Burat: Textbook learnings for make benefit glorious nation of Philippines

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PUBLISHED ON July 9, 2007 AT 7:58 PM

Below is the full text of the full-page ad that appeared in today’s issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The ad was placed by Antonio Calipjo Go, academic supervisor of the Marian School in Quezon City.

_{“Now, what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else… This is the principle on which I bring up my own children, and this is the principle on which I bring up these children. Stick to the Facts, Sir!” — Charles Dickens in Hard Times}

_{“People still retain the errors of their childhood long after they have accepted the truths needed to refute them.” — Condorcet in Progress of the Human Mind}

_{“You see my movie film BORAT, featuring cultural learnings of America for make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan. You watch! You laugh! You like! HIGHFIIIVE! SEXYTIME! WAWWEEWAH!!!” — BORAT, the movie}

_{WHAT PHILIPPINE PUBLIC SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS}

_{ARE TEACHING FILIPINO PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS}

_{TITI : ARI NG LALAKI}

_{LEARNINGS FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF PHILIPPINES}

_{ANTONIO CALIPJO GO}

_{Academic Supervisor, Marian School of Quezon City}

_{On page 114 of the public school textbook titled HIYAS SA PAGBASA for Grade 5 appears this instruction: “Pag-aralan ang mga nakatalang mga salita.” ( “Study the given words.” ) Among the words asked to be examined minutely (pag-aralan) by the students are the words TITI, defined as ARI NG LALAKI (male sex organ), and TITATITA, defined as BUGAW (pimp). Were the writers of this book even thinking when they decided to include the abominable words TITI and TITATITA in a schoolbook for schoolchildren? (Borat would’ve asked: Is they crazy?) After Pepe’s pee pole, what will these good people think of next — Pilar’s pekpek (ari ng babae)?}

_{I wonder why HIYAS SA PAGBASA 5 was approved for publication at all, first, by the publisher, and second, by the INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS COUNCIL SECRETARIAT (IMCS) of the DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (DEPED), when the mere presence of two objectionable words — TITI and TITATITA — would’ve been reason enough to reject it. Even more compelling is the presence of more than 300 errors in this 231-page textbook which is supposed to be an instructional material — a teaching tool ! For all that, HIYAS SA PAGBASA 5, approved under the Second Social Expenditure Management Project (Loan Number 7118-PH) and the Third Elementary Education Project (Loan Number 4108-PH) of the Philippine Government and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), is the one, the only, textbook used in the subject Filipino by all Grade 5 pupils of all the public elementary schools since 1999. This book shows no sign of having been written and evaluated wisely and well. Yet, it has been in use since 1999, with not one individual coming out to question its existence. ( The DEPED has just re-ordered 69,409 copies of HIYAS SA PAGBASA 5. )}

_{If I am to pay dearly for saying things I know it is my duty to God and country to say, so be it. I’ve made peace with my conscience and my God. I’m only a very small voice and this — such as it is — is the best that I can do for my country which, it seems to me, has gone irretrievably, irredeemably, to the dogs. This is to say that I can do no more, even as I have already risked all that I own, and all that I am. I may be limitless in my desires but I am restricted in all the other things needed to win the fight against substandard textbooks. I have already shown what causes the disease that’s slowly but surely killing Philippine education; others will have to find a way to cure it. Listed below are just some of the errors ( so many, it beggars the imagination ) of some of the textbooks presently being used in public schools. I regret not having the wherewithal to buy more advertising space or I’d have shown the true and full extent of the Reign of Error in Philippine textbooks, both public and private.}

_{I have identified only two books — one coming from the old batch of textbooks used in public schools, and one from the new set of approved textbooks in Social Studies to be used starting in June 2007. I did not name the others though I have shown their errors here for three reasons : to convince the public that the errors exist, that they are indeed errors, and that the books which carry these errors really do exist. I do not wish to invite the ire of more publishers by identifying them and the books they have published. You see, the four lawsuits filed against me by two authors of SD PUBLICATIONS and the publisher PHOENIX PUBLISHING HOUSE have greatly, negatively, affected me mentally, emotionally and physically. And all because I told the truth : that their books contained errors! At this point, I believe that bickering and faultfinding will not serve any purpose but to prolong the existence of these errors. I do not wish to pick a fight with anybody. I only know that if I kept this to myself, the errors that have been in these books all these years will continue to harm the hearts and minds of more generations of Filipino schoolchildren. The errors must be corrected. Now.}

