Understanding Self and Others

              Understanding ourselves and others is important so that we won't step over others' shoes.  We must understand that every person is different and that we are all diverse.  When we begin to understand this, only then can we affect change in the lives of other people and work our way through national change.

               We watched a Cinemalaya film entitled, "Children's Show", which showed the state of poor children in the Philippines.   It showed what lengths children would go to just to survive. It was a very dramatic and eye-opening movie.  It made me realize that some people act the way they are because of the problems and difficult situations they are facing.  I also began to see reality in a clearer view which encouraged me to act towards solving problems like these.

               I learned then how to empathize with others and put myself in their shoes.  I began to see the enormity of human interaction: the background of people, the environment they grew up with, the kind of people they are affiliated etc.  This has encouraged me then to try to understand people, to not discriminate nor judge and to help others so that their lives can be bettered.

               We must learn to know ourselves also so that we can see where we are in this gargantuan interconnection.  We must use all these knowledge and understanding for the betterment of society by extending help in ways we can, as students, to those in need.  After all, we are all brothers and sisters.  And as Stitch mentioned in "Lilo and Stitch", "Family means no one gets left behind."  Yes, a humorous reference but the point still remains.

Gender Sensitivity Training

          Gender sensitivity as stated by the DSWD, "paves the way for equality, empowerment, self-respect and sustainable development."  It is important to learn it so that we can better understand the different needs of different people and destroy gender stereotypes that have plagued our society.  Gender sensitivity has been a hot issue over the past few years and even until now, it continues to be one.

         I missed the lecture on Gender Sensitivity Training but I have ample knowledge on the subject.  My mother worked as a local coordinator of the Great Women's Project (until its completion) and as you can predict, gender talks are common in our home.  She scolded us every time we reinforce societal stereotypes like and we were changed for the better.

       She always spoke of how people should be sensitive to the needs of women and how we should treat them with respect and with a sense of equality.  She also focused on topics like equal rights for both men and women which I found interesting; we are all created equal by God after all.  But she also said that even though men and women are equal in their rights, there are some roles in society that are exclusive to men and to women only (like pregnancy for women) and we should be sensitive to the needs that these roles require.

       One important lesson that my mother showed me in terms of gender sensitivity is respect for others and their decisions.  This lesson has also manifested in the way my family does things; we are a Christian family, my father is a pastor and we believe that same-sex marriage is not right.  Yet, despite our beliefs, we do not discriminate homosexuals but we respect their rights.  I think this is the core of gender sensitivity: respect.  We should respect others the way we want them to respect us.

       To summarize, gender sensitivity is critical in the present times.  We must look out for the needs of other people, and have respect for each other.  We must also help stop discrimination and strive for equality.  Let us keep making our society a better place.

Community Service

       Community service is defined by Google as "voluntary work intended to help people in a particular area."  That is the keyword: voluntary.  Community service must not be forced but should be an overflow of a person's willingness to help as a reflection of his character.  Thus, the character ethic comes into play.  Selflessness must be instilled in students and not just the "for-show" attitude to make community service more meaningful and way for our nation to change.

          Community service is important in our society because many of our fellowmen are in dire need of help but cannot get it from the government and so we must do our humanitarian part in doing selfless works for others.  I'm not saying that we should ignore the injustices that the government sometimes or oftentimes create but we should offer our services to others foremost.

          This is where NSTP comes in.  NSTP's goal is to inculcate in students the values needed to push them on the road to community service, to make them realize that life is more than living for oneself but should include selflessness and service to others.  This then is part of the road to national transformation towards positive change.

         Learning about community service is important.  But more than the classroom lectures and theories about it, we should, as students, act it out.  We must live out selflessness, nationalism and love for others.  Doing so will result in the betterment of our community, our society, our nation and even our world.

Citizenship and Nationalism

                For our country to progress we must value our citizenship as Filipinos and must learn to love our country.  When we own our citizenship, we begin to put value into it and what it means to be a Filipino and begin to have a burden for positive national transformation.  Learning and appreciating citizenship is important therefore to instill the most needed nationalism in students.

                During the lecture, we were asked to identify the problems of our country today and think up of possible solutions to each of them.  Answers like colonial mentality, poverty, corruption, illiteracy the like were common.  Solutions then were education for all, change in mindset, change of self, etc.  The lecture was an eye-opener.  It is true that many of us, most of the times, turn a blind eye to these problems and we need lectures like this to let us remember that our country is in dire need of change and that we should start this change in each of ourselves.

