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ADVOCACIES

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Advocacies, the newest section of the Forum, aims to be a lively medium for disseminating ideas or proposed initiatives of lasting value, interest, or significance to Philippine society in particular and to the world in general. Only advocacies by registered Forum members will be entertained here, and they must be written in proper English as well as lucidly and responsibly argued or presented. Forum members are welcome at all times to post responses to particular advocacies, but they must observe courtesy and decorum in their responses. The publisher of this site reserves the right to immediately remove rants; highly partisan, ideological, or sectarian statements or tracts; advertorials, publicity, and advertising; and the like whether coming from advocates or reactors. If in doubt about the suitability of an advocacy for posting here, the Forum member is encouraged to clear the material first with the site publisher by e-mailing it to j8carillo@yahoo.com.

When Textbook English Gets Stuck In Reverse
By Antonio Calipjo Go

Last August 2012, a group of public school teachers came to see me at Marian School of Quezon City and asked me to look into the teaching module that they are currently using in Grade 7. The “Learning Package for Grade 7 English, First and Second Quarters” is the sole basis of all teaching and learning processes in the Grade 7 level of all public elementary schools in the country at present. It is the one and only instructional material used in lieu of the textbooks that they were supposed to have been given. This is anomalous, as the Department of Education (DepEd) has introduced a new curriculum without bothering to prepare all the basic tools with which to implement it. I promised the teachers that I will review the said learning package and when I did, I culled a total of 658 errors from just 172 pages! The third and fourth quarter components of this module have not yet been written. What will the teachers use for the rest of the school year?

All Grade 7 pupils have no textbooks. All textbooks used at present in all the other subjects and in all the other grade/year levels are all old titles. Therefore, it follows that not one textbook in current use is compatible with the pedagogic prescriptions and requirements of the new K to 12 Curriculum. The tools for implementing this new curriculum—the textbook being the most important of them all—should have been made ready beforehand. And the contents of these textbooks, learning packages, teaching modules or instructional materials should have been thoroughly screened for errors.

A paid advertisement of the DepEd appearing in the January 7, 2013 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer shows that the DepEd (Division of Albay) now intends to apply the sum of Php4.3 Million to payments for the “Reproduction, Soft-Binding and Door-to-Door Delivery of K to 12 Modules (Q3 & Q4).” We are already in the last quarter of the school year—why did the DepEd not deliver those modules earlier? What then are the teachers using in class at present? And have those modules been properly reviewed, evaluated,and screened for errors?

Even if we are to add ten more years to the present ten years of a student’s stay in school, all will come to naught if the contents of the textbooks, learning packages, modules and other instructional materials remain as defective and full of errors as they are. The textbook is the very heart and soul of the entire teaching and learning process. If it is faulty, deficient, or pedagogically infirm, we will only be imprinting errors and mistakes onto the minds of the students and we will never ever raise the level and quality of education in this country.

Here, verbatim, are just 58 of the 658 grammatically, semantically, or factually flawed passages (underscoring mine) that I found in the “Learning Package for Grade 7 English” template, model, and prototype of all of DepEd’s future “learning packages”:

“The centipede is a reptile with a carapace.”

***

“The 4-month old fetus’s skinless body had been formed but it looked as though it was just a piece of peeled flesh. The bottle, the alcohol and the long years had gnawed the fetus and little by little it was shredding and peeling off its flesh.”

***

“Some people keep petrified remains of pets.”

***

“What are the armies involved in the Battle of Manila Bay? What was the role of Manila Bay in the Galleon Trade? What is the history behind Manila Bay? Manila Bay is often crowded in the early morning and late afternoon. It is considered the finest harbor in the far east. The Bay is also known as a stopover for the Galleon Trade. It extends from the province of Bataan to the north and the province of Cavite to the south. Scattered along the shores of Bataan and Cavite are a number of beaches, resorts, foliages and volcanoes. Along this 2-km. walk are coconut trees, foliage and park benches. Just a decade ago, this part of the bay was unlighted, unpaved and was a popular hangout spot for thieves, substance-users and pimps. Today, it is well-lighted with a row of huge kaleidoscopic lamp posts. At nights, it is never without sightseers and lovers. Another relatively new attraction is the SM Mall of Asia (MOA). On its Open Concert Grounds, MOA had hosts a number of international events, which include concerts by David Archuleta and Justin Bieber. Even though people from all around the world revile Justin, he still manages to rake in a lot of money whenever he holds a concert tour.”

***

“An embedded clause is a clause that is fixed within a larger clause or sentence which is called the matrix clause. The embedded clause is usually found in the beginning or at the end of sentences. Markers introduce embedded clauses, but there are instances when a marker does not precede an embedded clause. Such is the case with gerunds.”

***

“Verbs have features or complements to determine how many other words would follow.”

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“Witness a moonlight memory of a lifetime. This is not your usual walk in the bay.”

