Valor and Memories

 

Valor day, also known as Araw ng Kagitingan or Bataan Day, commemorates the fall of Bataan, an important event in Filipino history. On the 9th of April 1942, during World War 2, Major General Edward P. King Jr. was forced to surrender his troops to the Japanese army. And it is one of the most-devastating military defeats in American history. The force on Bataan, numbering some 76,000 Filipino and American troops, is the largest army under American command ever to surrender.

Unprepared for the number of prisoners, the Japanese decided to walk the prisoners 150km to a prison camp in San Fernando. Over 20,000 prisoners died on this march either through starvation, exhaustion or at the hands of the Japanese. The trek became infamous as the 'Bataan Death March'.

For the whispered words, “Bataan has fallen,” which was beamed by a freedom radio station that fateful day, merely signaled the start of a liberation struggle that was to rank the Filipinos among the world's most intense and courageous freedom fighters. “Araw ng Kagitingan is relevant in our society, this week-long commemoration is an opportunity to remember not only Filipino war veterans who died or served their country, but also those who served honorably in the military in times of war or peace.

Sources:

https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/www.thetummytraveler.ph/2016/04/28/bataan-araw-ng-kagitingan-2016/amp/

https://www.bria.com.ph/articles/araw-ng-kagitingan-a-celebration-of-victory-and-heroism-of-filipino-freedom-fighters/

https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/philippines/araw-ng-kagitingan

Behind the “Lenten Season”

 Lent is the 40-day period preceding Easter in the Christian calendar. Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, is a season of reflection and preparation before the Easter celebrations. By observing the 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days.

 It is an important religious observance in the Christian world because it marks and commemorates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God's son, our Savior, and Redeemer. It's a good time and an opportunity to think about what it means to be a Christian. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence. Also Lent, known as the "Great Fast," is a period of time during which Christians are supposed to give up some comfort or embrace some spiritual practice that focuses on self, repentance from sin, and, overall, soul renewal, all in anticipation of greater devotion to serving others and God. Catholics are not supposed to eat meat on Ash Wednesday. They also are expected to give up meat on Fridays during Lent. Catholics also are expected to fast on Ash Wednesday. Fasting means consuming only one full meal a day; two smaller meals that don't together add up to a full meal also are allowed. Almsgiving is, at its core, a spiritual and religious practice that helps strengthen our fondness for others, enhances our detachment, and encourages greater social justice. This three-fold meaning of almsgiving allows us to understand why it is so important during the Lenten season.

The Lenten Season is a time when people remember Jesus Christ's sufferings and death. During the Lenten season, people usually do three traditional things: pray, fast, and give alms. We have the capability and ability to be holy as sinners if we allow Christ into our lives.

We become responsible, law-abiding citizens and peacemakers if we obey his teachings. We become selfless, pondering of others who will benefit from our great actions, compassion, generosity, and gratitude. We become more conscientious of and concerned about others, particularly the underprivileged, underserved, marginalized, disabled, elderly, helpless, and hopeless among us.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lent

https://gravityleadership.com/how-to-fast-for-lent/

Exposition of the Kannawidan Ylocos Festival being implented every year

 

Ilocos Sur is a beautiful province located in the northern part of Luzon. It is a province rich in culture that represents the ancient Spanish and Filipino heritage. To show and share their treasures to the whole world, the locals conceived a festival that highlights these cultural traditions and they called it the “Kannadiwan Festival”.

Kannawidan is a festival in the Province of Ilocos Sur commemorating the separation of the two Ilocos provinces in 1818. This festival is a showcase of indigenous performances, religious rituals, as well cooking demos featuring the best of Ilocano dishes.

Kannawidan is a part of our traditions to acknowledge talented ilocanos with their handmade artworks to vend. It is our region’s pride and joy. This festival is implemented here in a yearly basis, this ilocano culture is what we are looking forward every year. Also, kannawidan has beneficial impacts in terms of economic, social, and cultural aspect.

Sources: 

https://philippines.travel/events/kannawidan-ylocos-festival

https://medium.com/@joseph1.peruna/kannawidan-a-feast-of-rich-heritage-and-culture-a625ce7688df

Festive thoughts in Heritage City of Vigan

 

Filipinos welcome the season uniquely with different flavors and traditions that make Christmas extra special. The Filipino's strong sense of family and preserving ties make Christmas the perfect time to share love and blessings with each other. Christmas is celebrated during the "ber" months, as it's called in the Philippines — that is, September, October, November and December. Christmas is the longest celebrated season in the Philippines, and our country celebrates it the longest globally. Can you imagine a whole nation willingly sharing warmth and love ... this long?

