1.

The Department of Education (DepEd) has allotted P9 billion for the printing of learning modules
to be used by students for school year 2020-2021. Of the remaining P100 billion, P9 billion has
already been downloaded to schools for the printing of modules; P17 billion has been realigned
and modified; while P500 million has been set aside for reimbursement of expenses related to
the observance of minimum health standards. Given the budget from the government, teachers
are not required to raise money for printing of modules. Modular learning is the "backbone" of
the DepEd's distance learning program as access to technology remains a problem for most
students. Other modes of learning such as online, and TV and radio broadcasts would
supplement the modules. The printing of modules was supposedly the reason why the school
opening was postponed yet again. There had been reports that some teachers didn’t have
copies of the modules weeks before the original date of the school opening. Teachers from
public schools took it upon themselves to launch donation drives to raise funds for bond paper
and printers. The issue of corruption has been reported and such allegation will affect not just
the department but also the teachers. Hence, with this background, will power is needed.

We have many common names for willpower: determination, drive, resolve, self-discipline, self-
control. But psychologists characterize willpower, or self-control, in more specific ways.
According to most psychological scientists, willpower can be defined as:
The ability to delay gratification, resisting short-term temptations in order to meet long-term
goals, the capacity to override an unwanted thought, feeling, or impulse, the ability to employ a
“cool” cognitive system of behavior rather than a “hot” emotional system, conscious, effortful
regulation of the self by the self, or a limited resource capable of being depleted.

Although Walter Mischel’s hot-cool framework may explain our ability to delay gratification,
another theory known as willpower depletion has emerged to explain what happens after we’ve
resisted temptation after temptation. Every day, in one form or another, we exert willpower.
We resist the urge to surf the web instead of finishing our expense report. We reach for a salad
when we’re craving a burger. We bite our tongue when we’d like to make a snide remark. Yet a
growing body of research shows that resisting repeated temptations takes a mental toll. Some
experts liken willpower to a muscle that can get fatigued from overuse. And this is so helpful so
teachers may resist the temptation to be part of such a mess.

Roy Baumeister, PhD, a psychologist at Florida State University, describes three necessary
components for achieving things: First, he says, you need to establish the motivation for change
and set a clear goal. Second, you need to monitor your behavior toward that goal. The third
component is willpower. Whether your goal is to lose weight, kick a smoking habit, study more,
or spend less time on Facebook, or helping clean up a mess, willpower is a critical step to
achieving that outcome.

At its essence, willpower is the ability to resist short-term temptations in order to meet long-
term goals. It is a crucial thing to prevent future problems including corruption. If there is a will,
there is a way.
2. Economists are concerned with human welfare. For a very long time, we believed the best thing
to do was just look at what people do and infer their preferences from their behavior. But we've
started to learn that there are some domains where that is hard to do, and simply asking people
about their well-being can shed light on the situation.

Happiness is measured simply by asking people. Surveys ask people, “Taken all together, how
would you say about traditional teaching? Would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy,
or not too happy?" Or “How satisfied are you chalk and board strategy?" Sometimes they're
asked on a zero-to-ten scale, either about happiness or about life satisfaction.

Daniel Kahneman, the psychologist who won a Nobel Prize in economics, really makes a
distinction between how you feel in the moment and the more evaluative assessment of life
satisfaction. If there’s a difference between happiness in the moment and life satisfaction, that
raises questions for policymakers: What is it that we're trying to maximize? Are we trying to
maximize people's holistic satisfaction with their life? Are we trying to maximize lots of little
moments? We can relate this question as to the experience of conventional teachers with their
usual model of practice using traditional method. Can we level up their standard by leading
them to consider online learning which, if considered, will increase or maximize their level of
happiness. The concept of traditional education has changed radically within the last couple of
years. Being physically present in a classroom isn’t the only learning option anymore — not with
the rise of the internet and new technologies, at least. We have access to a quality education
whenever and wherever we want, as long as we have access to a computer. We are now
entering a new era — the revolution of online education. There’s no need to discount the
skepticism surrounding education through the internet. It’s hard to understand the notion of
leaving behind the conventional classroom, especially if it's to face this vast space called The
Internet. With the health protocols in place, all the more will online classes be given priority. I’m
sure that having traditional classes now would be unsafe and the only way to connect with
learners is providing an online platform so learning continues while observing safety and health
protocols.

The Economics of Happiness spells out the social, spiritual, and ecological costs of today’s global
economy while highlighting the multiple benefits of economic localization. To rebuild local
economies and communities including schools, people need to take steps how to thrive and
survive. A new human story founded on connection and diversity is emerging. We cannot
remain stuck to the way we used to. There is a call to respond to the needs of the time. We
need to provide clear benefits of online learning to conventional teachers so they too will see
the value of making transitions. And if they see the value, that is translated to economy and
when they know they benefit, the level of happiness also grows. It cannot be forced. It can only
be exemplified.
References:

Baumeister, R., & Tierney, J. (2011) Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength.
New York: Penguin Press.

Baumeister, et al. (1998). Ego depletion: Is the active self a limited resource? Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1252–1265.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-
digital-learning/