Kannawidan: The Ylocos Festival

The yearly Kannawidan Ylocos Festival of Ilocos Sur showcases the spirit of the Ilocano Child. Watching the children from the mountainous towns of Ilocos Sur perform their ‘tribal rites’ and dances in their tribal costume called “baag” (a woven cloth worn over their undies), on bare foot under the midday sun strips me of vanity and pride. And propels me to that place where everything is pure, simple and honest. 

This festival, celebrated on January 29 to February 5, also highlights Ilocos food, arts, trade, crafts, and products.  Witnessing all this makes one realize the beauty and dignity of Ilocos culture and people. We should be proud of our Ilocano culture.  Like the beauty of the Bayanihan Dance Company show which proudly featured the Filipino culture in songs and dances, the tribal rituals and dances of the province summarizes what Kannawidan Festival is all about.

 

The festival not only brings us takes one back to the roots; it also enables one to look into the future through art created by children. Their art speaks of their belief in the beauty of the world as gift from the Creator. Their songs and dances outshine any sadness  this present world has thrown at them.

New Year, New Me

When a year ends, a new one comes.  That happens in a cycle that no one can stop.  And because it’s a new year, everyone wants everything to be new.  Like outfits, gadgets, and other material things.  Some wants to change their attitudes and some wants a change in their selves.  New year, new look, new me.

                By the way, a term for that is “New Year’s Resolution.”  All of us are familiar with that phrase, right?  Because we are doing it yearly.  But I know most of us are only doing it in the start.  We cannot keep our promises to ourselves for long ‘cause we are used to do the opposite.  I admit I’ve done that so many times so nothing has really changed in me.  But this year, I’m inspired to do so.  Wanna know what my new year’s resolutions are?  Well, the first thing I wanna do is to eat some healthy meals and three times a day.  Because recently, in a day, I only eat once in a blue moon.  I also sleep late at night and that’s already abusing myself, which is not good.  Those are the things I want to change for myself.  Another is, I love to buy my wants, not my needs.  And that is putting my money into waste.  To be thrifty is my new year’s resolution since then until now that I haven’t really done.  So, I think, that’s permanent.  I cannot put it into practice.  But I’ll still try my best to change that attitude of mine.

                New year and hopefully new me!!

Keeping in Mind Our Mother’s Tongue

Communication is the key to understanding and to a good inter and intrapersonal relationships and learning to love and explore your dialect is the way to effective communication.  We as Ilocano love and embraces our dialect iloco, our mother’s tongue. As I grow old and learn to speak the language, I learn to love and share the beauty of our mother’s tongue. . Language learning normally occurs most intensively during human childhood. But today’s generation, children tends to embrace more the English dialect or should it is better to say that parents often teaches their children to learn the English language rather than our mother’s tongue, iloco. That maybe the reason why some children when chatting with their friends and or their neighbors they preferred to use foreign language rather than their dialect which they should know better since they are an Ilocano born kids and little by little they forget the goodness or our very own mother’s tongue. They don’t know how it feels to use our dialect in our everyday interaction with others. The feeling of being an Ilocano, the trademark reflects in the language we use, that’s when people hear u speaking they will then know from where tribe you came from. It is one of the reason why it is very important not to neglect and to still use our mother’s tongue even when we learn to speak and adapt the English or foreign language because it will define who and what we are as human beings.

 We should keep in mind that although others are using foreign dialect that sometimes we are too is encourage to do the same but we should never forget where we came from, our culture, our beliefs and that all are reflected in our dialect that’s why it is called-Our Mother’s Tongue because it is the very first language that the parents of our parents learn and that they will pass to us and we as successors of it must embrace and teach it also to our kids and to the kids of our kids as an act of gratitude and appreciating showing we are proud who we are. Never ever put down yourselves, you should be proud who you are! So, always keep in mind the beauty and greatness of using what defines us-our Mother’s Tongue.

