Culture and adventure on two wheels

L. Supetran

Balanga Elementary School where Fil-American troops surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, and is depicted through life-size bronze tableau beside the World War II Museum. A few minutes away is The Bunker, the provincial capitol building which was renovated to bear war motifs.

Also around the neighborhood is the European-inspired Plaza Mayor and the Spanish-era Cathedral of St. Joseph across the street.

At sunset, the best place to be is at the City of Balanga Wetlands and Nature Park, a 34-hectare mangrove forest where you will be amazed by some 9,500 endemic and migratory birds winging their way across Manila Bay and the swamps.

An iconic must-see is the Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor) on top of Mt. Samat in Pilar, a memorial complex whose centerpiece is a 92-meter tall cross punctuated by relief sculptures of the late National Artist Napoleon Abueva and a museum of war memorabilia. The Shrine’s colonnade a breathtaking view of Corregidor Island just across the bay, which continued the fight even after Bataan fell.

The mountain war memorial is also as an adventure tourism and enterprise zone with the recreational facilities, forest trails, waterfall and natural pool, which riders will surely enjoy after a heady history overload. Perhaps the most exciting adventure is Mariveles, situated at the province’s southern tip, which can be reached through the scenic zigzag which will give riders, drivers and bikers a heart-pounding cruise.

At the foothills of Mt. Mariveles is The Oriental Hotel Bataan, a chic lodging for business travelers, families, and staycationers tucked in a lush tropical forest. An architectural masterpiece of the late National Artist Leandro Locsin, the two-level circular brutalist design hotel combines Old World charm, Asian touch, contemporary vibe and lots of greeneries, open spaces and a locally-grown vegetable garden where you can try out your green thumb.

To lure riders into the province, it recently launched the Explore Bataan for motorcyclists with a tempting room rate promo of P3,888 for deluxe cellar and P4,888 for deluxe executive, and comes along with breakfast for two and 10 percent discount at the Cocoon Restaurant and Forest Grill.

It also has a circular pool and an Asian-themed spa where you can pamper yourself after a long ride.

For a consummate exploration, the hotel’s partner tour operator, Aura Mosca has ready-made itineraries which you can check out. They can also customize tours which combine a little bit of everything based on your personal preferences.

Just about a mile away Death March Km 0, a memorial plaza where some 70,000 Filipino and US soldier prisoners of war were gathered by the Japanese for a grueling 100-km walk to their prison camp. A brief ride away is the Five Fingers Cove, an Instagrammable configuration of beaches which can be accessed at a local station of outrigger boats. Meanwhile, the adjacent Panoypoy village affords riders a soothing top view of the coves and the bay’s vast expanse. And if there seems to be a magnetic pull for beaches, the neighboring town of Morong has an infinity of powdery coastline dotted with resorts, beachfront facilities, and the sought-after sanctuary for sea turtles. Indeed, Bataan beckons two wheelers to ride into culture, adventure, nature and everything in between.

Educators: Graphic novels help in teaching math, physics

POST-PANDEMIC , some educators are trying to re-engage students with technology—like videos, computer gaming or artificial intelligence, just to name a few.

But integrating these approaches in the classroom can be an uphill battle. Teachers using these tools often struggle to retain students’ attention, competing with the latest social media phenomenon, and can feel limited by using short video clips to get concepts across.

Graphic novels—offering visual information married with text—provide a means to engage students without losing all of the rigor of textbooks.

As two educators in math and physics, we have found graphic novels to be effective at teaching students of all ability levels.

We’ve used graphic novels in our own classes, and we’ve also inspired and encouraged other teachers to use them. And we’re not alone: Other teachers are rejuvenating this analog medium with a high level of success.

In addition to covering a wide range of topics and audiences, graphic novels can explain tough topics without alienating student averse to STEM—science, technology, engineering and math.

Even for students who already like math and physics, graphic novels provide a way to dive into topics beyond what is possible in a time-constrained class.

In our book “Using Graphic Novels in the STEM Classroom,” we discuss the many reasons why graphic novels have a unique place in math and physics education.

Here are three of those reasons:

Explaining complex concepts with rigor, fun INCREASINGLY, schools are moving away from textbooks, even though studies show that students learn better using print rather than digital formats.

Graphic novels offer the best of both worlds: a hybrid between modern and traditional media.

This integration of text with images and diagrams is especially useful in STEM disciplines that require quantitative reading and data analysis skills, like math and physics.

For example, our collaborator Jason Ho, an assistant professor at Dordt University, uses “Max the Demon Vs Entropy of Doom” to teach his physics students about entropy.

This topic can be particularly difficult for students because it’s one of the first times when they can’t physically touch something in physics.

Instead, students have to rely on math and diagrams to fill in their knowledge.

Rather than stressing over equations, Ho’s students focus on understanding the subject more conceptually.

This approach helps build their intuition before diving into the algebra. They get a feeling for the fundamentals before they have to worry about equations.

After having taken Ho’s class, more than 85 percent of his students agreed that they would recommend using graphic novels in STEM classes, and 90 percent found this particular use of “Max the Demon” helpful for their learning.

When strategically used, graphic novels can create a dynamic, engaging teaching environment even with nuanced, quantitative topics.