Ticket to Job

If course card distribution is a day that gives fear (or somehow nervousness) to students, it's also a day that some teachers hate, i think. And I'd like to believe I'm among those teachers who hate the actual distribution of grades (and even days prior that). It's not only because of grades computation (it isn't something that tedious since grades from prior activities are already recorded) but because of different kinds of requests and "pag-mamakaawa" that you'll get.

The bad thing about the school where I teach (or I used to teach) is that it's a polytechnic college whose people are mostly exposed to handling High School Students. It means that the culture they try to instill in the school is the typical high school culture (at least that kind of culture in my town) wherein it's easy to excuse anyone from class because he/she has to practice for a cultural presentation for the town Fiesta.

Can you imagine a college wherein someone from the Office of Student Affairs would knock on your room and tell you that your students need to go down to attend the flag ceremony? How about a number of intances wherein your students weren't able to attend your class because the guard told them they don't have proper haircut? All these things just remind me of a high school treatment.

And because of this kind of culture, I have encountered students who will approach you and ask you if he/she can instead submit a project for him/her to pass the subject. Will a project measure what you have learned or will it add up to a learning at all? The opportunities to learn and perform were already given. There's no way you can make up for those, unless you repeat the subject.

What irritated me most is getting an inquiry if I'm going to fail anyone from a particular subject. The person (admin) said if the basketball players are candidates for failure, maybe I could give them chance by giving them extra project. Duh, eh iyong required project nga di naibigay, extra pa? And they couldn't even participate well in class activities. The straightforward me of course replied: "Eh di magbasketbolista na lang ho sila." You're in school to study, not to play. That's just an extra-curricular activity.

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Sadly, a lot are missing the idea and the REAL goal of college education. If you just want a job, then enroll in a vocational course. I'm not teaching just to give you grades and pass you so that you can earn a diploma and get a job. If you are a degree holder, more things are expected from you.