***

“The constant bombardment of the capital was the military’s way of enervating the opposition.”

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“Farming and fishing are the main sources of livelihood of the mountain people living in the interior mountains of Panay and Negros.”

***

“Angela’s lustrous hair was the reason for her newfound celebrity.”

***

“Carlo declared his imperishable love to Carlita.”

***

“The village pumps out everything from pistols to anti-aircraft weaponry.”

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“The monster wrought havoc to its region.”

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“A humorous proverb: “I was formerly a gentleman without a care at all but when I got married, my body shrank and became small.”

***

“A broom is sturdy because its strands are tightly bound.”

***

“Far across the sea was a city so great that to look at its many people would injure the eyes of men.”

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“The Philippines has a population of 70 million. Filipinos are religious in nature. They are probably one of the few, if not the only, English-proficient Oriental people today.”

***

“The Filipinos in central Philippines are generally called Visayans or Bisayans. Hence, the people in Panay, Guimaras and Negros Occidental are referred to as ‘Visayans’ or ‘Bisayans.’”

***

 “Geologists observe that many of our mountains and mountain ranges seem to resemble human-like forms.”

***

“As soon as the buri leaves are dry, they are rolled up so that the curled parts will become straight or flat.”

***

“As the night grows younger, the breeze becomes colder.”

***

“Establish a familiar ground on tribal culture.”

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“The fresh banana hides were cold under my feet. I hid the doll’s leg under the banana pelts.”

***

“The dog screamed. It raced across the plain in long slewy swoops, on outraged shanks that disappeared and flashed alternately in the light. I ran after my dog, bugling his name.”

***

“Lily managed to round up a few bystanders to serve as the audience for her seminar.”

***

“Marjorie decided to leave her house when she saw several rat colonies in her kitchen.”

***

“Seat close next to your seatmate. Write down your and your seatmate’s insight about the song. Write big words which may represent the emotion caught by the song.”

***

“I just bend my knees to withstand the buffet of the winds.”

***

“The waters of the roaring river tolled and growled.”

***

“He buried out into the night.”

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“Rose never told anyone about Jack until telling her story of the Titanic.”

***

“The Bridges of Madison Country” is about the love of Robert and Francesca.”

***

“Discover how you can face your fear and extinguish you weakness.”

***

“Grandmother wanted bread rolls because recently she had lost three molars.”

***

“The narrator, like well-cooked pan de sal, is already ripe and mature.”

***

“Who would resist a leche flan?”

***

“Heavy traffic snarled the afternoon rush and cars and buses and people on the sidewalks hardly moved at all.”

***

“The chair arched his back. His wife sat on a cat.”

***

“Give at least one completed statement for each topic.

***

“Prepare for a choral reading of your letter commiserating with somebody who had just lost a loved one.”

***

“Care for: to show likeness

***

“Saving the ozone layer will reduce levels of pollution and money. Buy energy saving gadgets and bulbs. Malfunctioning air-conditioning emits CFCs. Halogenated hydrocarbon is very aggressive substance for the ozone layer. Save the Ozone!”

***

“The arrival of Indarapatra and Sulayman represented the Indones wave of migrants to the islands. Sulayman managed to kill the giant bird but the bird’s wing managed to crush him in the process.”

***

“As soon as a leaf ripens, it dries and falls.”

***

“He planted the land with grasses, trees, and flowers.”

***

“Out in the sun, my sister’s hair glinted like metal and, in her brown dress, she looked like a sheathed dagger. Her eyes were wild as scud. I found my butterflies in a can, burned in their cotton beds like deckle. My tear-logged eyes saw only her harsh and arrogant silhouette. She was enthroned in a large chair.”

***

“The gong of the dancers clamorously called in her care through the walls.”

***

“People in a relationship do not exist on its own.”

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“Deliver a minute presentation of your issue. Permit the opponent for a minute rebuttal.”

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“Are all statements a form of verbal irony?”

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“Lumnay explained to end her life.”

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“The story says aloud that a man who loves unconditionally should give up his or her happiness for the beloved.”

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“You can smell the aroma of freshly baked bread from one mile away. The hot bread rolls came straight out of the charred wooden peel. The family would wait for my return with a cup of raw carabao milk in hand.”

***

Year-round fiestas in the Municipality of Samal allow a tourist to celebrate to his heart’s content. Samal’s shore is lined with coconuts, white sand and cozy cottages. Thick forest and green land still covered the island’s virgin soil.”

***

“Inside the box (measuring 6cm x 6cm), draw fruit trees that can be seen in an orchard.”

***

“The people hunted fruit and fish for their food.”

***

“Present a generalization about the smiles and cries of Mr. and Mrs. Libre. What are the reasons behind the smiling or crying of the couple?”

***

“The parents agreed to a marriage with their daughter.”

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