Journal Writing
1. Cite one experience wherein you have experienced negative peer pressure.
2. How did you react to it? Why?
3. How did you feel about your reaction/decision?
4. What have you learned/realized from your experience?
The word conformity comes from the root word “conform” which means do as others do, adapt, comply, be or become similar, to be in agreement, to act in accordance. Conformity therefore refers to a person’s wish or desire to be like everyone else, to do what everybody does, to wear what the majority wears, to speak the way other people speak. In vernacular, to conform means gusto natin maging “in” sa grupo, gusto natin sumunod sa uso or in terms of relating with other people, nakikisama tayo, nakikigaya sa karamihan. Conformity becomes a problem when you start giving in to that familiar saying that goes “when you’re not in, you’re out”, when you begin to have difficulty maintaining your own belief in the face of others, when you begin accepting other people’s ideas even if you do not fully agree with them. You conform because you want to be accepted, you are afraid to be different from the majority. Takot kang maging iba, Takot masabihan o mapagtawanan ng iba. Part of growing up is learning to stand for what you believe in and not on what others are doing or saying.
“Pakikisama” as a form of “pakikipagkapwa” in our culture is just one of the many levels and modes of social interaction we use in relating with other people. And for teenagers like you, pakikisama is important in relating with your barkada or peer group. And most of the time, the young Filipino teen is put into great pressure na makisama or else KJ ka or di ka “in” sa grupo or “boring ka”. Whatever the reason, whatever the circumstances, the usual result is that the teen would rather “give in” and conform to what the barkada wants rather than to be labeled KJ or worst to become an outcast or walang kabarkada. Teenagers nowadays call those teen who cause trouble “BI or Bad Influence”. And although some could resist, most of the time teen have difficulty saying “NO” to these pressures.
One reason why conformity is dangerous is that more often than not, it can cause a person to do wrong things or it can lead a person to do dangerous things like smoking, taking drugs, drinking liquor, joining fraternities or gangs, or even rob someone. When a person doesn’t have the courage to be different and take a stand on his own values and beliefs, that person becomes an easy prey or target of PEER PRESSURE and that person can easily be swayed or persuaded to do things he doesn’t want to do in the first place. That’s why it is important to have real friends, people whom you can trust and depend on no matter what, people who listen and care enough to understand your strength and weaknesses, and people who believed and accept you for what you are.
Peer pressure is a social force exerted by a group or powerful/admired individual within a group. It is generally a pressure to conform to a social norm within any given group. Not all peer pressure is bad. Social norms are a very important part of human interaction and group dynamics. Social norms are expectations that a group has of its members usually related to behavior. Since most social norms contribute to the smooth interaction of individuals within a society, peer pressure that promotes conforming to these norms serves a positive purpose. When social norms become deviant or harmful or when the social norms in a group are radically different to the generally accepted social norms of a society, then we consider them to be "bad". When most people think of peer pressure they are thinking of the pressure to conform to a deviant behavior set. Things like drug use, underage alcohol use, promiscuous sexual conduct, violent or aggressive acting out, or criminal behavior are examples of the negative peer pressure associated with teens.
(Source: Making a Difference for Teens, Lito S. Jara, 1998)
1. How do you describe a responsible person?
2. What are your responsibilities a) at home, b) in school c) in your community?
I. Challenge yourself
Choose a challenge:
a. Tell the truth
b. Return recovered things (personal items, money, etc)
c. Admit mistake
d. Return excess change
e. Avoid cheating
On your journal, process your experience with the aid of the following guide questions:
a. What challenge did you take?
b. Were you able to do the challenge? How do you feel about it?
c. What have you realized/learned from your experience?
One of our most outstanding virtues as Filipinos, is the virtue of honesty.
What is honesty?
· Honesty is telling the truth.
· Honesty is straightforward conduct.
· Honesty is being sincere, truthful, trustworthy, honorable, fair, genuine, and loyal with integrity
Isagani Cruz of Inquirer News Service (August 27, 2004) expressed his opinion that we, Filipinos in general are honest and that this is one of the admirable virtues of our race. There might be degenerates who have impaired that impression, but they only constituted a small minority despite the growing number of thieves, swindlers and kidnappers among us. The rest of the 84 million Filipinos are trustworthy men and women and children too.
Adding significance to the statement of Isagani Cruz was the findings of Asian –wide survey conducted by Readers’ Digest published last April 7 2004 at Star news paper.
The study found out that most Filipinos tend to act in an honest fashion when confronted with everyday dilemmas testing their sense of right and wrong.
Here are some specific findings of the survey:
1. Eighty-two percent of Filipinos will alert security officers to a shoplifter, the highest score from all the Asian countries included in the survey.
2. Philanderers beware, as 52 percent of Filipinos said they would tell their friend if his or her spouse was seen having a romantic dinner with a stranger.
3. If they find the cashier at the supermarket has given them too much in change, 82 percent of Filipinos said they would give the money back.
4. The survey also found that 79 percent of Filipino respondents would return a wallet with an address and phone number inside.
More than any related literatures and studies can be cited to validate the honesty of the Filipinos, let us now recall some real life stories citing our honesty as a Filipino.