Christmas in the Philippines is all about families. Christmas is one of the most loved celebration by Filipinos. Families, relatives gather on the 24th of December, to celebrate food prepared for “Noche Buena,” a Spanish term which means “midnight meal” to greet Christmas Day. Filipinos are indeed the world's most Christmas-oriented people. We start recognizing the Christmas season as early as September with radio stations playing Christmas songs. Our town celebrates Christmas filled with joyous and welcoming events for Bigueños. In every city or town in the Philippines, each has its own way to celebrate the season. In the World Heritage City of Vigan, us Bigueños gather as crowd to participate in the unveiling of the Christmas tree, it’s a yearly tradition. But now, because of the pandemic, some activities were cancelled. As Bigueños starting to feel the festive vibes, we like walking around our different sceneries in our city and be mesmerized by the Christmas Decors lighting the streets with our hairs flowing in the wind. However, even those things, we still needed to follow the health protocols of course, it’s a must. Regardless of all the odds caused by the pandemic, the Heritage City continuous as the annual Artes Ita Paskua of the City Government of Vigan that got its way last  December 07-17, 2020, with the new normal set-up, in which most of the events were done through online and the others were with limited participants to comply into the Minimum Health Standards set by the City Covid-19 Task Force.

http://vigancity.gov.ph/its-christmas-season-in-vigan-city/

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-christmas-tree-in-front-of-the-city-hall-in-the-historical-city-of-113523609.html

Reflecting this Semester

 

a. This second quarter, I learned a lot about HTML. I gained some knowledge about it, like learning the basic tags, applying hyperlinks, photos, and a lot more. Software developer is not my career choice but still grateful because I still got to learn the basics and can be useful in the future. The reason why you need to learn about HTML it’s because it is a form of computer language  that’s used to make web pages on the internet viewable which is generally important for everyone to learn. Also, HTML elements from the building blocks of all websites. HTML allows images and objects to be embedded and can be used to create interactive forms. It provides a means to create structured documents by denoting structural semantics for text such as headings,paragraph, lists, links, quotes and other items.

b. I encountered some challenges, it was complicated for me to understand how to apply the HTML tags, also, it was really a struggle when applying pictures, other than that, I think I did fine because I managed to finish the other tasks successfully.

c. Since some of the actvities were not that clear to me, I asked some guidance from my classmates about it and I’m grateful because they helped me out, I also searched online videos to gain more knowledge in HTML.

d. Moving on, I will continue to do my best in learning my lessons, and if I don’t understand it fully, I will just ask my teacher for guidance or search it online to know more about the topic.

A festival amid the Pandemic

The Vigan City Fiesta is held in honour of St. Paul the Apostle, the city's patron saint, on 25 January each year. Locals and tourists gather to experience and see the street dancing, carnivals, food fairs, and arts and crafts, adding to the attraction of this UNESCO World Heritage City. For many of us, this time of year is a time for finding joy in the planning and celebrating of various festivals in our city. But because of the Covid-19 outbreak that started two years ago, plans for celebrations were cancelled, which I think that it was a good decision, because it is better to make sure we are safe from the virus than risking our health for a festival.

After calling the pandemic “The New Normal” we just all acted that we’re back to normal but still aware that the Covid-19 is still around. The Vigan City Fiesta is a big risk, covid cases is still increasing in our town and that’s enough reason to say that implementing the fiesta is dangerous.

I checked some of the articles and read that this year’s Vigan City Fiesta may continue but with very strict protocols which I agree and disagree with this decision. I agree because atleast there is some safe protocols to decrease the risk of the virus from spreading, and also, I disagree because there’s still the possibility that thecovid cases will increase in our town because of the celebration of our fiesta.

