Wi-Fi signal is dignity
THE FIRST time a public-school teacher crouches beside a sari-sari store Pisonet at night, phone balanced on a crate, trying to upload lesson requirements...
Idioms with empathy
SOME phrases are not just spoken — they are lived. Like faded uniforms or borrowed slippers, idioms quietly cling to our days. In our...
The wrong lesson, 2
THAT IS why Arniel's question matters. Notice what he asked. He did not ask about popularity ratings. He did not ask about election results....
The wrong lesson, 1
MOST people attend review sessions expecting answers. One aspiring teacher left with more questions. What began as a discussion about the drug war eventually...
Yes, we deserve better
CHILDHOOD teaches an early lesson about responsibility: when you break something, you fix it; you do not ask to be thanked for the attempt....
Mindsets, not miniskirts
SOME DEBATES fade away with time. Others keep coming back, like a stain that refuses to leave a white shirt. The debate about how...
Bobo 101: A crash course for the ‘smart’
“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...
When research loses weight
A FEW years ago, I wrote about the “publish or perish” culture—the quiet pressure that pushes academics to keep producing, often at a pace...
Paying invisible losses
THE ELECTRICITY bill rarely arrives with drama. It simply appears on the table one ordinary day. Someone opens it. A brief silence follows. Then...
The nuclear question
EVERY Filipino knows this feeling. The electric bill lands on the table, someone opens it, and the room suddenly grows quieter. Then comes the...