BACAY, JUSTINE LYRIS T.

States Responsibility in Education

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The issue of whether it is the sole responsibility of the State or not to provide quality education to its youth or should it be completely left to market forces and be privatized fully has been going on for quite some time now. Right to choose There is a great danger in giving the State power to provide quality education to its youth because we give them the sole control in all aspects concerning the youths education. If the government is given the power to provide education to its youth, then no parents or students can question the means and methods the State provides. It is best to give the parents the decision in choosing the school where they want to send their kids and the option to change it when their personal standards are not met. Every citizen has a right to get education. The State ensures that this right is acquired by less fortunate citizens through the local public schools in every community. The State also ensures that private and public schools follow the Philippine system of education. This limited power the State has is beneficial to our countrymen who wants the freedom to choose the school they want to be a part of. The State has an obligation to provide free quality education to those who cannot afford and provide an education system followed by both private and public to ensure a standardized Philippine system of education.

As a democratic state, the State should have the responsibility of managing and encouraging democracy in the society. One should be able to choose the means and method of learning. This is the real gist of having a democratic state. Public schools The State has a limited budget in the education sector. Local public schools handled by the State are in crisis. According to Senator Manny Villar (as cited in The sorry state of RP public education, n.d.), the reason behind the decline in the quality of education in public schools is that the country is not investing enough in the education system and the education establishment has been poorly managed. Public schools are also populated. The ratio of teacher to students is 1:50. A huge number of students in a small classroom with one teacher sacrifice the quality of education and this is now one of the biggest problems faced by public schools. This shows that the State will not be able to carry the sole responsibility in providing quality education to its youth. Private Schools According to Andrew Bernstein (2012) in his book, Capitalist Solutions: A Philosophy of American Moral Dilemmas: A private school cannot force customers to purchase its product, nor can it compel anyone to finance its existence, nor can it regulate or curtail the activities of its competitors. Because private schools are legally forbidden to use force, their existence and programs entail no violation of rights. Having to earn their customers and money, private schools possess strong economic incentive to provide excellent educational services. If they want to stay in business and

flourish, they must make money by satisfying the educational requirements of students and their families; if they fail to do so, they face bankruptcy. Private schools help the State provide quality education with good facilities for its youth. It lessens the governments spending in education. This will make the governments limited budget be given to those who deserve it more. Shared Responsibility The shared responsibility we have now wherein the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education provide the rules and curriculum for public and private schools is better than giving the State the responsibility to solely provide education. The State, in providing education to its youth, will also have the authority and sole control in decisions related to a childs education. The countrys current education status makes us see that we cannot depend on public schools alone or private schools alone. We need both because the State doesnt have the capacity to provide quality education to everyone. Education is viewed as an important way to gain social and economic advancement and this is why parents should choose its childs education. This is being exercised nowadays. Some parents send their kids to public schools and others to private. Source: The sorry state of RP public education. Retrieved from http://www.readpilipinas.org/resources/sorry.state.of.public.education.htm

BACAY, JUSTINE LYRIS T. 2009-11633 Indochine Movie and characters

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The movie Indochine is about the last 25 years of French rule in Indochina. This ruling is reflected in the lives of the main characters Eliane and Camille. Eliane is born and raised in Indochina and has never seen France though she is French by birth. Elianes life falls apart together with French colonial rule. She became the conscience of a great European nation. Eliane adopted Camille, and Indochine, after the latters parents were killed in an accident. Camille falls in love with Jean-Baptiste, a French naval officer who had once been Elianes lover. Camille married Tanh, a Vietnamese fellow because of Elianes wish. Jean-Baptiste is sent to Dragon Island, a remote French military base in the north of Vietnam.

Unknown to them, Tanh is a Vietnamese freedom fighter and communist. He helped Camille in finding Jean-Baptiste again. Camille and Jean-Baptiste spent their lives running away from French officers until the latter was imprisoned and found dead in Elianes house in Saigon. Camille was also imprisoned but was freed after the officials lobbied for her freedom. Instead of returning home, she joined the Communists to fight for her country's independence and soon became known as the red princess of the underground community. This left Camille and JeanBaptistes son in the care of Eliane.

After a several years, Camille became a member of the Indochinese committee in Geneva negotiating independence from France. Analysis The movie shows how Vietnam became independent from France. Vietnamese were enslaved during the time it was colonized. This oppression urged the Vietnamese to resort to underground communism to defeat occupying forces. Indochinese troops massacre French officers, and the French government executes their assassins. War between both parties erupted and French officials became aware of the Vietnamese wanting to get the power to rule and political paradigms are being challenged. The movie exposed Vietnams journey to freedom and gave a stand to colonialism and resistance. Vietnam showed us one way to fight freedom from colonizers. The Vietnamese had suffered under French colonial rule for nearly six decades when Japan invaded portions of Vietnam. This made Vietnam partly divided. However, the Vietnamese want to get the sole power to rule its own land. Colonized countries had their own ways to free themselves from colonizers but the Vietnamese community resorted to underground communism. The United States felt that communism might spread in other Asian countries too because Vietnam already started it. US helped France to further strengthen its power and defeat communism in Vietnam through the French military. US eventually acquired power to rule Vietnam and a peaceful agreement in Geneva between both countries provided Vietnam the freedom they have been fighting for decades.

US has been helping Asian countries getting freedom by preparing them in ruling their own lands. The movie made us see history and gave us a lesson that force sometimes do not succeed. We also get freedom without resorting to those and instead a peaceful agreement may be the best option to acquire sovereignty.

Source: Bernstein (2012). Capitalist solutions: a philosophy of american moral dilemmas. Transaction Publishers : New Jersey