                The lesson taught me or made me realize that the main problem is our mindsets.  When we have an ignorant and losing mindset, those in power will continue to oppress us and use us.  We must then change our mindset into a winning mindset wherein we push for our rights and continue to fight for justice and positive change in the society.  I was encouraged to be an agent of change myself in my simple ways.

                There is a great need for change in our country and valuing one’s citizenship is the first step to drive us, students towards this goal.  We must own our citizenship so that a burden for our country’s betterment and improvement will be instilled in each of us.

Philippine History, Society and Culture

                To become better people and to become a better nation, it is of utmost importance that we look back to our past and learn from it, i.e. to avoid making the same mistakes.  The Philippines has a dramatic past that weaved our present rich culture and unmistakably, our society.  Problems of today, then, could have its roots in our history and in turn, the solutions.  It is vital therefore to learn about the past so that the present could be better understood and improved.

                In the lecture, we learned, through some readings, about the history of the country: before the colonisations of the country, during and after.  It was important to note that before the Spaniards came, the Philippines was flourishing and was prospering.  When they came, the riches of the country were exploited along with the inhabitants.  Then came other colonizers and after everything, the Philippines was left traumatized by the events that had occurred.  Though now free, we are not THAT free.  We are still under neo-colonialism, which is oppression or colonization in the mental level.  All these facts then, when combined can show why our present society is what it is today.  And from these, we can think up solutions then to counter the recurring problems of our nation brought indirectly or directly by our past experiences with foreign colonizers.

               

                From the lecture, I learned more about the history of the Philippines which made me see how it shaped the culture and society we have today.  I was also encouraged to learn more about neo-colonialism and to think up of solutions to break this mentality like patronizing national products for example.  I also began to understand how problems today like corruption can be indirectly linked to our past due to the degradation of morality.

                Knowing our history is important if changes are to be made in the present.  We need the past to understand the present and change the course of the future.  This was the main object of the lesson.  This was a very important learning because it made me, as a student, realize that my actions today can affect my tomorrow, your tomorrow and even my country’s tomorrow.

Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

       The Philippines is one of the most favorite vacation spots of typhoons, landslides, earthquakes and many other calamities.  Kidding aside, our country is prone to a lot of disasters and this is a very unfortunate fact.  Lives have been lost, homes have been broken due to these, most of the times, unforeseen calamities.  That is why disaster management is very important to learn.

       During the first part of the lecture, we were instructed to draw the things we would prepare for a disaster without talking to each other.  Each group drew what they thought they needed for a disaster and after that, there was a discussion. 

       We tackled various subtopics ranging from what to bring during a disaster (as implied by the aforementioned activity) and what to do in the actual disaster.  We also learned what to do when doing psychological help to disaster victims and how to help the victims handle the traumatic experience.  It was a very informative lecture.

       I learned that disasters are inevitable and oftentimes, unpredictable.  But there are certain ways to reduce the risks of a disaster.  An example would be: preparing a safety kit with lifesavers, flashlights, water, food ration, clothes, sweaters, jackets and the like.  Also, I was encouraged to learn some basics about what to do during earthquakes, flood and landslides.  And also, I learned how to talk with victims of disasters with tips like: do not force them to talk to you if they don't want to, don't give them false hopes etc.

      This was a very important lesson in the sense that it can be applied practically to disaster situations.  It gave us ample knowledge on the how to's during calamities and that is very helpful.

  

Human Rights and Dignity

           In a world where inhumane acts are apparent, it is important that students are educated with their rights and given an understanding of their dignity.  This then will cause them to realize that there is a great need for these rights to be communicated to other people and cause them to be agents of change by applying the principles of human dignity to their daily lives.  This was the main object of our NSTP discussion on human rights and dignity.

          We were shown a video of how the concept of human dignity developed.  The video showed its history and how various people and cultures viewed human ethics.  But since the concepts were so diverse, an international agreement on human rights and dignity was signed upon by all nations of the world establishing a worldwide baseline for proper treatment towards other people.  This was known as the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

  

        All men are equal under the law and no man should be subject to torture are two examples of the contents of the said declaration.  In essence, the declaration was created to protect and preserve the freedom of every human being without causing harm to others.  "Your dignity ends where another's begins", was the basic principle.

         It was a fun, interactive and eye-opening lecture.  I was informed of a lot of my rights that I never knew I had.  It also made me understand the value of human life and the importance of proper treatment of others.  Truly, we must learn to live with respect for others and even for self.

         This lesson was important to know and to learn to avoid being used or maltreated on the personal level.  But beyond that, it was important to learn human rights and dignity so that we, the students can inform others and start the change towards a more humane society and eventually, a more humane world.