Paano Ba Ang Yumaman?

Natural sa isang tao saanman nagmula at anuman ang estado ng buhay ang nangangarap na magkamal ng maraming pera. Ang pagyaman ay isang hangaring inaasam-sam ng bawa't isa sa atin. Ito ang dahilan kung kaya't gagawin ng isang nilalang ang lahat upang makamtan lamang ang pinapangarap.

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Marami sa nagnanais yumaman ang nag-aaral nang mabuti at dinaragdagan pa ng ilang taon ito. Sila ay yaong kumukuha ng kursong Medisina at Abugasya o di kaya ay ang pagkuha ng Masteral at Doctoral Degree sa kursong tinapos. Ang mga taong ito ay naniniwala na kapag mataas ang iyong pinag-aralan ay siguradong malaki ang iyong magiging posisyon at sahod at mapapadali ang iyong pagyaman.

(Image from http://www.disneyimage.com/Funny-Doctor-Cartoons)

Hindi naman kumbinsido ang ilan na kapag mataas ang pinag-aralan ay madadali ang pagyaman. Marami rin ang nagtatatrabaho kaagad pagkatapos ng elementarya o high school. Para sa kanila, kapag maaga kang kumayod ay maaga kang magkakapera at mapapadali ang iyong pagyaman.

(Image from http://time.com/3544391/the-luckiest-generation-life-with-teenagers-in-1950s-america/)

Pagtitipid at pag-iimpok ang magandang paraan ng pagyaman. Hanggang maaga ay dapat na magtipid at mag-impok. Iwasan ang pagbili ng mga bagay-bagay na hindi naman sadyang kailangan. Ilagak ang suweldo o kinita sa banko at ito ay palaguin. Kapag marami kang inipon, tiyak na mapapadali ang iyong pagyaman.

(Image from http://www.integralbank.in/saving-bank-account.html)

Wala sa pagtitipid ang pagyaman. Ang iba ay pumapasok agad sa pagnenegosyo upang yumaman. Kokonti lang ang tutubuin ng pera kapag inimbak lamang sa mga banko. Dapat ay ikaw ang makinabang sa pera mo. Magtayo ka ng negosyo at tiyak ang iyong pag-asenso.

(Image from http://www.akoaypilipino.eu/balita/balita/migrasyon/italian-language-obligado-sa-mga-negosyante-stop-mula-sa-antitrust.html)

Masyadong delikado ang pagnenegosyo. Sa isang iglap, pwedeng mawala ang pinaghirapan mo. Bumili ka ng stock ng mga negosyong kumikita na. Kapag kumita sila ng malaki, malaki rin ang dibidendo mo at tiyak na ang iyong pagyaman.

(Image from http://www.axialfinance.com/produits/axialstocktrader.jsp)

Kailangan mong mag-abroad para yumaman. Ang suweldo sa ibang bansa hamak na mas malaki kung sa lokal ka lang mamamasukan. Maraming Filipino ang umasenso nang maging Overseas Filipino Workers o OFWs. Pabalik-balik lang sila sa bansang pinagtrabahuhan. Dahil doble ang kita, mas madali ang pagyaman.

(Image taken from http://www.nolanlazaro.com/what-ofws-dont-tell-you-about-life-abroad/)

Mas madaling yumaman kapag pumasok ka sa pulitika. Kapag may kapangyarihan ka na, marami ang rerespeto sa iyo. Marami kang magiging kaibigan. Maraming hihingi ng tulong sa iyo. Kapag pinagbigyan mo sila at sila ay nagkapera, siguradong maaambunan ka nila. Habang marami silang hinihinging pabor sa iyo, parami rin nang parami ang grasya mo. Tiyak ang iyong pagyaman.

(Image from https://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/only%20politics_48455)

Hindi na kailangan ang maging pulitiko upang yumaman. Sumuong ka sa mga iligal na gawain at tiyak ang iyong pag-asenso. Puwede kang mamuhunan sa jueteng at iba pang uri ng sugal. Maaari ring gumawa at magbenta ng shabu. Kung malakas-lakas ang loob, puwedeng maging carnaper, holdaper at kidnaper. Dahil madali ang kita, madali ang pagyaman.

