Media Literacy

Social media has taken the world by storm through dozens of websites, mobile apps, and other forms of technologies improving the way people communicate with each other. There are social media sites that have millions of members allowing them to share photos, videos, text messages, and more on a regular basis. 

Last November 25, 2015, the APC RAMpage held a seminar about Media Literacy. Their objective is to develop sense of social responsibility among RAMpage team and ofcourse APCians. In line with this, they invited 3 Guest speakers from GMA Network. These 3 lovely ladies are Ms. Sophia Balod, Ms. Lian Buan and Ms. Edmallyne Remillano.They are all writers from the State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, apart from it they are also writers of a blog called Subselfie.com. It was a 4 hour talk and to make it short they've discussed tips on how to effectively write a story and the role of social media in our society. 

I have learned so many things during the seminar  like, stop posting status or whatever that is senseless, that is not important at all. Although, it is our right to express our feelings, we should think that there are more important matters that needs attention especially news all over the world. Another thing, we should be aware that whatever we do, whatever the thing that we're going to trend is what the social media produce. We are feeding them a lot of bullshit that will not affect our lives. To top it all, it all starts within our self. We should be responsible users of social media as  a mean of transporting stories that can affect our everyday life.

The Biography of Amado V. Hernandez

Amado Vera Hernandez was born in Hagonoy, Bulacan but grew up Tondo, Manila, where he studied at the Manila High School and at the American Correspondence School. While being a reporter, columnist and editor of several newspaper and magazines including Watawat, Mabuhay, Pilipino, Makabayan and Sampaguita, he also honed his poetic craft. He received the Republic Cultural Heritage Award, a number of Palancas and an award from the National Press Club for his journalistic achievements.

After World War II, he became a member of the Philippine Newspaper Guild and his writings increasingly dealt with the plight of the peasants and laborers. Influenced by the philosophy of Hobbes and Locke, he advocated revolution as a means of change. In 1947, he became the president of the Congress of Labor Organization (CLO). His activities and writings led him to imprisonment from 1951 to 1956. Even in prison, he was still a leader and artist, spearheading education programs and mounting musical productions, plays and poetry reading. It was during his incarceration that he wrote one his masterpiece, Mga Ibong Mandaragit (Predatory Birds). His prison writings were smuggled out by his wife, zarzuela star Honarata “Atang” dela Rama, who would become our National Artist for Music and Theater.

Ka Amado died on 24 March 1970 in the wake of the First Quarter Storm, whose leaders and activists recited his words. He left a legacy that includes Isang Dipang Langit (An Arm-Stretch of Sky), Kung Tuyo na ang Luha Mo, Aking Bayan (When Your Tears Have Dried, My Country), Panata sa Kalayaan (Pledge to Freedom), and the novel Luha ng Buwaya (Crocodile Tears).

He was posthumously honored as our National Artist for Literature in 1973. Together with poet Jose Garcia Villa, Amado V. Hernandez was the first to receive the title in literature.

Ka Amado gave voices to the oppressed peasants and laborers, rendering them powerful verses and plots that should have gone down as a compelling chronicle of a struggle of a people, but still prove to be an influential instrument in constituting reform and empowerment. A literary artist that he is, Ka Amado remains to be a social and political leader, fast becoming to be an icon of the working-class.

Hernandez's poetic sensibility was initially developed in literary circles. During the second decade he was a member and vice-president of Aklatang Bayan where he associated with Lope K. Santos, Valeriano Hernandez- Peña, Iñigo Ed. Regalado, and Julian Cruz Balmaseda; later he joined Ilaw at Panitik, where he became close to Jose Corazon de Jesus, Florentino Collantes, and Deogracias Risario. He wrote poems on sundry topics for his daily column “Sariling Hardin” (My Own Garden) in Pagkakaisa from 1926 to 1932. He continued writing poems for his column “Pangkasalukuyan” (Today) in Mabuhay from 1932 to 1934. In 1929 he challenged de Jesus, the acknowledged “King of Balagtasan,” to debate in verse on the issue of nationalism and independence. For almost a month, they articulated their positions daily in the newspapers they worked for: de Jesus in Taliba, Hernandez in Pagkakaisa . In 1940, he published his first anthology of poems entitled Kayumanggi at Iba pang Tula (Brown and Other Poems). His prison ordeal provided the creative impulse of most of the poems in his collection, Isang Dipang Langit (A Stretch of Sky), 1961 and the epic, Bayang Malaya (Free Country), 1969, both of which were written behind bars.. Most famous of his poems are “Isang Dipang Langit,” “Panata sa Kalayaan” (Oath to Freedom), “Bartolina” (Solitary Confinement), “Ang Dalaw” (The Visit), and “Kung Tuyo Na ang Luha Mo Aking Bayan” (When Your Tears Dry Up, My Country).


He published short stories in different newspapers among them “Wala ng Lunas” (No More Remedy), “Kulang sa Dilig” (Needs Watering), “Langaw sa Isang Basing Gatas” (Fly in a Glass of Milk), “Dalawang Metro sa Lupang Di-Malipad ng Uwak” (Two Meters in Land That Stretches Forever), “Ipinanganak ang Isang Kaaway sa Sosyedad” (An Enemy of the Society is Born), “Isang Ulo ng Litson” (Head of a Roast Pig), and “Kislap ng Utak,Pawis ng Noo” (Sparkle of Brain, Sweat on the Forehead).

His experiences as a guerilla, labor leader, and a political detainee were shaped into the novels Mga Ibong Mandaranggit (Birds of Prey), 1969, and Luha ng Buwaya (Crocodile's Tears), 1972.

