Neglect Precedes Dread

Crizel Cabatan

Almostfive years after the upsetting statistics gathered by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 results regarding the performance of Filipino students in the subjects of English, Science, and Mathematics; the Philippine education sector remains haunted by its rather troubled academic past. With the phenomenon involving the fear of mathematics, Filipino students and teachers alike struggle to contain the fright of numbers among learners.

It can be recalled that in the PISA 2018 results, the Philippines garnered a score of 353 points in Mathematics, which is 139 points behind The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average. The controversial score reflected students’ underperformance, which opted the Department of Education (DepEd) to bow to its fate by checking the circumstances that contributed to the result. One factor linked to learners’ academic performance is their metacognitive strategies or achievement motivation. Under these factors belongs the dormant phenomenon of mathematics anxiety. According to a study by Gerald Navida assessing Mathematics anxiety among Filipino freshman students, 15.3-32.6% experienced high levels of math anxiety while 3.5-30.6% had very high levels of the latter. In Alabel National Science High School alone, 7 out of 10 students manifested a fear of numbers according to a survey conducted by the campus press. Although recurrent, mathematics anxiety should not be tolerated–by either students or teachers. Arguably, this anxiety impairs a student’s ability to learn, retain, and master arithmetic topics that are essential not only to academics but to one’s daily life. Fear of failure fueled by failure encounters in math also contributes to this circumstance. The root of math anxiety cannot be

Fearless Points

Cycle of Imprudence

Heart Leh Alcudia

“Never Again ‘’ the cry that resounded throughout the entire nation. Through risked life and limb the dictator has finally been ousted and the curtain ultimately fell on one of the darkest periods in Philippine history. Atrocious, unforgivable, unforgettable that was all said and done but as it does the cycle turns and once again it resurfaces and rears.

Viewed through lenses of historical revisionism and nostalgia the Marcos Regime is now being considered the “Golden years”. The suspension of civil law, civil rights, habeas corpus, death,rapes and other human rights violations is all but a price to pay for peace and prosperity. The glorification and distortion of the marcosian past is a clear manifestation of the disinformation pandemic we currently are at. The economy was in fact not booming during the administration, it was during the early eighties when the Philippines suffered its worst post war recession. GDP shrank by 7.3% for two consecutive years, the last time an economic downturn of this magnitude happened was in World War II. As frustrating as it is, the tracked to a single road though, it stems from busy intersections. The pedagogy of the teachers is one. Math anxiety is fueled by tension and timidness. Thus, the education sector should steer clear of pedagogical issues linking mistakes to discouragement. Working on a stronger studentteacher relationship inside the classroom should be prioritized. Meaning, teachers should listen to their students’ needs— which includes accessible and adequate resources and enforcing a coping mechanism that could be used. With that said, it is about time that DepEd prioritizes Filipino students. At the same time, DepEd should evaluate not only what is seen on the outside, but also the inside. The importance of teaching competence, aided by a psychological and emotional understanding of learners, cannot be overstated. After all, neglect precedes dread.