Lapses in governance

It is gratifying to see how people react to lapses in governance. I got reactions from readers on two things yesterday, the seriousness of the illegal drugs problem and the deterioration of our educational system.

One caller said he was disappointed with the reaction of President Arroyo on the existence of a drug market in one barangay in Pasig when the President told the police to drive harder on the drug pushers. "She should have fired and charged those policemen who failed to do their job," he said.

I told the caller who asked not be named that as it looks now, one of the biggest industries in the country is drugs.

No illegal trade can exist if there's no money. There's big money in drugs to bribe all. Which means many of the police in that area were on the take. He asked, and how about Bacolod? I said, there used to be barangays here that had many pushers but they were, I think, neutralized. And this depends on the barangay leaders.

These are Barangay 2 under Punong Barangay Steve Mendoza and Barangay 22 under Punong Barangay Rommel Diaz.

They cooperated with the authorities to stop drug trade in their barangays.

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On education, my friend Adolf "Nene" Leonardia was very happy with Senator Edgardo Angara's campaign to lobby for the improvement of our educational system.

Angara was here Friday and, in a press conference at NFSP, he lamented the deterioration of our educational system.

Well, everybody has seen that in our graduates. Senator Angara said the level of achievement of our sixth grader now is that of a fourth grader and that of a fourth year graduate is that of a sixth grader.

And worse, our young are no longer taught the important subjects of science, math, and English by competent teachers because they are now all gone, recruited by first world countries, promised better pay, bringing their family along, with the promise of future citizenship.

Where's this country going? To the dogs?

The improvement of a country has always been gauged by its educational system. Where education deteriorates people deteriorate.

* * *

A few days ago, President Arroyo was shown in television handling a grade one class in an elementary school in Mandaluyong for forty minutes.

I agree with the reaction of opinion writers.

Their criticism was the President taught the pupils to speak correct English, also lessons in reading geography. The reaction of Alliance of Concerned Teachers was very relevant. I like to quote verbatim the reported reaction of ACT:

"What values will our school children learn from a President who faces serious charges of electoral fraud, betrayal of public trust, corruption, and gross human rights violations, and who used every means, both fair and foul, to thwart efforts to hold her accountable? That it's all right to lie, cheat, and steal?"

* * *

I don't want to be too hard on the President, knowing how beleaguered she is. But, I think there are lapses in the planning of her PR people.

Take the drug trade bust in Pasig. It has been there for three years and the police did not discover it. And the reaction was just to tell the people to be hard on drug traders?

She should have said, "Send the leaders to jail." And to the erring policemen, impose stiff fines.

* * *

But, on teaching, teachers must teach moral values. They must not just leave this to value formation educators. Teachers in business must teach business students to develop integrity and credibility if they want to succeed later in their trade

And teachers of law must do the same, teach would-be lawyers to maintain integrity and credibility. Never should teachers teach their students to cheat, lie or steal.

But, if these are important in college, this is more important in the earlier grades, more in the primary and secondary studies.

But the most important thing here is teachers must be what they teach. I don't agree with the dictum, follow what I say, don't follow what I do.

The best form of teaching is by example.

That is why the Church is always very hard on its erring priests in the same way that the Supreme Court is hard on erring judges.

I'd like to thank my friend Robin Jay Mercado who was happy with my "turning back the hands of time" with the song, "Among my Souvenirs."

He said, he remembered Thomas Hood's poem, "I remember, I remember the house where I was born/ The roses red and white,/ The violets and lily cups,/ Those flowers made of light/ The lilacs where the robin built its nest,/ And where my brother set/ The laburnum on his birthday,/ The tree is living yet!/ I remember, I remember,/ The first trees dark and high,/ I used to think their slender tops/ Were close against the sky,/ But now 'tis a little joy/ To know I am farther off from heaven/ Than when I was a boy."

That's our early education standard. We loved beautiful thoughts.*

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