1. August 28, 2004, Daily Inquire published the Honesty of Nestor Sulpico who had returned a bag of black pearls worth $70,000 to a passenger who had left it in his taxicab. The act was reported in the American press and reflected favorably on the Philippines
2. October 12, 2004 – Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto G. Romulo conveyed his commendations for the honesty and moral exemplar displayed by Mr. Melchor Bolivar and his wife Rowena Bolivar, the Filipino couple who returned US$700,000 erroneously credited to their savings account by a Manhattan-based European bank.
3. Romeo Pelaez, a janitor at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, had returned a bag containing three million yen (P1.5 million) that had been left in a Japan Airlines plane by a Japanese man and his Filipino wife. Pelaez was cleaning the plane when he discovered the bag containing the money and turned it over to airport authorities.
4. Nita Ramos, a 44-year-old janitress at the Manila Domestic Airport, also returned jewelry estimated at P150, 000 which she had found in the pre-departure ladies room of the domestic airport.
5. A. Filipino nurse Melitza Anne Chan, 27, of Iloilo, who works as the assistant to the chief of the Dental Department of the Marabi Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, did not withdraw, but instead reported to the concerned bank, some 10 million Saudi Riyals (around US$2.6 million or more than P150 million) erroneously credited to her own account.
Recently, the whole nation was inspired by the honesty shown by a 12 year old student from a public school name Christina Bugayong. Tinay, as they call her, found the bundles of cash and checks amounting to P300,000, dropped by a man in a speeding motorcycle last January 4 2005. After numerous coaxes from neighbors to keep the money and split it among themselves, Tinay decided to return the money to its rightful owner through the help of a radio station.
These real life stories prove that Filipinos are naturally and ordinarily honest people. Honesty is an innate Filipino virtue. The genes of honesty run in our blood. Filipinos are naturally/ordinarily honest people.
William Gardner challenges us to do ordinary things extra ordinarily well. If being honest is ordinary among us, how can we make this extra ordinary?
Being consistently honest draws the line between ordinary and extraordinary. We should be consistent in telling the truth, being sincere, truthful, trustworthy, fair, genuine, and loyal with integrity, with ourselves and with others. Doing this reflects how honest we could be in the eyes of our just and loving God. It is being consistently honest that makes our virtue of honesty extra ordinary.
All of us are facing the challenge of keeping the virtue of honesty within our bloodline. We are all tasked to pass this virtue and keep it alive from generations to generations. Together, wherever are we, whatever our status in life might be, let us face this challenge and prove to ourselves that we are full blooded honest Filipinos.
Self -evaluation
Review the results of your personal health assessment and write your realizations and plans about your health in your journal.
What's the big deal about 'under age' drinking?
Facts about alcoholAlcohol is drug that works directly on the central nervous system. Alcohol kills more male teenagers and young men than any other drug taken to affect mood and behavior. Most deaths and injury due to alcohol are caused by the way people behave when under its influence. Men fight more, drive more recklessly, and engage in more risky behaviors.
Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for the three leading causes of death among youth: unintentional injuries (including motor vehicle crashes and drowning), suicides; and homicides. Alcohol also puts you at greater risk from sexual behavior where you find you have more than you had planned on- a sexually transmitted disease or an unwanted pregnancy!
Alcohol intake and teen health Because the body changes so much as we grow, the ability both to judge and cope with alcohol changes all the time. Everyone seems to know of someone who can drink booze by the bucket-load but this shouldn't be seen as something to aspire towards. Teens are the most likely group to have their stomachs pumped after excessive alcohol intake. At the end of the day it has to be remembered that alcohol is a toxin.
Effects of excessive Alcohol on young bodies
- Youthful 'immature' organs can literally be poisoned by alcohol.
- The liver can be damaged. It takes a few days for it to recover and to get back to normal functioning after a 'session'.
- The heart can beat so irregularly that it can stop.
- The body can lose temperature causing hypothermia. Every year some teens die when they get drunk and pass out in the freezing cold.
- Too little sugar in the body can cause coma and seizures.
- Breathing can become so shallow or slow that it can stop.
- One of the most common ways in which teens (and adults) die from alcohol is by choking on their own vomit. If you vomit when you are unconscious you can easily breathe it in. If your body cannot get the oxygen it needs brain damage or death results.
Knowing when to stop drinking alcoholOne of the dangers of drinking is not recognizing when you have had too much. Different drinks have varying alcohol content and the body reacts differently to alcohol according to whether or not you have eaten, how thirsty you are, even the time of day it is. Even if you stop drinking the level of alcohol can continue increasing. No amount of coffee, cold baths, showers, or trying to walk it off will stop it. Taking a meal before drinking only slows the process. Once alcohol gets to the small intestine the effects kick in. The only thing that reverses the effect of alcohol is time.
Source: "Alcohol and Public Health." National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. 31 Jan 2005. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 29 Nov 2006
Research: Alcohol Damages the Teen-age Brain
June 2, 2000 -- Researchers have just come up with another reason to warn teen-agers not to drink alcohol: Specialized brain imaging studies have shown that teens and young adults, who drank heavily over long periods of time, showed shrinkage of an area of the brain that is responsible for memory and learning. This shrinkage was not seen in teens who did not drink.
