My Socially Constructed Reality

Life can sometimes be like an empty bucket with nothing to expect from it. That's how I feel now. I just feel like something is missing. I'm starting to think I WISH I CAN BE ANYWHERE BUT AUF.

I have just finished attending my Philosophy class. Sir Archie isn't around because they had retreat, so it was Sir Jay again who handled our Philo class this morning. Last Saturday, we talked about IMMANUEL KANT and his philosophy. Today we focused our discussion on JURGEN HABERMAS who believes that there is too much relativism and pluralism on this world. Relativism is a belief that truth is actually created by man. Pluralism states that a diversed culture creates an atmosphere with different individuals having different conviction. So what did Habermas say? According to our discussion, relativism and pluralism are good starting points for a universal morality. Although people have different conviction and beliefs, there is still one thing that is common among men -- that is the faculty of REASON. Habermas advocates DISCOURSE ETHICS. You see, according to Sir Jay, people are always making claims and their claims could either be assertive claims or normative claims. All these clai...

Steffi got the highest honor in their class! It's reason enough for me to be happy! Her being in rank one didn't happen by coincidence. Her average for the fourth grading period is 96.75 %. My hubby and I really exerted all possible effort to review her in all exams and to guide her in all her assignments. In fact, there were times that I asked her to redo her assignments if I wasn't satisfied with it. For assignments, I always tell Stef that she must do her best and never settle for "pwede na" because her assignment is a reflection of the best she can do -- Anyway, Stef ranked number 8 in extra-curricular activities (this is 30% only of the grade) because she got sick when activities in their school were at its peak. But she got really high average for the whole academic year (70% of the final grade) so she topped the list of honors! Now I owe her a surprise gift on the March 21 --that's the recognition day :-)

I'm still learning from the colloquia organized by my ABMC III students. THE FIRST COLLOQUIUM: The first one was about the state of campus journalism in AUF. I think that day was the first time for me to see all (except for Datalink EIC) EICs from the different colleges in AUF plus the editors and adviser of the Pioneer in one occasion. And my students must be proud because our class was able to gather them in one colloquium. So what's common about what they said? First, all the EICs admitted that the college and university papers have no absolute freedom in writing or publishing what they wish to publish. The EIC from the CBA believes that the paper exists primarily to INFORM the students in his college about the ACTIVITIES because he said that without their paper, the students would not really know what's going on in the different departments in the college. The Pioneer adviser, on the other hand, reiterated that the paper should exist not just to inform but to pub...

The answer to this question is posted on a PCIJ blog posted by Lala Ordenes-Cascolan . Her blog title tells you the answer: MEDIA NOT HELPING VOTERS MAKE INFORMED, INTELLIGENT CHOICES. Find out why. visit PCIJ blog at www.pcij.org . The article is worth thinking about.

The pastor and school director who once called me a NUISANCE INQUIRER and a LIAR is dead. So where could he be now? Heaven? Hell? I guess nobody knows. I remember my friend from the Philippine Military Academy who once told me that he "wants to make sure that he does good things to people because he would pass this world only once. And the last impression we leave is the best thing that the people will remember. Every chance to meet people might be the last chance." I guess, again, that is true. The pastor forgot that he has only one life. He forgot to be good so I will always remember him as bad. Sorry -- wherever you are.

It's always good to go back to the lessons I got from this inspirational book. I saw a lot of copies at National Bookstore last week and I couldn't help buying this book. I just borrowed a copy of this last year from a colleague and I realized I have to have my own copy. Now, I got mine. It reminds me of two great thoughts: One : that life is a temporary thing so we must do the best we can while we are still alive. Doing the best does NOT mean acquiring all material things our hearts desire. Relationship, and not money, is the best thing to acquire while we are in this world. Two: that the best lessons in life are not found in the classroom. Not even in the campus. The whole world is the best "classroom" where we have real teachers (our own experiences) and real laboratory (our own world). pix from www.tuesdayswithmorrie.com .

Thanks to all the staff esp. to the EIC who worked so hard for this issue!

THE ANATOMY OF LOVE: The Natural History of Monogamy, Adultery, and Divorce by HELE N FISHER is a good read. I was actually fascinated with how she explained -- using anthropological point of view-- the presence and absence of love, whether among teenagers or among married couples. Basically, Fisher was able to discuss "love questions" that are difficult to answer. For example, Fisher explained why some men are not happy with one wife, and why, even female species, look for another set of species to satisfy their agenda. Using different cultures as background, she examined love, lust, infatuation, monogamy, courtship, adultery and divorce. Plus, she attempted to look at the future sex based on the trend in relationships these days. I have listed down some quotes I found worth remembering: Perhaps it is the eye -- not the heart, the genitals, or the brain -- that is the initial organ of romance, for the gaze (or stare) often triggers human smile. "The heart has its reaso...