Evolution, on a personal and social level, is the theme of the coming year. That’s because scientists will be celebrating Charles Darwin’s 200th birth anniversary and the 150th anniversary of his (r)evolutionary book, On the Origin of Species. This is why the world will be referring to 2009 as the Darwin Year.
Some people hate Darwin for diminishing the credibility of the Bible, the Creation story in particular. Others love him for his agnosticism. And there are also those who simply want to focus on his evolutionary theories on natural selection and the survival of the fittest. Love him or hate him, his teaching remains: Evolve or die!
Speaking of evolving and adapting to our environment, I would like to share with you the 2008 version of Karl Fisch’s Shift Happens.
I know you’ll agree with me that we simply must prepare our children for life in these exponential times. As a teacher, I believe that the shift has to happen in schools.
Here’s to a great 2009! May the Good Lord continue to bless and guide us all. And as we honor our national hero on his 102nd death anniversary this Wednesday, let’s revisit his inspiring and award-winning poem, A la Juventud Filipina (To the Filipino Youth)
Unfold, oh timid flower!
Lift up your radiant brow,
This day, Youth of my native strand!
Your abounding talents show
Resplendently and grand,
Fair hope of my Motherland!
Click here to view the full version of the poem in Spanish, English and Tagalog
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Image Credit:
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10 Responses to “Let’s Evolve in the Darwin Year 2009”
How cum he insisted to deliver his thoughts to the Filipinos in stinking fish saucy language. Is he really a Filipino, the national hero? The brown maids never passed even his quality control.
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Happy New Year, Valdemar! I think our national hero chose the Spanish language because many Filipinos were comfortable with reading it back then. Even today, if you look at the bestsellers in our bookstores, most of them are in English. Maybe someday, we could have more bestsellers in our Mother Tongue.
Hello, Darwin!
Happy New Year, Kuya Ley!
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Hello Nying! Happy New Year mahal kong kapatid. Pagbutihin mo pag-aaral ha. Mwah
Hi.
“must prepare our children for life in these exponential times. As a teacher, I believe that the shift has to happen in schools.”
That is what schools are supposed to be. I did that because I believe in that. Right and wrong.
I’ll pick on the wrong. If you have children attending public school in the Philippines you will be making a big mistake if you do that.
With 60-70 pupils per teacher, and 2 shifts per day for the teacher, your children will finish school probably BLANK. They dont get to recite. Most of them are not even noticed by their teachers! Pinapapasa na lang ang mga ito! In short we actually have diploma mills there.
I made that mistake and discovered it too late.Time has been lost. Children simply learned from their peers and in the streets.[There are exceptional children of course. But then again they are exceptions.]
In the second thought maybe that’s all Filipino children need to survive in their time(?)[Survival in an ever becoming cruel world!]
The next generation of Filipinos, product of the Philippine public school system, is unthinkable!
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Happy new year rodj! Even if the odds are against us, I believe that we will always hope for a brighter future and we shall overcome. I wish you all the best in 2009
Happy Darwin Year Lester.
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Pardon me for being a little too late, but belated greetings for the following: Ras as-Sana 1430, New Year 2009, Chinese New Year 2009. I just finished watching the vids inclusive in this post and truly they are informative. I agree that in private schools children are at an advantage than their counterparts in public schools, and I can also say their respective families also share the same advantage. Let me share this experience, in an aircon bus I rode in Manila, two groups of children were seated opposite to each other just in front of me. One group, chattering to each other were all excited about their psp and ipod nanos held in their hands, comparing which one has the better features. The other group, also chattering to each other, and also comparing the new set of crayolas held in their hands, and that’s it, it’s all they have the new set of crayolas. I think it is easy to pinpoint which schools they belong. If Shift Happens it is not that difficult to determine whom it will favor. I call them the Rich-and-Plenty (RaP) aka Haves. And not the Poor-and-Nothing (PaN)aka Have-Nots. At this point of time “The Missing Link” is yet to be determined, which places “The Origin of Species” at the debating table. Perhaps Mr. Robert Langdon will be able to provide a light to the matter–one day.
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Thanks Roje. Nice acronyms. If I can just add one more and this is my dream — Poor-and-Nothing-Gain-Access-to-Rich-and-Plenty (PANGARAP)
God bless
Lester
What can I say, you touched me with that one “PANGARAP”. Another that truly touches me was an ad I don’t see much nowadays. It is from The Children’s Hour, which starts with “Takong mo pa lang …” and it goes on. As of writing I am starting my own “crusade” in giving affordable computer lessons “exclusive” to public school children–and I am the tutor. The details I will publish on my blogs-to-be.
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