Written by: Jo-Rizza Estacio
School: Colegio de Santa Rosa de Lima
A total of 41 people dead, 24 were missing, 3 were rescued and an estimated Php 199.4M worth of crops were destroyed when typhoon “Juaning” hits Central Luzon, Mimaropa and Bicol Regions on July 28, 2011.
On Wednesday, 6 bodies were found dead in Bicol, raising the death toll to 41, but still 24 were missing. Three fishermen who were rescued on Friday were: Jerico Aceron, “Moymoy” Vega and “Speed” Sureta. All of them are from Saabang Village, Vinzons town. Eating raw fish and drinking rainwater was their way of survival for three days when the typhoon was at its height.
Around 199.4M worth of crops destroyed, mostly in Bicol regions. According to Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, Albay was the worst-hit province by the typhoon “ Juaning” at Php 1.02B. Infrastructure damage reached to Php 951M while Php70.4M worth of agriculture and livestock were destroyed.
“If the PAGASA rainfall forecast holds t for the next 24 hours, then we do not expect to see heavy production losses in rice”, according to the Department of Agriculture. They reported that 21761 hectares of agricultural lands were affected in central Luzon, Mimaropa, and Bicol Regions. Php 119.98M worth of Palays and rice production were the most affected.
In Cebu City, 14 Families evacuated after landslides in the City following heavy rains. Brownouts also hit several areas in Cebu and Talisay due to strong winds and rains that toppled the electric posts of the Visayan Electric Co. (VECO).
EDITORIAL WRITING
Four Plus Two
Written by: Christine Guiruela
School: Sts. Peter and Paul Early Childhood Center
Dep-Ed is deciding whether they’re going to add two more years in high school or not. Some people were against and some were not. They have reasons why they are choosing those decisions. K-12 or kindergarten + 12 years is a very known issue especially to students. That issue was reported on public last year, and became a gossip weeks or months after.
The people against K-12 have reasons and the first is: No money for tuition fee payments. Poor families were related on this issue. Most of the students studies on public schools. Here is the problem. How are they supposed to pay extra payments, and where are they going to get extra money for their everyday “baon”?
Their parents were complaining and using those questions mentioned. Even the students were complaining too. “How are they going to study well if the rooms were overcrowded and there were lack of chairs and teachers on each school? And also some doesn’t want to study.
Some people also wanted extra two years of studying. That if they studied two more years, they will gain more knowledge. More knowledge, more companies were going to promote you in other positions available on their company.
Even the teachers agreed on that. They are going to have extra salary from their hard work. They will also have an opportunity to know their students and change the way he or she teaches if there were complains on the way she teaches.
Actually, according to people willing to have more knowledge, all of them won’t suffer. People should be patient because one day they’ll realize, they should have study more to have easier and comfortable living.
The decision depends on Dep-Ed and the government: Just make their decision reasonable and it is for the sake of their people. Nobody wants to suffer. Do you agree on that?
**********
Written by: Lorreine Princess Alonte
School: Marie Margarette School
Why does the government need to add 2 more years in high school? Do they want to suffer those students who want a better future? K-12 has no good effect in the economy of our country. This would be just a waste of everything!
One of the reasons of the government why they want to implement K-12 is because that they want the students who will finish that 6th year of Highschool will have a job. But that job is just to become a laborer like carpenter, electrician, etc. Those jobs can’t support the financial aspects of a family. It will just give false hopes to those who are thinking that it will be better if they will finish the 6th year of high school than to take their college degree.
What our country need is to make our economy up. But how can it be done or resolved if we are lacking with the numbers of students who will finish their college degree, students that can be called “professionals” like teachers, doctors, architects, engineers, etc.
Look at the other side. If no one will enter college, who will be the next teachers of the next generation of students, the next doctors of those who are sick, engineers of buildings that need to be built? WHO? And how about those students who want to take a college degree? It’s another expenses that needs to be paid, another time need to study and the chance of having a well-compensated job in the early stage will be lost.
For those who want to finish their college for just 2 years, there are vocational courses offered so you have a choice if you want to finish college earlier. So there is no reason for the K-12 to be approved!
