Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Hail to Mr. Santiago
December 30, as most of us know, is dedicated to honor our National hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. This is the day when he valorously accepted a bullet for our dear country’s sake. Honestly, I never valued this date, until I took Kaspil1 under Mr. Santiago.
Like some of us, I find History subjects boring. I was never fond of memorizing a couple of hundreds of pages worth of information and intricate details. I regard knowing those facts irrelevant.
Let me rephrase that.
I regard simply knowing those facts irrelevant. So what if I know Rizal’s full name? Sow what if I can recite Mi Ultimo Adios? So what if I can name all Filipino Presidents in their chronological order?
Again, so what?
Last term, I was fortunate enough to encounter a professor who isn’t impressed with students who are walking encyclopedias. He gives more importance to what one understands rather than what one merely knows. And, above all, Mr. Santiago challenged me to question why I should know what I know.
On our first meeting, Sir told us why we are even required by the law to take this course. He asked us if there was anyone who taught us how to smile, cry, scream, laugh or feel pain. No one, right? Because, since the day we were born, we already knew these things. But do we even have the slightest idea that we are Filipinos?
Mr. Santiago revealed to us that the reason behind studying history is for us to develop nationalism- not to memorize facts, not to be bored and definitely not to merely make our lives miserable. I guess, if every history teacher would tell his/her students what Mr. Santiago told us before discussing anything else, students would have better appreciation for the subject. It would, possibly, shift the focus of the students from simply memorizing to what’s really important- understanding.
Towards the end of the term, I can say I’ve further learned about Rizal and our rich history. But more than that, I’ve grown deeper understanding of who I am as a person.. of who I am as a Filipino.
Like some of us, I find History subjects boring. I was never fond of memorizing a couple of hundreds of pages worth of information and intricate details. I regard knowing those facts irrelevant.
Let me rephrase that.
I regard simply knowing those facts irrelevant. So what if I know Rizal’s full name? Sow what if I can recite Mi Ultimo Adios? So what if I can name all Filipino Presidents in their chronological order?
Again, so what?
Last term, I was fortunate enough to encounter a professor who isn’t impressed with students who are walking encyclopedias. He gives more importance to what one understands rather than what one merely knows. And, above all, Mr. Santiago challenged me to question why I should know what I know.
On our first meeting, Sir told us why we are even required by the law to take this course. He asked us if there was anyone who taught us how to smile, cry, scream, laugh or feel pain. No one, right? Because, since the day we were born, we already knew these things. But do we even have the slightest idea that we are Filipinos?
Mr. Santiago revealed to us that the reason behind studying history is for us to develop nationalism- not to memorize facts, not to be bored and definitely not to merely make our lives miserable. I guess, if every history teacher would tell his/her students what Mr. Santiago told us before discussing anything else, students would have better appreciation for the subject. It would, possibly, shift the focus of the students from simply memorizing to what’s really important- understanding.
Towards the end of the term, I can say I’ve further learned about Rizal and our rich history. But more than that, I’ve grown deeper understanding of who I am as a person.. of who I am as a Filipino.
# posted by Liana : 1:59 AM
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