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15 Responses to “Burat: Textbook learnings for make benefit glorious nation of Philippines”

digitalcyco Says:
July 10th, 2007 at 11:28 am
its all about money.
rizal Says:
July 10th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Patawad sa nabigo kong kabataan!! ADIOS!!!
baycas Says:
July 10th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
The Rain of Error in Philippine Textbooks (a reaction to a July 9 PDI full-page ad):

Authors Lalunio, Ril, and Villafuerte of “Hiyas sa Pagbasa 5” fame would have been wiser (or would have possessed enough brains) to include in their book the word KUPAL (smegma preputii, the medical term for the white, creamy material underneath the foreskin of the penis) and the words SUPOT (foreskin or the prepuce – the skin covering the head of the penis or the glans penis) and SUPÓT (uncircumcised) along with the word TITI.

It is in the age group of the Grade Fivers* that boys get to be enlightened that in an uncircumcised penis there could be an accumulation of considerable amount of smegma around the head or the glans of the penis. This accumulation may lead to irritation in the area and possibly may give rise to infection. Effective cleansing of the area…if ever the prepuce can already be pushed back to expose the glans (TAGPOS, an additional word for the book) or if already circumcised (TULÍ, another potential word that can be added)…has to be inculcated in the young minds not only to prevent infections but also to avoid penile cancer later in life.

TITI may be abominable to some (esp. to Mr. Antonio Calipjo Go) if considered alone but alongside KUPAL and SUPOT or SUPÓT, the seemingly objectionable word may prove to be relevant after all because…

Maaaring mangapal
Nakaririmarim na kupal
Sa loob ng supot
Ng mga titing supót

—–
*most Filipino boys aged around 11 years are subjected to circumcisions
baycas Says:
July 11th, 2007 at 7:12 am
“Pe_pe_* and Pilar” is now being printed.

—–
*letter “K” was obviously dropped to appease the faint-hearted
gaelle Says:
July 12th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
“Hindi makakalimutan ng mga Pilipino ang katagang ‘I shall return’ ni MacArthur. Isinakatuparan niya ito hanggang sa tuluyan na nila tayong masakop.”

This one should be left as it is, since it is entirely true.
xma Says:
July 13th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
sana,hidi sa eskuwela natututunan yang mga salitang labas na yan…(sa umpisa pa lang,,alam na natin yang mga salitang yan,,..

bakit pa ilalagay sa usang libro na maaaring maka apekto sa iba pang mga generasyon..,,???

in short..**(((((tama si Mr. Go)))))
//
xma Says:
July 13th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
sana,hindi sa eskuwela natututunan yang mga salitang labas na yan…(sa umpisa pa lang,,alam na natin yang mga salitang yan,,..

bakit pa ilalagay sa usang libro na maaaring maka apekto sa iba pang mga generasyon..,,???

in short..**(((((tama si Mr. Go)))))
//
krishma Says:
July 13th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
sana,hindi sa eskuwela natututunan yang mga salitang labas na yan…(sa umpisa pa lang,,alam na natin yang mga salitang yan,,..

bakit pa ilalagay sa isang libro na maaaring maka apekto sa iba pang mga generasyon..,,???

in short..**(((((tama si Mr. Go)))))
//

im not bias hUh!!!
Pya Pya Pya Says:
July 14th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
go sir GO ur the best !!

ang gusto lang ipahayag ni sir go ay kailangan baguhin ang mga kamalian ng tao ..
offensive yang mga salitang yan .. at di dapat ituro sa eskwelahan..

im a student from MSQC
claire Says:
July 16th, 2007 at 11:31 am
i have a friend who works for the company which published the said books. i feel for her, as a friend but mr. go has a point.
blackbox Says:
August 14th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Dear Mr. Go.

I’m sure that those writers wouldn’t have caused those errors intentionally (or did they?).