Essence of Christmas

                 As people say, Christmas is the most beautiful time of the year.  Lights fill the streets spreading so much cheer.  It’s the time for peace, sharing, forgiveness and love.  We are celebrating Christmas because it’s the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

                Each of us has our own essence of Christmas.  Some is being with their family and loved ones.  While for me, it’s being with my mom.  She’s not living with us.  Me and my brother is with our stepmother and that’s the worst thing ever.  I don’t like her that much.  When I’m home, I feel like I’m in hell.  Like, that bad! So, during holidays especially Christmas and New Year, we’re with our mom.  That really makes me feel happy even just for a while.  I love being with her ‘cause I have someone to talk to and to share my problems with.  I really miss her when she’s not with me.  I love her so much and being with her is the happiest thing ever.  I feel loved,  cared, and everything!  That’s my true essence of Christmas, being with the person I love most.  J

Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities

          Living in this world full of trials entails that people must possess characteristics that will help them face whatever challenges that come their way.  However, in some instances, not everyone is given the chance to show or express what is inside them because they are being deprived of doing it.  Even though they have the necessary knowledge, skills and attitude that would benefit them in their pursuit of solving problems and achieving their dreams, still they are not able to exercise or assert their rights probably due to discrimination.  But in reality, people should be treated with equality and social acceptance regardless of sex race, religion or socio-economic status.  Equal rights and opportunities should be given to everyone in order that chances for success in life will be achieved.  Every individual will have the determination and perseverance to attain his or her goals and aspirations in life if given the necessary encouragement and opportunity to pursue their dreams.

Responding to Climate Change

          Climate change is now recognized as one of the most challenging and complex problems facing

humanity—the problem is real, the stakes are high, and there is no single “solution.” No measure

will be met with the instant  gratification that is often expected by people in modern, high-energy

consumption societies. We are already committed to changes based on past emissions of greenhouse

gases into the atmosphere, and it is the future that is being decided (Parry et al., 2008a). Actions taken

over the next decade will have an enormous influence on the rate and magnitude of climate change

that will take place over the next centuries, and both adaptation and mitigation are seen as necessary

responses (Parry et al. 2008b; Schellnhuber, 2008).

          In this article I discuss why an integral approach is not only necessary for addressing climate change,

but urgent. I argue that an emphasis on understanding climate change from a an objective, systems

perspective has downplayed the importance of subjective, interior dimensions of climate change,

when in fact the integration of both aspects is needed. I then present six reasons why an integral

approach can be considered both useful and necessary for responding to climate change. Finally, I

consider what integral theory might offer to current policy debates about one of the world’s climate

change “hot spots”—the Arctic region 

Promoting Digital Literacy Through English Proficiency

       Life, as we knew it today, was greatly influenced by technological advances of the last century.  The birth of the Internet and the World Wide Web, the development of user-friendly software, the development of information technology, and the wide-scale production of computers have had an impact on every aspect of our lives.  Some of the most dramatic changes have occurred in the field of education where technology has transformed the way we learn.
       Today, students have a world of information at their fingertips.  Computers and the Internet have made it possible to get information from anyone, anywhere, anytime, within the blink of an eye.
       The demand for technology and for information continues to grow.  Twenty-first century adults and children have come to depend upon pocket-sized telephones, media players, and computer-driven devices.  If one thinks about the many ways in which technology has changed the world we live in, it is clear that computers have become more than tools to make life easier- they have become part of our culture.
       Computers have also become part of the culture of education.  Computers are as common in the educational environment today as chalk and blackboards were in years past.  Perhaps the most significant effect computers have on our society and on education are related to their capacity to assist n the collection, management, transportation, and transformation of information at high speed.  As a result of this new found ability to handle information, we have experienced an information explosion and as a society, we have increased both our use and our production of information of all kinds.
       As people living within this information-driven society, we not only benefit from the availability of information but also are challenged to keep up with the information that is bombarding us from all directions. Information, knowledge, and English proficiency have become valuable commodities, and the ability to gather and evaluate information efficiently and effectively has become a 21st-century life skill leading to digital literacy.