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.