We’re gonna experience a lot of struggles especially to our fellow townspeople because they might not follow the safety protocols which can lead to bigger issues in our town.Implementing the fiesta is a challenge and a risk but hoping that it will be successful and the people will be safe.

https://lovepilipinas.com/event/vigan-city-fiesta/

https://www.vigan.ph/attractions/vigan-city-fiesta.html

New Era

 It’s been a struggle studying amidst the pandemic and we all know that. These past few years was an unexpected journey but I’m grateful that I was safe against the virus, and not all that, I’m also thankful because I have good

friends and families who supports and cheer for me to feel better. I got to admit that I had a character development because to be honest, I really learned a lot during this pandemic. I got to know myself better, got new perspectives in life because of the movies I’ve watched, and lastly, I learned how to distance myself from people who aren’t good for me. The past few years were painful and I’m slowly healing. We still have an ongoing pandemic and I’m really hoping this to end already because we are experiencing a lot of difficulties and it might create bigger issues. Well, we can’t do anything about the virus, but we can stay safe at our house to prevent positive cases. Back to the main topic, there’s this saying “New year, new me” and I agree and disagree, I believe that it is right to think about the future and forget about your painful past, but also, it is not your responsibility to force yourself to change just because it’s a new year. You are responsible for yourself, but don’t be pressured to change anything, just live and exist, just be you. I think having that kind of mindset can help a lot of people for their mindset this new year.

Holiday Season Amidst the Pandemic

 

Traditionally, the end of the year is filled with holiday celebrations, family gatherings, and good cheer but the holidays will look a little different this year. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the cautions that holiday gatherings and travel carry a high risk for getting or spreading COVID-19.That’s why it’s important to celebrate safely this year and act responsibly to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Celebrating with those in your household is the only safe option and the best way to protect yourself and others. About last year, I researched about how people responded in celebrating a holiday, specifically Christmas and I wanted to know how people are cope, so I did a lot of research and saw that there was nothing scientific about this venture, but the responses I read were heartfelt and affirming.

People are finding all sorts of ways to connect, celebrate and reflect. There was a lot of dinners over Zoom, but also many small gatherings outdoors, around fire pits and on porches beneath heated lamps. Their responses tell us that they took care the dangers of the pandemic seriously. That they are planned to make big sacrifices, at great personal cost, to keep themselves and their communities safe. 

Now that the cases of covid in our country is decreasing and have less strict health protocols, I’m predicting and manifesting to have more social interactions with our loved ones this year’s holiday. Our world is healing and hoping we can finally overcome this pandemic next year.

References:

https://amp.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2020/11/20/your-stories-a-very-covid-thanksgiving-and-christmas-cloe-axelson-frannie-carr-toth 

https://intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/covid-19/2020/11/comfort-and-joy-during-coroanvirus-pandemic-and-the-holidays/

https://childmind.org/article/holiday-during-the-pandemic/

Prioritizing and Protecting Children’s Rights Amidst the Pandemic

 

The global sanitary crisis has brought unprecedented changes in our interactions and routines due to social distancing and confinement. In many countries, only essential businesses have been functioning normally while many adults in institutions and companies have worked from home and children followed their school lessons online. Families, communities, businesses and governments have learned heavily on internet, digital technology and social media to continue day-to-day activities and also considerably expanded their use for entertainment. Children who contract COVID-19 appear to have less severe symptoms and lower mortality rates than other age groups. But in myriad other ways, the COVID-19 crisis is having a devastating effect on children, with potentially far-reaching and long-term negative impacts. Stresses on families, particularly those living under quarantines, lockdowns and other restrictions on freedom of movement, may increase the incidence of violence in the home. As the global death toll from COVID-19 increases, large numbers of children will be orphaned and vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

This report outlines key human rights risks to children related to the COVID-19 crisis, and steps that governments should take to protect children’s rights in the pandemic, mitigate its devastating effects, and benefit children after the crisis is over. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) together with its partner agencies and organizations expressed commitment to continue safeguarding and promoting the rights and welfare of the children amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. “The DSWD remains committed to protect and uphold the rights of children by continuously establishing stronger and more unified platforms to address policy gaps and programs necessary in creating a safe and friendly environment for the full participation and realization of children’s rights around the country,” it said in a statement. Also, the six-point plan proposes a set of practical and concrete actions to reunite the world around a common cause: the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

To do so, decision makers must start by listening to children and young people and including them in decision-making. It is they – especially girls; children facing poverty, exclusion, or violence; those with disabilities; children affected or displaced by humanitarian crisis; and children without parental care – who will live with the impact of this pandemic for decades to come. UNICEF came up with a solution and asks the governments and our partners to:

• Prioritize the reopening of schools: Take all measures possible to reopen schools safely and keep them open.
• Increase education funding and ensure equal access to quality, violence-free education so every child learns. This will require a focus on the most marginalized children, including girls, children under attack and on the move, children with disabilities, and children living in rural communities or without access to the internet.
• Close the digital divide by connecting all children and young people to the internet by 2030 and reaching 3.5 billion children and young people with safe, quality, accessible and equitable online learning.
• Protect schools and places of learning from attack, and hold perpetrators of these attacks to account.