**********
K-12 System: Reasonable or not?
Written by: Ma. Margareth Leanne T. Malicdem
School: Laguna Bel-Air School
Costly, unsure of the quality and low-paying jobs after graduating high school, these are the points of people that are against the K-12 system. The K-12 system means that the government will add 2 more years in high school. Instead of entering college right after you finish 4th year, you still need to complete 2 more years after that. But the question is; will it be effective?
The point of the people that agrees with the K-12 system is that it is used by so many countries around the world, the quality of education would be improved and students will have the opportunity to be employed right after they graduate from Highschool. However, these reasons are still not that strong so that this procedure will get the approval of the population. Why?
Using a system only because majority of the countries are practicing is like buying an iPad only because all of your friends have them. Reasonable? No. Improving the quality of education here in the Philippines is not the case. How can you improve this by adding 2 more years when our schools are even lacking classrooms? How can you improve this when teachers here in the country are going overseas because of the higher salaries? Having students employed in low-paying jobs right after they graduate? That’s another thing. So, this reason does not define “improvement”.
What is the use of adding 2 more years when our parents, grandparents or even teachers graduated gain enough knowledge to survive the real world? Spending more for the tuition fees and allowances? We cannot say that the previous generation has low-quality education because we even ask for help from them most of the times.
It is the responsibility of the government to know the correct solutions to the problems that out country is facing right know. Instead of having the K-12 system, why not complete the classrooms first in all schools, raise the salary of our teachers so that they won’t go abroad. Produce more jobs for college graduates than decreasing their number and then maybe, we can try and see if we even need the implementation of a new routine.
**********
Written by: Sandra Marini M. Ebio
School: Rex Dei Academy
K+12, mainam ba sa mga mag-aaral? Ang K+12 o kindergarten plus 12 years ay ang pagdadagdag ng 2 pang taon sa hayskul. Maraming nagsasabing mabuti daw ito dahil mas maiimprove nito ang mga kakayanan pati na rin ang kaalaman ng mga bata. Maaari narin daw magrabaho ang mga estudyanteng tapos ng hayskul kapag naipatupad ito. Mas magiging maganda rin ang kalidad ng edukasyon sa mararanasan ng mga mag-aaral. Pero, K+12 nga lang ba ang solusyon para magkaroon si Juan dela Cruz ng magandang edukasyon?
Hindi ba nila naisip na magkakaroon ng mas maraming bayarin ang mga pamilya kapag naipatupad ito? Paano na lang ang mga mag-anak na mayroong 6 o higit pang mga anak. Lubhang mahirap sa kanila iyon dahil mas maraming nag-aaral sa kanila. Sumagi rin ba sa isip nila na semi-skilled works lang ang maaaring pasukan ng mga batang tapos ng hayskul? Parang pinahaba lang nila ang pag-aaral ng mga bata, wala namang bagong mangyayari sa kanila pagkatapos ng hayskul. Hindi parin naman kasi sapat ang kanilang mga natutunan dahil wala silang sapat na training.
Ano naman kung ganoon ang patakaraan sa ibang bansa? Kelangan bang gumaya ni Juan dela Cruz para lang masabing world class ang edukasyong meron sila? Imbes na K+12 ang alalahanin nila, bakit hindi nila pagtuunan ng pansin ang mas mabibigat pang mga isyu ng bansa ukol sa edukasyon? Mas mainam na kumilos sila para sa pagdadagdag ng mga silid aralan sa maraming lugar sa Pilipinas. Aminin man nila o hindi, iyon talaga ang pinakamabigat na isyung pang-edukasyon ng bansa. Magandang kalidad ba ng edukasyon? Edi gumawa sila ng paraan para maimprove ang kalidad ng pagtuturo ng mga guro, idamay narin nila ang mga librong minsan mali-mali, para hindi na kelangan pang ipatupad iyong K+12. Ang dami na nga nilang iniisip na problema, gusto pang dagdagan. Tapusin muna nila ang mga isyung iyon, baka nga sa bandang huli, hindi na kailangan pa ng K+12 para masabing tayo’y world class.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS!