The risk of this type of damage is greatest in those who begin drinking at a younger age and those who drink for longer periods of time, according to the study.
"Only in recent years have we have known the extent of brain development during adolescence," says co-author of the study, Duncan B. Clark, MD, PhD. "The hippocampus is one of the areas that's rapidly changing at this time and may be particularly affected by alcohol."
But Clark also suggests that the toxic effects of alcohol on the brain might be reversible, especially if the alcohol use is discontinued early.
Susan F. Tapert, PhD, a research scientist with the Veterans Medical Research Foundation and the University of California at San Diego, reviewed the study for WebMD. "We still need more studies, but it looks like there's a good possibility that drinking heavily during the teen-age years could affect your ability to remember things and learn new things," she says. "If you want to do well in school and be able to remember all kinds of things that you learn, it's best to avoid any kind of heavy drinking."
Many people may be surprised to learn that the brain is still developing during the teen years. "Adolescence is a period during which we now know the brain continues to rapidly develop," Clark says. "We know that alcohol can damage the brain. Adolescent alcohol abuse and dependence may have a damaging effect on adolescent brain development, and it is possible that these effects have lifelong adverse consequences.
In this report in the June issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, a special brain scan, called an MRI, was used to measure differences in the sizes of various brain regions in 12 adolescents and young adults who used alcohol excessively, and 24 healthy youngsters who had no drinking problems.
The researchers focused on measuring the size of an area of the brain, the hippocampus, which is known to be sensitive to the effects of alcohol in adults. The hippocampus is associated with learning and memory functions, Clark says. Two hippocampi are found in the brain, one on the right side and the other on the left side.
Both the right and left hippocampi were smaller in teens with drinking problems in comparison with the normal controls. "The difference was fairly substantial, about a 10% difference, which for this area of the brain is a major difference," Clark says. The shrinkage was limited to the hippocampus; no differences were found in other brain areas.
The shrinkage of the hippocampus was greatest in those who began drinking at an early age and in those individuals who were long-time abusers. The authors say the findings suggest that, during adolescence, the hippocampus may be particularly susceptible to the effects of alcohol.
Clark says that studies conducted in animals, as well as on adults with longstanding alcohol use disorders, suggest that alcohol consumption causes the brain damage. Other explanations, however, may be possible. For instance, the brain changes may have preceded the alcohol consumption and contributed to the onset of the alcohol abuse. Or another risk factor may have caused both the drinking behavior and brain changes.
Clark says that at this early stage, it is difficult to say whether brain changes or alcohol abuse come first. He says that longitudinal studies are needed to confirm and expand the findings.
(Source: WebMD Better Information. Better Health)
Cigarette Smoking
Health Effects of Smoking
Each year, a staggering 440,000 people die in the US from tobacco use. Nearly 1 of every 5 deaths is related to smoking. Cigarettes kill more Americans than alcohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide, and illegal drugs combined.
Cigarette smoking accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths. It is a major cause of cancers of the lung, larynx (voice box), oral cavity, pharynx (throat), and esophagus, and is a contributing cause in the development of cancers of the bladder, pancreas, liver, uterine cervix, kidney, stomach, colon and rectum, and some leukemia.
About 87% of lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women, and is one of the most difficult cancers to treat. It is very hard to detect when it is in the earliest, most treatable stage. Fortunately, lung cancer is largely a preventable disease. Groups that promote nonsmoking as part of their religion, such as Mormons and Seventh-day Adventists, has much lower rates of lung cancer and other smoking-related cancers.
But cancers account for only about half of the deaths related to smoking. Smoking is also a major cause of heart disease, bronchitis, emphysema, and stroke, and contributes to the severity of pneumonia. Tobacco has a damaging affect on women's reproductive health and is associated with increased risk of miscarriage, early delivery (prematurity), stillbirth, infant death, and is a cause of low birth weight in infants. Furthermore, the smoke from cigarettes has a harmful health effect on those around the smoke.
Based on data collected from 1995 to 1999, the CDC estimated that adult male smokers lost an average of 13.2 years of life and female smokers lost 14.5 years of life because of smoking.
But not all of the health problems related to smoking result in deaths. In the year 2000, about 8.6 million people were suffering from at least one chronic disease due to current or former smoking, according to the CDC. Many of these people were suffering from more than one smoking-related condition. The diseases occurring most often were chronic bronchitis, emphysema, heart attacks, strokes, and cancer.
Cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless and pipe tobacco consist of dried tobacco leaves, as well as ingredients added for flavor and other properties. More than 4,000 individual compounds have been identified in tobacco and tobacco smoke. Among these are more than 60 compounds that are known carcinogens (cancer-causing agents).
Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation (Quitting)
In September 1990, the US Surgeon General outlined the benefits of smoking cessation:
Smoking cessation has major and immediate health benefits for men and women of all ages. Benefits apply to persons with and without smoking-related disease.
