gabe ulanday,
Opinion: SSH Track, Media-Centered due to Media Center?
Photo Credit: Sophia Loriega, Cyñl Tecsón
“Anong track mo? Business? AppSci? Or MC?” (What’s your track? Business? AppSci? Or MC?)
This is what usually a University of the Philippines Integrated School (UPIS) student would ask his/her batchmate when the time comes when they are to decide what track they are to apply for. Most of the time, students would rather say “Media Center” than the track it actually belongs to, which is the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) track.
In addition to this, sentiments regarding the SSH track of the UPIS being “media-centered” due to the Media Center have been raised by various past and present members of the track on social media and in personal conversations. There are those who felt that working in the school publication, Ang Aninag Online, only railroads their education towards the media field while bypassing other fields of the SSH spectrum.
However, that is not the case according to the Assistant Principal for Academic Programs, Professor Rachel Patricia B. Ramirez, the UPIS Media Center provides more than just media experience for working in the Media Center also teaches students to be analytical and to criticise.
These traits are not just applicable in media. For those alumni aspiring to be practitioners of law, these are also key traits to have when working in a court of law. As is for those with political or administrative ambitions, internship in the Media Center can teach them to be analytical and critical of policies and how they affect those under them.
These traits are further reinforced and expanded by the cluster courses such as Practical Law and Social Analysis.
These are, according to Professor Ramirez, just some of the considered benefits that the SSH Track provides and reasons why students of the said track should indeed handle Media Center even if they do not intend to pursue a career in media.
Despite all these benefits that students of the said track could receive, the sentiment continues, especially among some students in the outgoing batches.
Professor Ramirez suspects that the sentiment originates from the size of the workload of the Media Center. While yes at first glance, the massive workload might seem to single out media work, students should also note the previously mentioned traits that one is able to hone while working in the Media Center.
If it may seem to them that the administration is deaf to these sentiments, they are terribly mistaken. Every three years a curriculum evaluation is conducted where concerns like this are all taken into consideration and the appropriate changes are made to correct such concerns and to avoid other potential concerns.
However, if a concern is detected and it cannot wait the three years to correct, immediate changes are made to correct them, according to Prof. Ramirez. An example of this is the removal of the Philippine Nationalism class and its replacement with the Social Analysis class. It was seen that the former was not as appropriate for the track as the latter, therefore it was changed.
“...Kailangan mong i-weigh. Ano bang mas mahalaga, kung ano bang mas mainam sa track?” Professor Ramirez stated. (You have to weigh, what course is more important? What course is better for the track?)
When asked if changes to the curriculum are experimental, Prof. Ramirez had this to say, “[Noong] time pa ni sir SJ, pinag-uusapan na yung bagong curriculum. Bago pa man naglabas ng curriculum yung DepEd, mayroon na tayong naiisip na [curriculum]. So I wouldn’t say na experimental batch kayo if it means na pinag-eeksperimentuhan yung batches. Na parang hindi justified or ‘di pinapag-isipan yung mga pinapatupad kasi that’s not true. Kasi masusing pag-aaral naman ang ginawa sa bawat course na i-ooffer,” (Even during sir SJ’s time, the new curriculum was already being discussed. Even before DepEd released their curriculum, we already had a curriculum in mind for our school. So I wouldn’t say that you're an experimental batch if it means that the batches are being experimented with. As if the courses implemented were not justified nor thought of, because that’s not true. Because thorough studies were conducted to each course that will be offered.)
Every year, feedback forms are given to students from all the tracks for their input regarding their classes and cluster courses, so that there exists a private, official and formal method of expressing such concerns.
“Every year naman may evaluation for tracks eh. Kung nilagay nila yung sentiments nila sa evaluation form at marami silang may ganoong sentiment, pwedeng nagawan sana ng paraan yung nakikita nilang ‘di okay sa kanila,” Professor Ramirez said. (There’s an evaluation for the tracks every year. If they were able to put their sentiments regarding their track on the evaluation forms, and many while many others agree with them, then the issue that they saw could have been addressed.)
The administration is always open to comments and questions regarding the school and its policies. Mostly, it is the student that is too afraid to ask for clarification, so they resort to rants and tirades on social media. The administration will be unable to address issues such as this if it is not brought up to them in an official and formal manner.
“...Paulit-ulit kong sinasabi, kung may mga concern about the track, isulat nila sa evaluation form o sabihin nila sa faculty… Pag hindi nila sinabi, paano namin malalaman yung mga hinain nila?” (I repeatedly say, if they have concerns about the track, they should state it in the evaluation form or tell the faculty… If they don’t share their feelings, how would we know their sentiments?)
As for why students do not approach the admin or faculty with their opinions, there exists an unfounded fear that there will be reprisals for having subversive views about the policies. Why would the administration encourage students to share their opinions if they were to just punish them for it? Does the administration really strike these students as sadistic?
There are also those who choose not to write their full opinions in the evaluation form due to them not being able to immediately see change or instantly have curricular revisions.
For those seeking immediate changes, are you willing to delay your graduation and just trash the classes you are already taking and replace it with another this far into the school year? You may not get the curriculum that you want but you will help make it better for future members of the track.
It should also be noted that it is a good thing that the UPIS is free to adjust its curriculum every year if it needs to. All the administration needs to implement changes is the approval from the University of the Philippines College of Education. Other schools, on the other hand, would need to wait for approval and testing from the Department of Education which could take multiple years.
If the members of the SSH track do not want responsibility for the Media Center due to its “irrelevance” to the entire field of SSH, who shall? The Applied Sciences and Engineering track? Their field is definitely closer to Media than the track that has had at least one semester of Journalism class. //by Ned Pucyutan and Gabe Ulanday
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