(Image from http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVSermons/ThreePhilosophiesOfLife.htm)

Anuman ang pinili o pipiliin nating paraan sa pagyaman, dapat nating alalahanin na ang bawa't isa ay mayroong kalamangan at kapinsalaan. Piliin yaong naaayon sa ating estado at kakayahan. Higit sa lahat, sundin lamang ang paraang naaayon sa batas upang makaiwas sa peligro.

Ano ang gagawin mo upang yumaman? At sa mga mayaman na, anong paraan ang ginamit ninyo? Ikaw, ano ang iyong gagawin upang yumaman?

Guilty as Charged

Assessment of students’ skills and performance through observations and other traditional testing methods is not only for the concern of the learners but also for the teachers. This is because the outcome of the evaluation does not only reflect the level of students’ understanding but also indicate the quality of instruction received by the learners. Wary of this implication, teachers do their best to see to it that their students’ performance and skills meet the standards set by school officials. To achieve this, more often than not, teachers result to teaching to the test. Is this cheating?

 

Teaching to the test refers to giving instruction to students of the contents of the standard tests that they shall take in a given time. Nothing is wrong in this definition. The problem lies when the teachers or instructors give the exact items or similar to it during class discussion or review. Some academicians assert that this kind of tactic is wrong because it is tantamount to cheating.  Popham (2001) argues that item testing is unacceptable because it takes away valid inferences about the outcome of the assessment because the result assumes that the students also understand the other contents of the curriculum not just the items appearing on the test.



Veteran educator Jeanne Clements (2013) argues in favor of teaching to the test and recommends its wide use. However, she is not talking about reviewing the exact items on the standardized test but on the specific contents of the test. She stresses that the test does not rely on rote memorization of facts and concepts. She further asserts that no one condemn licensure examinations for professionals when the reviewers also result to teaching to the test.



As a student at Tapinac Elementary School in Olongapo City, I had never experienced that my teachers  were actually using the outmost form of teaching to the test, which we can also refer to as “cheating to the test.”  We can all infer that my teachers knew before hand the contents or subject matters of the standard or achievement tests to be given at designated time that they needed to teach us students. However, they never drill us on the actual test items or “clones” of them. They just presented us with the format and the directions of the actual test to familiarize ourselves to save time. Since we knew before hand that the result of the test will not become part of our final grade (which we never knew if ever true), test anxiety was diminished.



Nowadays, teachers’ performance are also gauged against the results of their students’ evaluation. As a result, they result to “cheating to the test” or during performance evaluation conducted by principals and other district supervisors. One of the tactics employ during visits of high ranking school officials and achievement tests is to tell low-performing pupils not to come to class during the date of the visit or test. A drill before the visit is perfected by simulating the visit’s scenario through giving high achievers their roles, that is, who will answer first, who will ask question and what, etc. This results to high satisfactory rating to students, teachers and schools.



To overcome their shortcomings as administrators, principals and teachers, there are many instances that sample or the actual test papers are being reviewed by the students and teachers. Because no one from the students up to high ranking officials of the district want to get a failing or unsatisfactory rating or remark from those above them, the performance maybe conceived as cooperative. This kind of drama becomes unacceptable when the learners do not gain from the experience. As long as the students understand the materials being presented and taken during class and these items are not the actual items,  teaching to the actual test items is not wrong. This is also what is happening during review classes for the professional accreditation and certification. Teaching to the test is reprehensible if the test items being reviewed are the actual and same items or their clones.

As some teachers are guilty to some form of teaching to the test, as a student, I am also occasionally guilty to “learning to the test.”  This is especially true when the teacher provides you with so many reading materials and that you do not have enough time to read them all. As a result, I tend to read and study only those that answer the study guide questions and the learning objectives. This becomes challenging because I also write what I read to fully understand them. I believe that this strategy is not at all faulty since I cover the essential knowledge and skills that need to be learned. This is different from high school where you are assigned one particular textbook to study. However, I do hope that a compressed and comprehensive reading materials is provided that tackle the essential elements of the module without sacrificing content and higher order skills, if time is limited to comprehend various materials and media.