Former smokers live longer than continuing smokers. For example, persons who quit smoking before age 50 have one-half the risk of dying in the next 15 years compared with continuing smokers.
Smoking cessation decreases the risk of lung cancer, other cancers, heart attack, stroke, and chronic lung disease.
Women who stop smoking before pregnancy or during the first 3 to 4 months of pregnancy reduce their risk of having a low birth weight baby to that of women who never smoked.
The health benefits of smoking cessation far exceed any risks from the average 5-pound (2.3-kg) weight gain or any adverse psychological effects that may follow quitting.
The risk of having lung cancer and other smoking-related cancers is related to total lifetime exposure to cigarette smoke, as measured by the number of cigarettes smoked each day, the age at which smoking began, and the number of years a person has smoked.
The risk of having lung cancer and other cancers can be reduced by quitting. The risk of lung cancer is less in people who quit smoking than in people who continue to smoke the same number of cigarettes per day, and the risk decreases as the number of years since quitting increases.
People who stop smoking at younger ages experience the greatest health benefits from quitting. Those who quit by age 35 avoid 90% of the risk due to tobacco use. However, even smokers who quit after age 50 substantially reduce their risk of dying early. The argument that it is too late to quit smoking because the damage is already done is not true.
(Source: American cancer Society Inc.)
Part 2: Care for Environment
Ten Basic Tips To Help Stop Global Warming
(Earth 911, What can I do to help prevent Global Warming?)
Don't have a lot of times, but want to take action? Here are ten, simple, everyday things each of us can do to help stop Global Warming. Pick one, some, or all. Every little effort helps and adds up to a whole lot of good.
1. Change a light. Replacing a regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent one saves 150 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.* Learn more about these bulbs and how to properly dispose of these bulbs when they do burn out.
2. Drive less. Walk, bike, carpool, take mass transit, and/or trip chain. All of these things can help reduce gas consumption and one pound of carbon dioxide for each mile you do not drive.
3. Recycle more and buy recycled. Save up to 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide each year just by recycling half of your household waste. By recycling and buying products with recycled content you also save energy, resources and landfill space!
4. Check your tires. Properly inflated tires mean good gas mileage. For each gallon of gas saved, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide are also never produced.
5. Use less hot water. It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Reducing the amount used means big savings in not only your energy bills, but also in carbon dioxide emissions. Using cold water for your wash saves 500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, and using a low flow showerhead reduces 350 pounds of carbon dioxide. Make the most of your hot water by insulating your tank and keeping the temperature at or below 120.
6. Avoid products with a lot of packaging. Preventing waste from being created in the first place means that there is less energy wasted and fewer resources consumed. When you purchase products with the least amount of packaging, not only do you save money, but you also help the environment! Reducing your garbage by 10% reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 1,200 pounds.
7. Adjust your thermostat. Keeping your thermostat at 68 degrees in winter and 78 degrees in summer not only helps with your energy bills, but it can reduce carbon dioxide emissions as well. No matter where you set your dial, two degrees cooler in the winter or warmer in the summer can mean a reduction of 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
8. Plant a tree. A single tree can absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.
9. Turn off electronic devices when not in use. Simply turning off your TV, VCR, computer and other electronic devices can save each household thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide each year.
10. Stay informed. Use the Earth 911 Web site to help stay informed about environmental issues, and share your knowledge with others. Together, we can and do Make Every Day Earth Day!
1. For one week, challenge yourself to:
a. Get high score in a quiz or seatwork,
b. To recite in class at least once in any courses;
c. To submit a quality assignment or requirement
On your journal, process your experience with the aid of the following guide questions:
a. What challenge did you take?
b. Were you able to beat the challenge? How do you feel about it?
c. What have you realized/learned from your experience?
2. Assignment for next meeting
a. Read about the effects of smoking.
b. Watch the film “An Inconvenient Truth”, staring Al Gore and directed by Davis Guggenheim. On the journal, write your reaction to the movie:
- The most striking scene in the movie
- Your feelings and emotions while watching the movie
- Your realization after watching the movie
- The specific actions you can commit to take care of the environment
Excellence is a process, a commitment and a challenge.
