Reaction Regarding the Discussion last Nov. 17, 2011 and the Syllabus

Last November 17, our Sociology 10 class discussed and tried to revise the syllabus according to what we deem fit for ourselves. Everyone definitely had their own opinions as to what they wanted; however, everyone also had one main goal in mind – how to get an UNO. It seemed very selfish to an observer because we would only think about our strengths and weaknesses and not care about other’s needs. But to a student in that class, he would be able to feel freedom to change something that he has never been given an opportunity to in his entire school life. And although not everyone agreed in every aspect, a conclusion was made especially in the breakdown of the grading system. I was amazed to see how people in our class, though total strangers, were very open to each other and even rebutted each other regarding their opinions. However, everything was done in a very formal and respectful manner, this I was very proud of. I realized that the rumors going around about UP students having an “attitude” isn’t a generalization.

While browsing through the syllabus given to us by our professor, I noticed that almost all, if not all, of our topics would be about the self, society and the connection between the two. I just realized that I am very lucky to have taken Anthropology 10 last semester because it is sort of related to this class and if I remember correctly, our prof then said that Anthropology used to be a part of Sociology. Contentwise, I believe that there are still many people out there, maybe even including myself, that are still confused about the nature of humans: the way they think, make decisions, and the likes, and how we relate to others in our society. Also, many don’t realize this but we are constantly being affected by the changing world around us and I believe that each and every one of us should be aware of that. We should always be on guard because if we are so vulnerable, in terms of our belief and values system, then we can easily be swayed and fooled into doing something that can hurt us, physically and emotionally. Furthermore, additional knowledge about the world and ourselves wont hurt us right? It might be even an advantage to us because we would understand more why such things are happening. We would surely feel less stressed and less panicked.

In addition to these, I noticed that our topics revolve around the Philippine society and the way of life of the Filipinos. This is really good for us because as we all can see, the younger generation Filipinos tend to have this colonial mentality, where they believe that anything foreign is much better than our local products. These lessons can help us find and develop a deeper love for our local products and believe that these can soon be international brands as well. However, it is very difficult, in the case of those looking for greener pastures, to convince the top notchers and intellectuals to stay in the Philippines so that our economy will improve because it is clear that jobs abroad will guarantee us a better life.

In terms of the additional activities to be done in class, I highly recommend field trips to perhaps museums, historical places, and the likes to know more about our history. Also, we can see the talent and skill of the Filipinos in creating masterpieces and works of art such as statues, paintings, and others rarely seen.  I would also recommend watching documentaries about our culture since there will be places we will not be able to visit such as the mountainside or provinces. This may teach us to be satisfied with what he have because we will realize that there are people out there who still live an uncivilized way of life and do not have the technology to live comfortably. 

I have thought of issues that are prevalent in our society today, which can be discussed or perhaps debated in class. One could be the effect of technology on our values because I have noticed that the youth of today have started developing different beliefs due to technology. They may not notice it outright but subconsciously, they are changing such as losing respect for their elders because they tend to be so focused on their video games and when their elders do so much as talk to them, they quickly wave their hand to shoo them away or make them keep quiet. Sometimes, I even notice them shouting at their parents just to leave them alone. Also, the priorities of these children are very different from what our parents had back then. All these changes, both bad and good, are due to technology and its innovations. Who would have thought there would be even such a thing as an iPhone or an Xbox? It’s really quite amazing.

 In line with the class participation grading system, I believe that the attendance of the student should be counted because it also takes effort for us to come to class everyday and on time. We don’t necessarily have to be given an additional 0.25 or such if we have perfect attendance but at least the professor will be able to recognize us and know that we participate in class. We also have to consider that there are students, who live in the provinces, because they have to spend time travelling and that needs effort on their part.

In addition to these, I would like to comment on the language we will be using in class. I recommend that we use pure English during discussions and in written works as well. It is a fact that the international language is English and the only way that we can communicate with people abroad is through the English language. You would ask, why would we want to communicate with people abroad? Well, it is very simple. If we want to create connections and trading partners abroad, then we have to communicate in English. Also, if we want to become big time business entrepreneurs or even just succeed in life, being fluent in English would matter. Since most of the new ideas come from abroad, it would be very difficult if we do not understand and speak English well. We can reserve Tagalog for our family reunions and other local social gatherings to make us feel more at home but when we do serious business deals and other professional tasks, English would be best. (Word Count: 1094)