 Images from

1) http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Education/Pix/cartoons/2012/10/12/1350042607200/Ros-Asquith-Lines-cartoon-001.jpg

2) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52DQ3SCyNi2790LSQSabHOqI6IGPM13uKTA0gvS58Pp3rBo8reMV2L4G-OunM9hBz_yHBP8escNW_sz0dFSvixAKTYolUSwjiNKnI-sbj611BZvZZIs2Skw1ogmmSYhtivXl_yIM3yM21/s1600/david-sipress-prospective-teacher-being-interviewed-by-principal-is-given-impossible-to-cartoon.jpg

3) http://seattleducation2010.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/testing1.jpg

4) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUtXYFDpRCXiOqkQtsxIz83YljcIxcRW-jFVj98lfDb_03byLsqgbm5VmLD8ztquKZ84XaKj6MxKQZcorn-7ZnH6dyxjhumBArGvpTFTbAEf28PYAJRFA0VOa-Il6BJ3Ki0OEN8zNaQFI/s640/1b2.jpg

5) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsfoztllNHOFjX6sKT2Eg0WoX3u45BHAaKXWv0mZF9KiYGqVKVQgXl1mOu8_O9vREkWdgnY-PYTZNWnwcScufO1zIXdBKyir_6S9kDQq94eSk_4_0DV0RilqHeHmKIvYNkwIjuG9XAwUe/s1600/multiple+choice+cartoon.png

6) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASvgC4_WgHfSDyNqAckGWDKPgJ79PWp7OMmzyhqN1awk01pYV5DffPYY_n9o6V-uYkVKTZ3Z0uubBhVbe7SrerN7UrDE3ha9NmrZSn5h0rMrNvvgrfMPnBi6jC1qqJRnJ6hzm90X1m-I/s1600/Learning+to+Take+Tests+Sign.jpg

References 

Clements, J. (2013). Common Core: Veteran Educator Urges Teachers To ‘Teach To The Test’. In CP Opinion. Retrieved from http://www.christianpost.com/news/common-core-veteran-educator-urges-teachers-to-teach-to-the-test-100938/

Popham, W.J. (2001). Teaching to the Test? Helping All Students Achieve. 58 (6), 16-20. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar01/vol58/num06/Teaching-to-the-Test%C2%A2.aspx

2)

Am I Plagiarizing?

After reading all the article about plagiarism on the website of Harvard University, my mind became in limbo. My mind just got stuck and wondered if  I were guilty of plagiarism for all those years.

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I became to realize that all those words and ideas that I wrote and expressed might not be my own. All the thoughts, reflections, insights and realizations might belong to someone else. Worst, my knowledge that I acquired could be taken away by those who put them on my mind!

And this thought came to my mine - if plagiarism if copying verbatim someone else ideas or a portion of it in writing without citing the author or source, what do you call it when you express them verbally? If such is also illegal, do we have to cite the author or the source whenever we speak? If such is the case, all what we say will be full of citations.

Can we say that what we learn is our own? If not, how and when we know that all these ideas are common knowledge that need not be cited? If a mother advised his  son to do something nice and the son obliged, should the mother cite where she got that idea? If the son said that to his future son, should he cite his mother or the source of his mother where the original idea came from?

If we copied an idea or expression from an author who copied it also from an author who copied it from the original author, shall we cited the author whom we copied the idea or the original author whom we never read his original writing?

Since new ideas are rare, we are bound to be guilty of plagiarism. What we write and say might be someone's else idea? What if you write aimlessly without referring to any form of media (like what I am doing right now), am i plagiarizing if those ideas were already written by somebody else?

What and how we know that an idea is common knowledge or not? Who decides that an idea or expression is an original one and must be cited? Is there a maximum period that a work, idea or belief be considered of public domain and should not be cited?

Well, those are some thoughts that I need to address before writing. By the way, what I 'm writing  right now might  belong to somebody else.  Oh, am i plagiarizing?