A PRICE TO PAY

(This was my column written on the 2008 Lakandiwa magazine titled “Ignotus”. This talks about one of the contemporary problems encountered by students of UC–the dropping of subjects. I didn’t directly find teachers culpable of this academic quagmire, since I also need to weigh both sides and factors equally.)

As she walked along the corridor, she took a glimpse on her grade sheet. Her face suddenly turned sad and portrayed the most dismayed figure I saw that day. I humbly approached her and asked what made her eyes look like a nimbus cloud. Before her tears rolled down her cheeks, she presented to me her grade slip. What I saw were numerical figures which stood like candles. Excellent, I thought.

But, there was one subject so distinct among the others. It was marked “DR”, which I knew stood for ‘dropped’. I realized that it must be the one that provoked her femme emotions. I then asked her why she dropped from the subject. She had a coy face and immediately wiped her tears with a pink handkerchief.

I then knew she didn’t like the way her Calculus teacher handled the class. She described her teacher as inefficient who also tried to impose Martial Law during class discussions. “If only I enrolled to an instructor other than he, I wouldn’t have dropped myself from the subject,” she quipped. This kind of scenario is no surprise because dropping of subjects has become a prevalent habit for some students. In every department, the number of students dropping from a subject is increasing. This sounds practical and one cannot deny that one of the major causes is the teacher.

So, why blame it on teachers?

It’s plain and simple. Students will have to spend five months with teachers, even those they don’t like. If the students don’t really like them for qualified reasons, then why endure the rest of the days murmuring? These students are then caught trapped or will find a way to escape from them.

One way of escapism is to drop from the subject and let the course of time tell what will happen next. Now, the burden of proof is on the students. One thing serious is that the student is paying for the subject until the semester ends. Also, it is a waste of time since students need to enroll in the same subject next semester. It is also alarming to see a “DR” mark in the Transcript of Records (TOR) particularly for those aiming to finish their course with flying colors.

Since it is the prerogative of the students (as they are the ones paying for the tuition fee) to have better teachers or teachers that they like, then it would not hurt to give them the option to choose their instructors.

With this, I suggest that every enrollment, instructors’ names should be posted beside the subjects they are going to handle. By doing so, students can have the idea whom to enroll, thus, giving them the freedom to choose their teachers. This would also test students’ trust to certain instructors whom they think are competent and can be better classroom managers and facilitators.

If this is materialized, students can now actually choose their instructors and cases of dropping subjects would possibly decrease. For students, they will be able to exercise their freedom of choice. For teachers, they shall feel good knowing that students have really chosen and trusted them to be their instructors. By doing this, some teachers will also feel pressured to do well in their profession. This time, if students don’t like them for valid reasons, then nobody would enroll under them. Worse, these teachers won’t get any load from their department. This will be a wake-up call for some teachers to be motivated in handling their students with due diligence and competence.

The only way to determine the positive consequence of this endeavor is through implementation. If the University Administrators find some instructors as a major cause of this educational loophole, then they must be meticulous enough in screening would-be college instructors.

I still have the fullest trust and confidence in this University. But the saddest thing is when this faith is marred by some teachers who keep on thinking that they have the fullest authority over their students — unquestionable and irrevocable. Pity those students who have to sacrifice a ‘DR” mark when they don’t really deserve that price. Still, students are the clients and they deserve to get their money’s due. After all, students pay the right price.