Pano nila magagawa yun eh may mga MASTERAL Degrees and yung iba eh may Ph.D. pa? wahahhaha!!!

(Baka naman naka “juts/ganja/jongkie” nung sinulat yung libro. Alam nyo naman di tayo nakakasigurado…with drugs nowadays, you can never tell!)

blackbox
Yzak Says:
August 14th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Isang maalab na pagbati sa inyo Mr.Go mula sa isang Punong Guro sa Antipolo.

Taon-taon nalang problema yang mga librong yan. Nasasayang ang oras ko sa paghahanap ng mga mahusay na libro, yung walang spelling, grammatical and factual errors…

NAKAKALUNGKOT: ang ibang sumulat ng mga librong iyan ay may Masteral Degrees, pero may mga kamaliaan parin…

MAS NAKAKALUNGKOT: ang ibang mga pumayag na gamitin ang mga librong iyan sa DepEd ay meron ding Masteral Degrees and/or Ph.D.!!!

Hindi ito mangyayari kung ginagawa ng mga kinauukulang opisyal sa DepEd ang trabaho nila… Kung hindi nyo kaya ang trabaho dyan, mag-resign na kayo! NAKAKASIRA KAYO SA DEPED, at sayang ang binabayad namin na buwis taon-taon!!!! SAYANG!!!

Kung may delikadesa kayo, magbitiw na kayo sa tungkulin (matuto kayo sa mga Hapon). Yung mga nagdemanda kay Mr.Go, i-urong nyo na yan, mapapahiya lang kayo!

Concerned publishers, you owe Mr.Go a sincere public apology, NOW! You also owe the parents a refund for your blatantly defective book ASAP. Para kayong mga mandurugas na tindera sa palengke, nagbebenta ng kulang sa timbang!

Sumasainyo

Yzak
anthony Says:
September 26th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Mr. Go has some valid points, all right, but the word TITI is NOT abominable. As long as it is used appropriately, we should not make any connotation that would only negate the word. This blogger, Nutty (http://planetofthenuts.blogspot.com), has a nice input about this.

I don’t know about DepEd textbooks, but surely, there is no “perfect,” zero-error book. Most of them contain typo error, spelling mistakes, etc, and some important facts may be overlooked unintentionally. I know of Go’s noble intention of putting the quality of Philippin education first, but there’s a lot to it than just criticizing DepEd.
Angelo Says:
June 6th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Maalab na pagbati!
Para sa akin, ang kabataan sa bagong sibol ay unang natututo sa loob ng bahay. Idilat nyo ang inyong mga mata sa inyong kapaligiran. Magmasid kayo sa mga kabataan. Lahat ba sila ay nakakabasa ng librong sinasabi nyong maraming kamalian? Bakit maraming kabataan ngayon ang nalululong sa droga, gumagawa ng karahasan sa murang edad pa lang. Makinig kayo ng radyo, makakarinig ka ng “MURA”. Manood ka ng TV, makakakita ka ng sumasayaw na maiksi ang damit o kaya batang humihigop ng noodles sa mangkok imbes na gumamit ng kutsara. Napagawi na ba kayo sa kanto ng West ave. cor EDSA? May malaking billboard doon na nagpapakita ng katawan ng Babae na nakabikini. Ang mga halimbaang ito ay lantaran mismo sa mga mata ng kabataan. May ginagawa ba ang mga kinauukulan? WALA. Lantaran ang pagnanakaw ng ating mga politiko. May nagagawa ba ang mga kinauukulan? WALA. Kaya tama na ang publisidad. Bago tayo magwalis ng ibang bakuran, bakuran muna ng bawat isa ang ating walisan. KAPAYAPAAN SA LAHAT.
annie Says:
July 11th, 2008 at 10:06 am
i agree with angelo and anthony! ‘wag tayong magsalita na para bang tayo ay di nagkakamali. TAMA NA ANG SISIHAN, BATUHAN NG KOMENTO AT PUBLISIDAD! MAGSIMULA NA TAYO … SA ATING MGA SARILI MUNA. good luck & may God bless and guide us all!

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Burat: Textbook learnings for make benefit glorious nation of Philippines

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