Impulses

By Herman M. Lagon There is a German word that sounds heavier than it looks: schadenfreude. It means taking quiet pleasure in someone else’s misfortune. It is usually used to describe a classmate smirking when his rival slips on stage. But it also lives in more ordinary places — like a cramped registrar’s office on …

By Herman M. Lagon Some campaigns fade once the hashtags cool down. “Atin ang Kinse” refuses to. It keeps resurfacing because the issue is not symbolic; it is daily rice, tuition and ulam. In many coastal towns, the 15-kilometer municipal water line is where the morning begins: a father warming a small engine that coughs …

By Herman M. Lagon There is a quiet excitement creeping in as the end of February approaches. It is not the kind tied to election tallies, budget hearings or the latest corruption headline. It is softer, almost embarrassing to admit for someone who spends most days talking about literacy gaps and policy failures. I have …

By Herman M. Lagon The last thing an ordinary Filipino needs before an international flight is one more counter that feels like a small punishment for having a reason to leave. Not a “rich people problem” reason, either. A contract signing. A scholarship slot. A father’s burial. A sibling in labor abroad. A five-year-planned family …

By Herman M. Lagon The announcement about a possible trimester system in basic education sounded familiar to some of us, almost like hearing a song we have been playing on loop for years. In very few private schools, the idea is hardly new. At Ateneo de Iloilo, for instance, the K-10 program has lived with …

By Herman M. Lagon “I’m dumb,” Ma’am Michelle wrote, with a row of smiling emojis, as if laughing was easier than explaining the weight of the day. “So the smart ones should come and teach how to read, write and count. Come to real life as a teacher.” This is the kind of so-called “stupidity” …

By Herman M. Lagon Some of the best leaders are not in spotlights or news feeds. You will not always find them behind a podium or flashing credentials. More often, they are quietly doing the work — like the public school teacher in the mountains juggling 60 restless students with a calm voice and tired …

By Herman M. Lagon Spiral progression sounds elegant when explained in a conference room: revisit key concepts every year, add complexity gradually, and let repetition build mastery. It is baked into the K-12 architecture through policy and guidance, especially for Science and Mathematics, where topics are arranged, so learners encounter “the same” ideas multiple times …

By Herman M. Lagon The room always smells the same. A mix of fresh bond or pad paper, ballpen ink and nervous sweat. Someone taps a pencil. Another flips through the contest kit as if a miracle might be hiding between the pages. A student leans over and whispers, “Sir, what if I forget everything?” …

By Herman M. Lagon There was a time when the idea of a 14th month pay did not sound radical to me at all. It sounded practical. At Ateneo de Iloilo, where I once worked, it was something we quietly campaigned for, discussed in hallways, justified in meetings, and eventually enjoyed. It came midyear, modest …