By Herman M. Lagon Some of the smartest people I know today are not the ones who can recite thick textbooks or flash the most medals, but those who can ask the right question at the right time — especially to a machine. In classrooms, boardrooms and barangay halls, “prompting” has quietly become a new …
Impulses
Is grad school worth it?
By Herman M. Lagon Is graduate school worth it? That is a question many professionals have asked themselves at least once while staring at the blinking cursor of a long-forgotten application form or during a slow Tuesday afternoon at work when everything feels a little too routine. For some, it starts with envy over a …
The school as a change agent
By Herman M. Lagon Education has never been just about textbooks and exams. Whether you are in a crowded public school in Molo, a quiet university in General Luna, or a rural classroom in Barotac Nuevo, what happens inside reflects the world outside — our everyday struggles, shared dreams and the values we keep shifting …
Delayed, diluted, denied?
By Herman M. Lagon The chalkboard of Philippine democracy has once again been scratched with uncertainty, this time by a unanimous ruling from the highest court in the land. I am no lawyer. I did not graduate from UP or Ateneo Law or train under luminaries of the bench. My legal knowledge comes piecemeal — …
Rethinking math class
By Herman M. Lagon Working on my dissertation, I came upon a study that fundamentally supported my viewpoint on instruction — especially in mathematics. Under the authorship of Dr. Matthew Lasap, my dean at ISUFST’s College of Education and a former colleague from my Ateneo de Iloilo days, the study offered a relatively novel perspective …
The ‘lame duck’ effect
By Herman M. Lagon It wasn’t a grand proclamation, but it struck a nerve. On Bombo Radyo, Iloilo-based political law professor and arbitration expert Atty. Joenar Pueblo voiced what many have sensed but few dared say out loud: “The lame duck effect is now being felt by the Marcos camp.” The fourth year of a …
The iceberg beneath the snowflake
By Herman M. Lagon The phrase “snowflake generation” has become popular in public conversation recently, mostly as a negative moniker for Generation Z (ages 12 to 27) and Millennials (ages 28 to 43). This word conjures images of fragility, oversensitivity and an incapacity to manage conflicting points of view or hardship. Underneath this frigid exterior, …
Impeachment, interrupted again!?
By Herman M. Lagon The Supreme Court’s decision to stop the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte hit a nerve for many of us. I’m no lawyer, but I’ve taken a couple of subjects in constitution, logic, law, and legislation, worked for years in newsrooms, and spent more than two decades as an educator to …
Zeal for all the things of God
By Fr. Roy Cimagala This is what we can learn from that gospel episode of Christ driving those who converted the temple into a market place (cfr. John 2:13-25), which is the gospel reading. We need to develop this zeal because otherwise our heart can only be captured by earthly things that in the end …
The missing Ph in PhD
By Herman M. Lagon There it was, a post quietly tucked between vacation selfies and food reels: “Train PhD students to be thinkers, not just specialists.” I almost scrolled past it. But something about the line arrested me. Maybe it was the exhaustion I had felt from meetings where so-called experts could explain every bit …