Hernandez wrote plays based on prison experiences: Muntinglupa , 1957; Hagdan sa Bahaghari (Stairway to the Rainbow), 1958; Ang mga Kagalang- galang (The Venerables), 1959; and Magkabilang Mukha ng Isang Bagol (Two Sides of A Coin), 1960. He has written many essays, among them, “Si Atang at ang Dulaan” (Atang and the Theater), “Si Jose Corazon de Jesus at ang Ating Panulaan” (Jose Corazon de Jesus and Our Poetry), and “Pilipinismo: Susi sa Bayang Tagumpay” (Filipinism: Key to a Successful Country), among others. In these works, he exposed what he perceived to be the neocolonial nature of Philippine Society and pushed for nationalist and progressive agenda to end the long history of the workers' and people's oppression.
In the pre-WWII era, Hernandez won more than 20 awards for his short stories and poems. In 1925, he was proclaimed “Makata ng Ilaw at Panitik” (Poet of Ilaw and Panitik). In 1931 his story “Wala ng Lunas” won two gold medals also from the Ilaw and Panitik. His stories, “Pilipinas” (Philippines) and “Kayumanggi” (Brown), both won first prize in the Commonwealth Literary Contest in 1938 and 1940, respectively. He won the Republic Cultural Heritage Award for Isang Dipang Langit, 1962; the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature fro his four plays: Muntinglupa, 1958, Magkabilang Mukha ng Isang Bagol , 1961, both first prize winners; and Hagdan sa Bahaghari, 1959, and Ang mga Kagalang-galang , 1960, both second prize winners; the NPC-ESSO Journalism Award for his novel Luha ng Buwaya, 1963, his “Pili sa Pinili” (Chosen form the Select) in Taliba, 1964, and for his essay, “Report on Indonesia,” in 1965; the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan award from the city government of Manila, 1964; the first Balagtas Memorial Award from the Cultural Center of the Philippines for Bayang Malaya , 1969; and the Tanglaw ng Lahi Award from the Ateneo de Manila, 1970. He was proclaimed National Artist for posthumously in 1973 for “his contribution to the development of Tagalog prose.” – R.T. Yu and N.G. Tiongso.Reference

Cultural Phenomenon of Selfie

The smartphone self-portrait or “selfie” has established itself a form of self-expression. Is it a harmless fad or a dangerous sign of society's growing narcissism?

These days, humans take almost 1 trillion photos a year. And lots of these photos are selfies—self-portraits, usually taken with a smartphone. As of this writing, nearly 300 million Instagram photos had been tagged with the selfie label.

                As early as the 15^th century, according to Dr. Terri Apoter, psychology lecturer at Cambridge University: “People who had access to self-representations were keen to make use of them. In this way people could control the image projected, and of course the fact that the image was on display marked the importance and status of the person represented.” They’re also a way to figure out who we are. The “looking-glass self” is a psychological concept that says that how we see ourselves doesn’t come from who we really are, but rather from how we think others see us.

But if selfies are simply an exercise in recording private memories and charting the course of our lives, then why do we feel such a pressing need to share them with hundreds and thousands of friends and strangers online? To some, the selfie has become the ultimate symbol of the narcissistic age. Its instantaneous nature encourages superficiality – or so the argument goes. One of the possible side-effects has been that we care more than ever before about how we appear and, as a consequence, social acceptance comes only when the outside world accepts the way we look, rather than endorsing the work we do or the way we behave off-camera.

Getting Out of our Comfort Zone

We've seen inspirational quotes that encourage us to get out and do something strange orsomething we wouldn't normally do—but getting out of our routine just takes so much work. There's actually a lot of science that explains why it's so hard to break out of your comfort zone, and why it's good for us when we do it. With a little understanding and a few adjustments, we can break away from our routine and do great things

Simply, our comfort zone is a behavioral space where our activities and behaviors fit a routine and pattern that minimizes stress and risk. It provides a state of mental security. We benefit in obvious ways: regular happiness, low anxiety, and reduced stress.

The idea of optimal anxiety isn't anything new. Anyone who's ever pushed themselves to get to the next level or accomplish something knows that when we really challenge ourselves, we can turn up amazing results. More than a few studies support the point. However, pushing too hard can actually cause a negative result, and reinforce the idea that challenging ourselves is a bad idea. It's our natural tendency to return to an anxiety neutral, comfortable state. We can understand why it's so hard to kick our brain out of our comfort zone.

Trying new things is difficult. If it weren't, breaking out of our comfort zone would be easy and we'd do it all the time. It's just as important to understand how habits form and how we can break them as it is to press yourself out of your comfort zone by doing specific things.

School of Management Week

                    The day that all School of Management (SOM) students have been waiting for has finally arrived. This is the week where all students are given the chance to participate in various events such as games, sports, and pageants even that their professor is kind enough to permit them to do so. 

                    SoM week began last Monday, October 25, at the parking lot of the school grounds. The parade was to officially start off the week. Hosted by Abigail Viray and Dhaile Osh of APC Speaks, and lead by the marching band of Sto. Nino Elementary School, SoM students began to march towards Magallanes and back. The walk was a bit tiring and the heat was problematic, but all negativities have been set aside for the sake of a moment. Aside from the sports that each player was waiting for that day, they are also waiting to cheer for their bet for Mr. & Ms. SOM 2015. 

With my co-candidates under the heat.

                    In the last day of SoM activities, a friday, it ended with the last, most awaited event of the week - Mr. and Ms. SoM. A couple of representatives from each of the courses have showcased their beauty which took form of different themes and styles. A lot of students watched as they supported their friends and blockmates who were participating in the pageant. At the end of the day and a successful celebration of  SoM week, and as the students went home, the joy, laughter, cheers, and memories that have been left behind filled the air of the autiorium and the gym till the next school week commences.