OpinionsEye OpenerLack of food doesn’t make one dumb

Lack of food doesn’t make one dumb

-

- Advertisment -spot_img

“Kaya mga estudyante n’yo naging bobo na kasi hindi n’yo tinulungan sa proper nutrition…. Hindi naman reason ‘yung quality of teachers alone but the proper nutrition ng children, especially the poor, kaya sinisi ko ‘yang Department of Agriculture.” — Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson, Committee on Agriculture

There are two things that I strongly disagree with in her statements: first, her use of the word bobo, and second, her blaming the Agriculture department for the children’s poor performance in school.

There are many reasons why children underperform at school. These can range from medical/physical problems, below-average intelligence, specific learning disability, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, emotional problems, poor socio-cultural home environment, psychiatric disorders, even environmental causes.

Then there is also the issue of bullying. Some children don’t like to go to school or don’t want to get involved in class activities because they are bullied, and they live a life of fear.

Another reason is poor self-esteem. They feel pressured to show perfection in class, so they become intellectually- and emotionally-paralyzed. Then there are some kids who don’t get enough sleep every night.

Another big reason why a child does not do well in school is when he has a learning disability such as dyslexia (trouble with reading and writing). And since many teachers cannot even identify what it is, they conveniently label the pupil as bobo, butol, bogo.

All these can cause a child to underperform. It’s not fair to blame any agency or anyone.

While it is true that lack of food, lack of proper nutrition, the intake of milk can affect intellectual development, it is not wise to make a sweeping statement that all those who lack food cannot do well in school.

I don’t need to go far to cite real examples; I only need to look at myself, my family, my siblings. Because my father was a kargador sa pantalan, and my mother augmented his income by washing other people’s clothes, it was very difficult for all nine of us to have nutritious food. We would get by by eating lugaw (porridge) day in-day out to survive.

So how come all nine of us turned out to become professionals? And modesty aside, we all did well academically; we received citations and reaped awards. We were active members of various clubs. And today, while no one among us could claim to have become wealthy, no one of us could say he is dirt poor either.

A person’s body may lack the food it needs but it is not the end of everything. From my experience, a person who did eat well everyday, still got a big opportunity to make it well someday. And may I add, a person who does not have enough food everyday does not necessarily become butol.

On blaming the Agriculture department: the agency may have its share of lapses but accusing it for the pupils’ underperformance is exaggerated and totally unfair.

Of course, I agree with the Senator that something needs to be done with the inaccessibility of affordable milk. Filipinos should have access to milk whose prices should not rip our pockets.

My question now: what brilliant law is the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture proposing to address pupils’ poor performance in schools?

Way back in 2008, we had around 28 dairy cattle under the supervision of the City Agriculturist Office of Dumaguete, and we were producing a total of 223,299.66 liters of dairy milk in five milking barangays (Bajumpandan, Cantil-e, Banilad, Candau-ay, and Motong).

At least until 2014, each of those five barangays was producing an average of 23.64 liters of fresh cow’s milk per day.

As an African saying goes, “It takes a village to educate a child.” An entire community must interact to come up with a holistic approach towards a problem.

It doesn’t help when we define the children as bobo, and conveniently blame one agency for their lot.

So here, I would like to suggest a few simple things that could help minimize the number of children who do not do well in school:

Government can provide continuous support for students from poor backgrounds in the form of grants, scholarships, etc. that will assist them to remain focused in their studies;

Teachers can be more “student-focused” rather than being “content-minded”;

Parents can aspire to live in harmony so that there’s peace in the family that could help the children be emotionally-stable;

DepEd to employ only highly-qualified teachers in basic education;

Schools can create a more conducive environment for learning

Lastly, we must inhibit ourselves from the habit of blaming. Nobody in this world owns the right to point an accusing finger to anyone. Why don’t we just get our act together and find common solutions?

________________________________

Author’s email: [email protected]

(Back to MetroPost HOME PAGE)


 

 

Latest news

City budget is dead  — Dgte Council

    Perdices resigns as Finance Committee chair “The Motion raised by Councilor Baldado for the approval of the 2025 annual...

Comelec to put LGUs  in ‘yellow’ alert

    Majority of the cities and municipalities in Negros Oriental are likely to be placed under ‘yellow’ category for the...

Who wins?

    The City Council’s Friday special session was meant to be about one matter: approving the 2025 annual budget of...

Canlaon completes P12M infra

    despite eruption The local government of Canlaon City turned over this week more than P12 million worth of infrastructure projects...
- Advertisement -spot_imgspot_img

Coop budgets P9M for CSR

    The Perpetual Help Community Cooperative, Inc. has lined up projects this year for its community development program in Negros...

PNP augments force for May polls

    The first batch of augmentation force from the Philippine National Police that will assist in disaster response, and perform...

Must read

City budget is dead  — Dgte Council

    Perdices resigns as Finance Committee chair “The Motion raised by...

Comelec to put LGUs  in ‘yellow’ alert

    Majority of the cities and municipalities in Negros Oriental...
- Advertisement -spot_imgspot_img

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you