thanks to the Lord for guidance in my self-discovered and self-developed talents for manual/typewriter writing & editing, “graduating to” self-taught digital writing, editing, up to desktop publishing.

I discovered my love for writing by reading a great many of the classics in American and British literature in high school at Rizal Junior College (RJC) in my hometown Asingan, Pangasinan.

I did not have the chance to develop my writing ability in college, attending UP College of Agriculture (now UP Los Baños). It was when I was employed as a copywriter at the Pacifica Publicity Bureau of genius Tony Zorilla that I developed my sense of how to drive home a point. And my creativity was kindled brightly with the book gift of my Pacifica friend Orli Ochosa, Edward De Bono’s book Mechanism Of Mind. The power of creative thinking lies in anybody invoking De Bono’s “Po” – which posits that there are no negatives, only undiscovered possibilities for creativity!

I have created so many blogs over the last 24 years, if I remember right, that I don’t remember the first one. I remember, naturally, “ICRISAT Watch,” which I created when I became “Writer From Home” (WFH), my term, when William Dar was Director General (DG) of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT),  which was/is based in India. I maintained that blog from 2007 to 2014, the last year of Mr Dar’s 3 terms of 5 years each as DG of ICRISAT.

Oh, ICRISAT published 7 books of mine based on those articles in my blog – I have printed copies of those volumes, very valuable treasures of public service. It is that when Mr Dar became DG of ICRISAT, that institute was kulelat or at the bottom of the 15 international institutes that were members of the CGIAR Group. He brought it up in institutional performance that they kept him DG for 3 5-year terms until he had to retire!

Indeed, I write more for others than myself & family. Thank God, I do not have to retire from my writing & blogging – the pressure is mine; the pleasure is mine too!@517