By Herman M. Lagon The PISA results are out, and the message is hard to ignore. Filipino learners are not just behind in math, reading and science — they are also struggling with creativity. In the latest international assessment, the Philippines landed in the bottom four out of 64 countries for creative thinking. Our 15-year-olds …
Impulses
Walls that teach
By Herman M. Lagon Some classrooms stay with you not because of their tech or sleek furniture, but because they feel alive. In one of the humblest I ever visited — no aircon, no smartboards — the walls told the story. There were hand-drawn posters, taped-up maps, portraits of Filipino heroes with student captions, and …
Fix, not flip, K-12
By Herman M. Lagon Anyone who’s ever taught in a public high school — where ceiling fans groan louder than the students — knows how tough Philippine education can be. So when talk of ditching K-12 resurfaces, it is worth asking: Are we solving the problem or just repainting a crumbling wall? Reform is necessary. …
Carpio diem: Seize the call
By Herman M. Lagon Sometimes, the sharpest truths do not come from the streets or the news. They come from voices like that of retired Justice Antonio T. Carpio — quiet, steady and deeply rooted in principle. His recent post, “The Blind Leading The Lost,” cuts deeper than usual. This was not the filtered caution …
Baba Yaga’s ‘Ballerina’
By Herman M. Lagon “Ballerina,” the fifth chapter in the John Wick world, is not just another action movie. It is a sharp, stylish tale that dances between violence and vulnerability, grit and grace. After a long, draining duty, my daughter Parvane — clearly exhausted and in need of a break — was nudged by …
No more polished scores
By Herman M. Lagon Every Filipino teacher knows that the real weight they carry is not just the lesson plan or the chalk, but the silent frustration of decisions made far from the classroom. Education policies often come from top floors, built on numbers that do not reflect what is happening at ground level. That …
Education cluster with caution
By Herman M. Lagon In the country, one does not often find education making front-page policy breakthroughs. But when Malacañang gave the green light, in principle, to the long-proposed Cabinet Cluster for Education, it felt like a much-needed gust of air had been allowed into a suffocating room. As classrooms reopen post-pandemic and our learners …
The weight of functional illiteracy
By Herman M. Lagon The numbers did not whisper — they shouted. According to the 2024 FLEMMS survey, only 68.4 percent of people in Iloilo province and 70.7 percent in Iloilo City are functionally literate — the lowest in Western Visayas. Once hailed as an academic stronghold, Iloilo now trails behind Aklan, Antique, Guimaras, and Capiz. And while “functional literacy” may …
Libraries unbound
By Herman M. Lagon Not long ago, I had the chance to teach a PhD class on Technology Integration in Formal Education. Most of my students were librarians. What started as a deep-dive into tech tools quickly turned into something more profound: A shared realization that libraries are far from outdated. They’re not dying — they’re transforming. And …
Trial by delay?!
By Herman M. Lagon Tuesday night felt less like a solemn constitutional proceeding and more like a confusing rerun of a political drama that no one asked for. Many of us — teachers, tricycle drivers, nurses, cops, market vendors, even lawyers-in-the-making — are still trying to make sense of what just happened. The Senate, expected to play its part …