“Excellence is the gradual results of always striving to do better.” --Coach Pat Riley
Riley has served as the head coach of five championship teams and an assistant coach to another. He recently won the 2006 NBA Championship with the Miami Heat. Prior to his tenure in Miami, he served as head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks. He also played for the Los Angeles Lakers' championship team in 1972, which brings his personal total to seven NBA titles. He is also known for leading LA Lakers into back to back championship (1987-1988), the first team in 20 years to repeat as champions. Pat is widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time. (Wikipedia.org)
“I do the very best I know – the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.” --US President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States of America. As a child, he has to struggle for living and for learning. His family moved to Indiana when he was eight. He described their place as a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. But even so, he still managed to read, write and decipher. He made extraordinary effort to attain knowledge while working on a farm, splitting rails for fences, and keeping store at New Salem, Illinois. Later he found work as village postmaster and as a surveyor. In 1834 he won election to the state legislature, and after coming across the Commentaries on the Laws of England, he taught himself law. Lincoln became one of the most respected and successful lawyers in Illinois and grew steadily more prosperous. Lincoln served four successive terms in the Illinois House of Representatives, as a representative from Sangamon County, and became a leader of the Whig party in Illinois. In 1858, he ran against Stephen A. Douglas for Senator, however he lost the election, but in debating with Douglas he gained a national reputation that won him the Republican nomination for President in 1860. He was re-elected President in 1864. (Wikipedia.org)
“Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.” --John W. Gardner
John William Gardner was the former President of Carnegie Corporation, and US Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Lyndon Johnson. He founded two influential national U.S. organizations, the Common Cause and Independent Sector. He also authored numerous books on improving leadership in American society and other subjects. Gardner received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, (it is one of the two highest civilian awards in the United States and is bestowed by the US President). Gardner’s term as secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, was the height of Johnson’s Great Society domestic agenda. During this tenure, the Department undertook both the huge task of Launching Medicare, which brought quality health care for senior citizens, and oversaw a massive investment in education with the passage of federal role in education and targeted funding to poor students. Gardner also presided the creation of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. (source: Wikipedia.org)
Excellence is a process, a commitment and a challenge.
Pat Riley, Abraham Lincoln and John Gardner have proven us that achieving excellence is not impossible. To be one of NBA greatest coaches of all time is a process. He sees every game like the “Game Seven of the NBA Finals” and he takes every lost as a learning experience to improve his team’s weaknesses. Abraham Lincoln commits himself to deliver the best he knows and the best he can. This makes him one the excellent US Presidents. For John Gardner, excellence can be achieved by doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. It’s not impossible but it’s not easy either. Gardner is able to win this challenge by finding new meaning and reasons in doing every task at hand.
To do good is innate among us. To do better, let’s explore our possibilities. Achieving excellence is a life time commitment to do the best we can.
1. Develop a doable daily and weekly schedule.
a. Daily schedule includes time for rising in the morning, self preparations including meals/merienda, school hours, time for travel going to school, length of time staying at school, doing assignments, reviewing lessons or advance academic preparations, sports/ leisure and rest/sleeping.
b. Weekly schedule includes your class schedules, appointments/meetings, academic preparation.
2. On your journal, write an essay on the theme “The Most Challenging Thing I have ever Accomplished”. It describes your own experience of completing a task, given your full effort, dedication and determination. This could be about:
a) masterpiece (a painting, a poem, a short story, a song composition, etc.)
b) learned skills (driving, cooking, sports, playing musical instruments, and acting)
c) accomplishments (reaching peak of a mountain, an invention, fixing an appliances/electronic device, finishing trainings for high school cadet officer, etc
Punctuality is being at an appointed location at the appointed time. Several nationalities are known to be punctual like the Americans and Japanese. To add among the list are the Germans. An invitation for 4 pm means EXACTLY 4 pm. Not 15 minutes earlier and not 10 minutes later. Fashionably late is not a German custom (autrata.com. Behavioral norms in Germany.htm).
In our country, perhaps you have heard the term “Filipino Time”. In the vernacular, Filipino time connotes lateness or tardiness. It is coming late for an appointment, class schedules or work reporting. It is failure to submit requirements and projects on given time. It is very common in schools, wherein students come late class, unprepared and with insufficient or totally no projects or requirements to present to their professors. It is also apparent in some service offices where loads file up, and transactions delay. We seem to have the attitude to procrastinate/delay things which we could already do. Just like at home, sometimes Meralco has to remind us to settle our bills through disconnection notice. Many are accustom to last minute attitude: paying taxes and other obligations during the last day.
The culture can influence tardiness. According to Robert Levine, a social psychologist, (as cited by Surowiecki, 2004), cultures can be divided into those which live on “event time”, where events are allowed to dictate people’s schedule, and those which live on “clock time”, where people’s schedules dictate events. In a society where everyone is always late, it becomes rational to be late. And the biggest problem would be according to Franklin Jones, is that there’s nobody to appreciate punctuality. Therefore, our individual practices and upbringing, shaped up by our culture, influence our concept and value of time. Tardiness will always be a practice unless we change our mindset. And for us to instill the virtue of punctuality, we need to individually adapt a “clock time” culture, we have to set our priorities and schedules.
Addressing tardiness is not only a school or company issue. In fact, it became a national issue in Ecuador, wherein the country embarked a national campaign against lateness to combat against Ecuadorians’ notoriously cavalier attitude toward time. At high noon of October 1, 2004, the citizens of Ecuador did something they never dreamed possible: they synchronized their watches. But by taking on tardiness Ecuador’s citizens are telling us something else: culture is what you do, not who you are.
There are several reasons we can give to excuse ourselves from coming late or not meeting deadlines: heavy traffic jam, too many work requirements to do, problems, etc. Sometimes, we even blame others for our own fault like the drivers, professors, peers and family members. Tardiness simply feeds on itself. We don’t need a national campaign to address tardiness. We just need to need to have a sheer determination to stick to our schedule and look for ways to get ahead of it.
