The Nine Common Human Needs: Functional Literacy

Education in an Age of Spirit and Thought.

The state of our Public Education in the 21st Century must change with the times. The advancement of the Filipino spirit through the pursuit of academic excellence is the central reason why as a Nation we maintain a public and a private school system - right alongside each other.

Education in our Nation is not exclusive to either public or private domains. Neither is Education as an institution of the Philippine State obscure about its principles and intention. This Republic shall and will maintain a system of education prescribed by our Constitution (Article XIV). 
---<--@

We shall forgo the mindset that private schools are better than public schools.

This is a remnant thought left behind by a system of things past - a manifestation of colonial mentality, if you will - wrought about by an unjust division in our Nation (between conqueror-and-conquered or those-who-subdue-and-those-who-are-subdued) that is founded upon a reality in our midst that no longer exist...

And have not existed for some time now.

Let me also re-iterate that while we struggle with these remnant thoughts, particularly about those past evils that our Nation and its spirit was forcibly subject to, we should not place any blame on things that no longer materially exists - our colonial past is not an evil to blame, but a memory we should bear in mind to properly place into our living remembrance of these present times. 

We can not hate the past for being what it was: Spain is to be loved and respected because we are a people of the Now and live not in the past, accounting before God, only the promises of the living moment, imploring Him to bring this Nation unto a morning worthy of our Flag and Anthem.

And in this moment - forever, mabuhay - there are only those who we elect to govern and those who elect who choose to be governed by them - freely, in a free, fair and representative system of Country wholly and faithfully embraced by a State that is entirely the belonging of the Filipino people - past, present, and forever.

Therefore, our public school system will co-exist harmoniously with our private school system united in their synergistic commitment to Academic Freedom.

Private schools are mostly specialist schools. They adopt means and methods particular to their design and are possessed of their own specific institutions accordingly. 

But our public schools shall be built as foundation institutions of academic and civic fluency.

And the entire Educational system in this Nation shall and must be re-dedicated in the service of the Filipino youth upon whose strength and spirit every new dawning that shall, God-helping, break upon this Land of the Morning entirely depends - in all our behalf.

Human ignorance is profoundly spiritual in nature. Knowledge is to us as time, only a borrowed thing. What profits the labor of our Education is how it shall resolutely and faithfully serve, in the name of our children in the Nation, the Truth.

We must consider this, my brothers and sisters of the Promise, when we think of Functional Literacy in the Nation: Truth is not in the eye of the beholder. Truth is what beholds us back.

This is decidedly a subject possessed of more breadth and depth than can be handled in this work.

However, for our intents and purposes, we shall limit our thoughts to the renewal and re-dedication of Public Education in the Nation as an institution of the Philippine State entirely. This Republic being what it is, private institutions of learning shall then be made to freely and creatively compete. God-helping, with our successes.

I shall commit for us here, some thoughts I have been nurturing regarding the matter. Let me also add that it is good that I commit these into writing now - that others with a similar persuasion to improve on Education in our Nation may freely add upon these thoughts.

K-12 Standard, National

Civics                                                   Academics
- Open Learning                                   - Structured Learning
- Realized "In"                                      - Recognized "From"
- Learner with Nation                           - Teacher with Learner
- Core Competency                             - Core Curriculum
- Informal Transmission                        - Formal Instruction

Human Fluency is Academic and Civic Fluency exercised in unison. 

Foundation Thinking - IS - the Foundation. 

The product of this Education system is in the students we successfully transform into the dominant spirit and thought that must pervade their chosen fields of service.

In common, this we shall call Human Fluency.

We seek shall to graduate human beings who are professional citizens and life-long learners in their own right - knowledgeable both in heart and mind.

They shall know their profession and know what to love in their Nation (and in other Nations) and therefore, apply themselves accordingly.

They shall upon graduation be - 

Work Ready - and - Career Worthy (or) College Ready - and - Career Worthy (and their Education shall be esteemed) Global in Currency - Local in Scope.

"Hindi hilaw, hindi over-qualified - talagang tamang tamang tama lang."

The fruit of this vision
in the Reality of the Nation is
Human Fluency.
---<--@

The Nine Common Human Needs

Bring Back our Girls

 234 school girls kidnapped from a government school in Chibok. Those poor girls must be terrified and confused. Their families and friends must be heartbroken. Their local community must be in pain.

It was further reported in the news that the Nigerian government response to the incident has been less than the people of Chibok expected. In fact, it was almost outrageously indifferent to their plight. After a while, the contradictory politics of their State also became for them, a source of unnecessary distress.

It is easy to empathize with the humanity of the people of Chibok. Nameless, faceless Chibok - a human community of fellow living souls; of citizens gathered together into their Nation.

They are as we are. They dream the same basic dream of a reasonable freedom from the evils of the human condition. They work for the same ambition to simply be happy - as well as - happy enough in their community to be culturally and economically insulated from the darkness and despair of the world.

The shock of having 230 children forcibly taken from their families from within their own community must be all-consuming for the people of Chibok. I do not think they need more pain that that, especially not from their own government.

I certainly sympathize with my fellow human beings in Chibok who are my fellow citizen of the Nations. But I myself am confused by their government.

My fellow Filipinos, imagine the pain of Chibok's unbelief at the immediate wake of the incident. Imagine their tremendous need to be decisively led out of this confusion by the proper authorities from within their own Nation.

They called out to the Nigerian State and felt more confused by their own government response - or lack thereof. Imagine the pain of their slow realization, and their unbelief turning to grief.

Imagine their grief turn to outrage.

More so, imagine what those kids are feeling right now. I can not imagine those girls at this moment being able to think anything - only to feel. Feel there is some hope.

Hope is one of the main reasons - "we are" in our Nations, so that Justice may be brought to serve hope. And that hope may through Love and Remembrance be progressively realized through the economy of our generations - in behalf of our common humanity - for all our generations.

Truly, their kids right now - are our kids. 

After all, are they not like our own girls here in the Philippines? They need the love of their families and the affirmation of their communities. They are more vulnerable than our boys. They need to be shown they are loved and valued. And it also needs to be said to them - "I love you for you, it's ok to be you".

Girls are born beautiful. They just need to be brought up to understand how they may remember beauty as they grow up. They don't need to be told what beauty is - they know. They don't need to be told in what way they are beautiful as flowers need not be taught how it is in particular, to bloom.

I am sad for what happened in Chibok. I know many in my Nation feel the same way. I know many in other Nations kindred to us in soul also feel what we feel - for those girls, their families, friends, and community.

Let us not forget to pray for Nigeria, for Chibok, and for the stolen children of Chibok.

Let us remember in them also, all children who suffer the same plight - who are displaced from the love that gives them identity and strength by criminals who masquerade behind a cause that is either less than human or completely inhuman.

Let us remember all our Nation's causes are human causes. Justice, Mercy, Love - hope for life and hope of life - happiness, prosperity, peace.

We are different. Yet the same. This is why my Nation feels what the people of Chibok feels.

It is right to feel it. The wonder is why the Nigerian government does not.

May President Goodluck Jonathan set aside politics when it is clear that there is none to be had - Please, sir - cut the Gordian knot and be the leader your people need.

And - to Boko Haram - in behalf of those girls (and their dreams) they stole from us -

Bring back our girls. 
Then bring back their books.

May this incident be brought to its rightful conclusion. 

God bless the Philippines. God bless Nigeria. 

Mabuhay po tayong lahat.
---<--@

A message from my Nation's youth