james.soriano

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PUBLISHED: Student & Campus Section, Manila Bulletin, 21 August 2008 Issue (page F-4)

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I was taking a leak before going to English class last Wednesday when I overheard two of my batchmates talking about school. They seemed rather stressed, and understandably so; it’s midterms season. I wasn’t really listening to them, but I did hear one part of the conversation that struck me. It went something like this:

“Why do we even have to take up Math, anyway? It’s not like we’ll need to factor quadratic equations when we start working!”

“Yeah nga e! It’s not like I need to balance chemical equations when I’m already in media!”

Of course, we all know that’s not the point. We study math, science and language not because we are supposed to remember every single detail. Rather, we take them as a form of mental training, and your course determines which areas you are trained in. Of course, there are some subjects whose basis for being taken up may seem questionable, but that’s disputable.

Then again, I think the query makes sense in a different way. If you boil down the reasoning behind it to its simplest form, the question simply asks, “What’s the point?”—which means that probably, the point is being missed. On one hand, perhaps it is the wrong question to ask, since factoring is obviously not the point of a college education, but on the other hand, it’s also right.

Why do we work so hard to attain degrees that will only matter when we start working—if they will matter at all? And considering how college has become something of a necessity in starting a decent career, has the system of education failed in some way?

Nowadays, it seems like there are only two kinds of people who get the jobs that they want. The first are the people who have studied and graduated abroad; the second are the people who come from prestigious local universities. For these people, college has done its part.

This leaves out everyone else who comes from lesser-known institutions, as well as those who never went to or finished college. They constitute a majority of the workforce. The sad part is, they often don’t land the jobs they should be in. You could graduate as a Science or a Business major and still end up as a minimum-wage earner.

Of course, it can be argued that a large part of what makes a person successful in a career is his or her drive and determination. There are people, after all, who go into jobs that don’t fit their course descriptions and still end up successful. College can only go so far when it comes to equipping students with the tools that they need, in a world whose demands are constantly changing. I agree.

Then again, perhaps there is a need to re-examine our approach when it comes to education.

For one thing, I’m not sure it makes sense for our colleges to go with the flow when it comes to the labor market—that’s the reason why virtually every college seems to offer a Nursing course these days. While we supply whatever job is in demand around the world, we do so at the expense of other professions, and we often end up with an oversupply.

Another area which needs re-examining is the philosophy behind education. In our country, the mindset of most people coming out of college is to land a stable job and slowly work your way up. Perhaps we need to encourage students to start out on their own, instead of focusing on just getting employed.

It can even go as far down as the amount of knowledge that is being fed to the minds of students. Is it really necessary to go through all that tedium? Perhaps curricula can be adjusted so that there’s less pressure, which might result in better learning. Interestingly enough, people who study in universities abroad often have lighter loads than the ones who study here.

Nonetheless, while we can argue about how college education should be, the more important thing is still to make the most out of it. This means different things to different people, but the important thing is to learn to be flexible and adaptable.

And that means realizing that learning goes on and on and on, even after college.

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PUBLISHED: Student & Campus Section, Manila Bulletin, 17 July 2008 Issue (page G-3)

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There are many different reasons why we choose the courses we take up in college.Most people choose courses based on the careers that they think will make them successful.

Others choose courses that fulfill them, regardless of whether it’s lucrative.

Still, others choose courses not knowing what they really want, so that some of them eventually end up shifting from one course to another.

But no matter what the reason is, the most important thing is that you choose, for it is your future—your life—at stake.

But what if someone else did the choosing for you?

I think the reason I ask is because I’ve heard too many of my peers asking, “Why the hell am I in this course anyway?” Apparently, these people were pressured to take up courses they didn’t really want. I feel bad for them because they find themselves unable to get out in a rut that they didn’t even create.

Now, I don’t want to sound unfair by saying that the decision to take up an AB or a BS degree belongs exclusively to the student, and that other people, like parents, should not interfere with the process in any way. Obviously, a lot of considerations have to be made when it comes to career choice. And parents, in this case, can be very helpful.

But at the same time, it is also very difficult to draw the line. Parents can always impose their will on their children, on the presumption that they know better. This is where the classic conflict comes into play.

My parents want me to be a doctor, but I want to be a lawyer. I want to take up Political Science, but dad says I should be in Business Management. I really wanted to be an accountant, but mom put nursing in my college application; I didn’t want to go against her wishes.

On one hand, perhaps it is only fair. We do owe certain things to our parents. And when parents have put so much into the roads they predestined for us to take, we shouldn’t let them down. Or when families are in dire need of financial support, it is only right that we give back. Family, after all, is central to our values as a people.

But what bothers me is that it forces young people to either of two situations. The first is when you stay. While some people adapt effectively, others don’t. And when you don’t, you end up numbing yourself, usually with self-deception.

The second is when you eventually break down and shift. This scenario is riskier because it’s the kind of thing that causes rifts in families. Either way, they start out with an inherent disadvantage—unlike people like me, who were given the liberty to take up what we wanted.

Then again, maybe there’s some sense in giving up your dreams in lieu of what others dictate.

Yes, maybe. Some people have to give up what they could be, or what they want to be, and conform to what seems to be the safer option. And if we have anything going for us, it’s that our society supports such a mindset. After all, our educational system has always been demand-driven. Considering that our parents were formed under the same mentality, it is only reasonable to assume that they urge us to conform to it as well.

And then we ended up with an oversupply of nurses. But I digress.

There are many different reasons why we choose the courses that we do, but the most important thing is that we choose them. Other people shouldn’t be the ones making choices that shape our futures, using standards that are different from our own. Whether your parents agree with it or not, what matters is that you are certain of what you have chosen. Practical considerations are not the only determiners of success. And even then, success isn’t the sole measure of what makes a life meaningful anyway.