Abstraction
The greatest single factor determining academic success is time management (Archer, 1991). In order to manage time effectively, a student must have his or her life well organized, have some clearly defined goals and priorities, and have a realistic sense of personal needs and priorities. The college environment contains many elements that make good time management difficult. The primary challenge is in effectively organizing and allocating time to a great number of academic and other activities
Two types of time scheduling are crucial for college students: semester long planning and weekly planning (Archer, 1991). For semester long planning, every student needs a calendar of each term that show when major papers, tests, and other assignments are due. Weekly planning requires a system that allows a student to accomplish specific tasks within deadlines. Two general systems seem to work best: a weekly schedule by the hour or a list system with things to do generate at the beginning of everyday.
Self Evaluation
Do this in your journal.
1. Looking back at the list of your positive characteristics and qualities, what do you feel and realize about it?
2. The Golden Rule says “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”
a. Given the following situations, how would you like to be treated by your teachers and schoolmates:
- when you have given wrong answers to the questions during recitation,
- when you are expressing your opinion during class or group discussion;
- when you are giving suggestions during group work or presentation;
- when you commit mistake;
- when you don’t like doing what they ask you to do and
- when they want to give you their comments or suggestions?
b. Considering the given ideas on how to treat others with respect, what can you commit to yourself in terms dealing with the MCL community: teachers, students, employees, security, maintenance/janitors and canteen personnel?
Many generations have been taught that self-appreciation is arrogant - that somehow it is not fitting (SelfAppreciation.htm). For many of us, self-appreciation can be challenging. We have been trained to beat ourselves up, to be self-deprecating, and many of us simply haven’t been encouraged to genuinely focus on what we like and admire about ourselves (Robbins, 2006).
Self-Appreciation is about accepting yourself exactly as you are. It is about loving and honoring ourselves for all that we do, and more importantly, for all that we are. It is also about acknowledging your unique gifts. Within everyone is a highly creative, highly skilled being, just waiting to be discovered. Many of us catch glimpses of this in moments of inspiration, but then most immediately begin to compare ourselves to others, telling ourselves that their work or creation is more valuable than our own.
In the midst of our busy lives, our daily activities, our successes, and even our struggles, it is important for us to stop and truly appreciate ourselves. It must be said however, that without self appreciation, all the other things that you are striving for, will either elude you, or simply remain a struggle. Self-appreciation is the key to true success and fulfillment. The great news is that we have access to appreciating ourselves in every moment…it is simply a choice (Robbins, 2006).
To know one’s own worth and to honor the worth of others is the true way to earn respect. Respect is an acknowledgement of the inherent worth and innate rights of the individual and the collective. These must be recognized as the central focus to draw from people a commitment to a higher purpose in life.
Respect for others is based on self-respect and is summed up in the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. It is the value that makes the world a more decent and civilized place. (www.pearsall.k12.tx.us/Character Education/virtue_RESPECT.htm)
Self-respect means taking satisfaction in appropriate behavior and hard—won accomplishments. People with self-respect also respect others.
HOW TO APPRECIATE YOURSELF (Source: http://www.goodcharacter.com/)
• Be careful about comparing yourself to other people. Sometimes that can make you feel good or even inspire you to improve in some way. But sometimes it can make you overlook what's truly good about yourself and cause you to feel bad.
• Think about times when you've done something good. Include those times when you've made a difference to somebody else by being helpful, kind, or thoughtful.
• Take part in activities that make you feel good such as hobbies, reading, sports, or spending time with good friends.
• Don’t be so afraid of failing that you're not willing to try something new. New experiences can help you grow and discover wonderful new things about yourself.
• When you do fail at something, don't get down on yourself. Think about what you can learn from the experience and how you can do better next time.
• Think about things you do well. Take pride in your successes.
• Remember, the most important thing about people is what we're like inside, not what we own or what we've accomplished.
HOW TO TREAT OTHERS WITH RESPECT (www.goodcharacter.com)
Treating people with respect makes your world a nicer place to live in, whether it's at home, at school, or out in your community. And it's easy - all you have to do is treat people the way you like to have them treat you. Here are a few ideas.
• Don't insult people or make fun of them.• Listen to others when they speak.• Value other people's opinions.• Be considerate of people's likes and dislikes.• Don't mock or tease people.
• Don't talk about people behind their backs.• Be sensitive to other people's feelings.
• Don't pressure someone to do something he or she doesn't want to do.
We live in a diverse nation made up of many different cultures, languages, races, and backgrounds. That kind of variety can make all our lives a lot more fun and interesting, but only if we get along with each other. And to do that we have to respect each other. In addition to the list above, here are some ways we can respect people who are different from us.
• Try to learn something from the other person.• Never stereotype people.• Show interest and appreciation for other people's cultures and backgrounds.• Don't go along with prejudices and racist attitudes.
If you will have one outstanding virtue, what would you want it to be? Why?