Now these are the issues  with solutions to help lessen the complication and is approved by the agency, which I think are very effective and can really help protect the rights of children amidst the pandemic.Overall, children may be confined, but their rights are not!

References:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/09/covid-19-and-childrens-rights

https://www.coe.int/en/web/children/covid-19

https://www.end-violence.org/protecting-children-during-covid-19-outbreak

https://www.unicef.org/coronavirus/agenda-for-action

Reminiscing the knowledge I gained this 1st Quarter

Reminiscing the knowledge I gained this 1st Quarter

We discussed a lot of topics this 1st quarter and these are about introduction to internet, understanding underlying the concepts in the construction and educational use and value of blogs, understanding the concepts and foundation web research and how to use it effectively, and lastly, underlying the concepts and framework of internet access.

I had a problem managing my time wisely because there were a lot of actvities and projects that needs to be submitted. It was really hard to multi-task but to tell the truth, I really enjoyed learning and discovering new things that made me more knowledgeable about few things.

At first I thought it’ll be hard for me to overcome the problem in this certain situation, but thankfully we have an internet that helped me find my solutions to my problems. I started arranging my schedules properly and avoided cramming because it has a bad impact  when learning. To have an energy studying, we all need a motivation and that’s what I did, I realized that if I think of something or someone that inspires me, it’ll be just like a message to myself telling me that all my hardships will all be worth it someday and I will not regret anything. Being positive everyday is tough but atleast try it as often if we can because this is an effective way to have a proper mood in studying which helps us to focus better.

Moving on, I will try my best to study properly and ask guidance to my teachers if needed. This pandemic affected education a lot and the only option we have is to adjust, we are all trying our best and I think to be fair, it is very important for us to have cooperation to help each other. And hoping that this pandemic will end already so that we can finally go back in our normal lives and have a proper education.

“Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow”

-Anonymous 

References:

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/12/03/how-is-covid-19-affecting-student-learning/

https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/blog/how-is-the-pandemic-affecting-student-learning/

https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/time-management-tips-online-students/ 

Covid-19 has Changed Education

 

We are currently facing a pandemic, a health crisis in our country. COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to public health, food systems and the world of work. Millions of people are at risk falling into extreme poverty. But that’s not all, the pandemic also affected educational systems worldwide, leading to the near-total closures of schools, early childhood education and care services, universities and colleges. Most governments decided to temporarily close educational institutions in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19. As adapting to our new environment, because we are unsure when will this end, they started to implement a new studying technique,blended learning,which now we call it the New Normal In Education. I’m a student and  I can confidently tell that the old education system is far more effective and easier for the students because of the satisfaction of guidance from the teachers. Not all people can adjust to our new normal because everybody is different, but I think everyone is still trying their best, which is a signal that we need to help each other.We are all struggling and participating properly to our classes means a lot especially to the teachers, I know that we can’t understand each other sometimes, the main reason why we also need to give some feedbacks or thoughts to our teachers for them to know what they need to improve so that nobody will get left out. After more than a year since this pandemic started, the vaccines arrived in our country and some of the Filipinos are already vaccinated that’s why Dep-ed decided that if we wanted to have a face to face classes again, it should be required that you need to be vaccinated first for your own safety because the pandemic in our country is not yet over. Other than that, I think the education during this pandemic had a lot of disadvantages like minimal social interaction, distance learning offers little interaction between students and teachers, little support, accessibility to some students may be a problem, requires self-motivation which is hard for most of the students because we are tired of these piles of unending homeworks. This new normal drained and gave us some emotional and mental issues which is hard but we are trying our best to blend in because we have no choice, but hopefully we can get through this pandemic together and have a proper education.

References:

https://data.unicef.org/topic/education/covid-19/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_education

https://voxeu.org/article/impact-covid-19-education