Impulses

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 …

At a Senate hearing meant to protect young Filipinos online, the conversation drifted in a strange direction. Instead of data or policy, Senator Robin Padilla opened with a blunt line: the youth today are “weak.” He said it almost apologetically, like an uncle at a reunion who knows his remark might sting. He compared them …

By Herman M. Lagon It often resurfaces like a classroom leak nobody wants to claim: officials say there is no “mass promotion,” teachers say there is, and learners quietly move up a grade level carrying the same gaps like an old backpack. The denial is often technically correct in the narrowest sense. There is no …

By Herman M. Lagon By February each year, a familiar dilemma returns to schools: Should February 25 be treated like any other busy day, complete with quizzes and late submissions, or should it become a moment to slow down and remember something larger than the day’s lesson plan. As the 40th anniversary of EDSA approaches, …

By Herman M. Lagon I went to the fifth Iloilo screening of “Tigkiliwi” last Sunday afternoon, February 1, because a friend invited me, and because the title itself sounded like a dare. Rynshien Joy Olivete — a spirited colleague from Dakila Collective — invited me to come, and I did, partly out of support, partly …