Personal values are the desirable qualities, standards or principles which serve as persons’ driving force that influence their actions and reactions. Knowing ones values offers so many advantages. It helps us follow a clear set of rules and guidelines for our actions. It guides us in making good decisions. Through this, we can find compatible people, places and things that support our way of living. It motivates us to be true to ourselves. Living our values is one of the most powerful tools available to help us become the person we want to be, accomplish our goals, and influence others. (Best-of-time –management.com/values.htm)
Just as individuals give importance to values, so do organizations and institutions like MCL. Mission, Vision and Core Values define the organizations’ culture or way of life of its members. At the core of organizational culture are values. These values shape the quality of life and structure of an organization. The organization is successful to the degree to which all the members have shared values expressed through their goals and beliefs. There has to be an alignment between ones personal values and the values of an organization he belongs to. This will help us journey on the same boat towards a common vision. (Adapted from Hall-Tonna Values Framework and Technology)
MCL encourages every Malayans to practice the value of competence, truth/wisdom, knowledge, research, problem solving, excellence, punctuality, teamwork, quality service, integrity, accountability and sense of ownership (all for one, one for all). Make these the cornerstone of your life.
Challenge yourself
After this session, for two days in school, you are going to practice/implement/actualize your top two values. You have the options to practice one or both values in a day. On your journal, write your reflections (for day one and day two) separately using the outline below. Hope you will enjoy and learn meaningfully from this challenge.
Outline
- the date/time of experience
- the values you have practiced
- the story/experience
(details: people, location, event, situations, ways the values have been practiced and the reactions of the involved people)
- your feelings during the experience
- the learning from your experience
Name:__________________________ Date:___________________ Yr./Program:_____________________
Below is a list of important personal values culled from years of observing individual success. Select/encircle 10 values which are most important to you – as guides for how to behave, as components of a valued way of life.
Common Personal Values
1. Accomplishment, Success
2. Accountability
3. Accuracy
4. Adventure
5. All for one & one for all
6. Beauty
7. Calm, quietude, peace
8. Challenge
9. Change
10. Cleanliness, orderliness
11. Collaboration
12. Commitment
13. Communication
14. Community
15. Competence
16. Competition
17. Concern for others
18. Content over form
19. Continuous improvement
20. Cooperation
21. Coordination
22. Country, love of (patriotism)
23. Creativity
24. Customer satisfaction
25. Decisiveness
26. Delight of being, joy
27. Democracy
28. Discipline
29. Discovery
30. Ease of Use
31. Efficiency
32. Equality
33. Excellence
34. Fairness
35. Faith
36. Family
37. Family feeling
38. Flair
39. Freedom
40. Friendship
41. Fun
42. Global view
43. Good will
44. Goodness
45. Gratitude
46. Hard work
47. Harmony
48. Honesty
49. Honor
50. Independence
51. Inner peace, calm, quietude
52. Innovation
53. Integrity
54. Justice
55. Knowledge
56. Leadership
57. Love, Romance
58. Loyalty
59. Maximum utilization (of time, resources)
60. Meaning
61. Merit
62. Money
63. Openness
64. Peace, Non-violence
65. Perfection (e.g. of details)
66. Personal Growth
67. Pleasure
68. Positive attitude
69. Power
70. Practicality
71. Preservation
72. Privacy
73. Problem Solving
74. Progress
75. Prosperity, Wealth
76. Punctuality
77. Quality of work
78. Regularity Resourcefulness
79. Respect for others
80. Responsiveness
81. Results-oriented
82. Rule of Law
83. Safety
84. Satisfying others
85. Security
86. Self-givingness
87. Self-reliance
88. Service (to others, society)
89. Simplicity
90. Skill
91. Speed
92. Spirit in life (using)
93. Stability
94. Standardization
95. Status
96. StrengthSucceed; A will to-Success, Achievement
97. Systemization
98. Teamwork
99. Timeliness
100. Tolerance
101. Tradition
102. Tranquility
103. Trust
104. Truth
105. Unity
106. Variety
107. Wisdom
(Adapted from The Power of Personal Values by Roy Posner & MSS, June 10, 2006)
(Values Education1/Center for Student Development)
1. How was your first week of stay at MCL?
2. Describe your professors. What are traits do you find positive in each one?
3. Describe your blockmates/section. What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of your section?
4. How do you find your courses? Which ones do you think are easy and which ones do you think are a little bit challenging? Why?
5. Do you have any adjustment you feel you are going through or must go through? What are they? Cite examples in terms in your academics, emotions, and social environment.
Other Assignments for the 2nd Week:
A. Read “Coping with the Transition to College”.
B. Assignment for next meeting:
Identify your 10 most important values using the Personal Value Checklist.
It feels good remembering and talking about our high school days. Many would say that high school is the happiest phase in one’s educational journey.
Perhaps, you would never forget the intramurals, school foundation day celebrations, field trips, recollections/retreats, school competitions (such as singing, dancing, battle of the bands, essay writing, quiz bee, talent and beauty contests), the Junior and Senior Prom, and of course the graduation day.
Try to recall the first time you received a love note from an admirer? What about the chocolates and roses given to you during Valentine’s Day? What about your first crush, your first dance in one of the organized parties in school? Your first boyfriend or girlfriend?
Do you still remember your classmate who made you laugh with his funny jokes? What about the ‘gimiks” with your friends or “katropa”? Think of your best friend who has always been by your side through thick and thin. Remember the teachers who motivated you to keep on believing in yourself.
From time to time, it’s really nice recalling these wonderful experiences, the experiences in high school that made you laughed, cried and felt blessed. But life must go on. You definitely have to move on and sail on towards the direction of your vision in life. Wherever you are, your wonderful experiences in high school will always be a special part of you.
Now, as you enter another chapter in your life in college, it is natural for a freshman like you to wish and hope that your college life would be as beautiful as your high school days. College, just like high school, also has lots of exciting and good things to offer. However, as students, you have to maximize the available opportunities. You have to be involved, take active participation, exert effort and utilize every chance at hand.
The two lines pre-drawn in the paper that you have received is very much similar to your wishes and the good things MCL could offer to you. The lines are the available opportunities and resources, already given, just within your reach. These opportunities also serve as raw materials for the realization of your wishes. Your effort to draw or form the best you could make out of the given lines is the act of maximizing these opportunities. See how beautiful and meaningful the figures or images you have formed out of the given lines. At first it seemed impossible, but with your will to bring out the best out of what is given, you were able to produce an image of the “Best” you want to project.
Life is what we make. The fulfillment of your wishes in college is a matter of choice, an effort to maximize the given opportunities and resources and the will to always give your best.
1. In the first few days you've spent in MCL, how would you compare your highschool life to what you envisioned college life to be?
2. What is the importance of Values Education?
Thoughts
You’re in college already!
Your first few days in college are characterized by feeling of both excitement and worry. You are excited to see and experience by yourself what others are telling you about it. At the same time, you probably worry about how it is to live a life in collage world.
Who among you felt tensed when you took the entrance test? Can you still recall the feeling when the admission officer confirmed your admission at MCL? When you saw MCL for the first time during campus tour, didn’t you find yourself saying “Wow ang ganda naman dito”, “Wow ang laki naman ng MCL”, “Dito ako magka-college”.
Enrolment in College just like at MCL could be something new to you also. Might be, your parents often times did it for you, or they used to accompany you all throughout the process. Perhaps you were caught unaware that you’ll be doing it by yourself here at MCL, that you and your parents will have to separate ways: (they have to stay at the parents’ waiting area while you’re enrolling). You probably felt worried and unsure if you can do it but in the end, you reaped the good feeling of accomplishing something by yourself. Then, came the orientation day, how many of you feel excited meeting new faces? How many of you felt shy, tensed and worried being with the company of strangers. Perhaps, the orientation also helped you know MCL much deeper. What about during the first day of class, how many of you have easily established friendship and connections with other students? Who among you felt insecure, unsure, uncomfortable, tensed and felt like going home already?
All the feelings of excitement, worry, fear, insecurity, tension and uncertainty are natural feelings commonly experienced by freshman college student like you. There is nothing wrong feeling that way. Commonly, freshmen student in college will pass through this stage called “adjustment period”. It is period of adapting yourself into a new environment, getting to know new acquaintances, and learning a new system. Adjustment period may last for few months. If in case you find difficulty adjusting to college, don’t hesitate to ask for help. You may share you concern with your family, with your trusted friends and teachers. And of course, The Center for Student Development, an office dedicated for the service of the students, will always make time to serve you.
Welcome to College life, Welcome to Malayan Colleges Laguna!
Nature and Importance of Values Education
VALUES EDUCATION
Values Education as a part of the school curriculum is the process by which values are formed in the learner under the guidance of the teacher and as he interacts with this environment.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Values have a social function: commonly held values unite families, tribes, societies, and nations. They are essential to the democratic way of life, which puts a high premium on freedom and the rule of law. That is why, shortly after the Revolution of February 1986, the DECS made values education a primary thrust.
Similarly, the DECS thrust found strong support in the Philippine Constitution of 1987 in its vision of "a just and humane society," which calls for a shared culture and commonly held values such as "truth, justice, freedom, love, equality and peace." (Preamble)
In the pursuit of this thrust, the DECS has embarked on a Values Education Program with the following goal and objectives:
GOAL
To provide and promote values education at all three levels of the educational system for the development of the human person committed to the building of " a just and humane society" and an independent and democratic nation.
OBJECTIVES
Proper implementation of the program will develop Filipinos who:
are self-actualized, integrally developed human beings imbued with a sense of human dignity;
are social beings with a sense of responsibility for their community and environment;
are productive persons who contribute to the economic security and development of the family and the nation; as citizens have a deep sense of nationalism and are committed to the progress of the nation as well as of the entire world community through global solidarity; and
manifest in actual life an abiding faith in God as a reflection of their spiritual being.
Reference: Values Education for the Filipino
1997 Revised Version of the DECS Values Education ProgramUNESCO National Commission of the PhilippinesEducation Committee Project
Center for Student Development
Welcome Malayan Wizards!This blog site is dedicated for you. Use your account when you write your journal entries. You are expected to comply in this course by posting your entries on time. You are given only one week to enter your writeups. I will be checking and recording your entries every week.May you have fun using high-technolgy in journaling! Im very happy that you belong to my class. I look forward in getting to know you more!
Sincerely,
Professor RG Mondez
