THE LEARNING OUTCOME AND ITS EFFECT ON OUR SURROUNDINGS

Humans have been using plastic for over a hundred years now. It was first devised as a means of
ensuring the continued availability of natural resources on the planet. We also harness its
capability to use it in almost every sector, from packaging, building and construction, textiles,
consumer products, transportation, electrical and electronics, and industrial machinery.

Plastic is essential on a daily basis. We are using it to store our foods, in groceries, to kitchen
wares and utensils. One day while walking on our local Barangay, I started seeing these posters
and tarpaulins sticking and hanging in every corner of the road, informing the mass that, effective
on Monday, the local government won't allow the use of single-use plastics. Then I said, how
about the Sari-sari stores? What are they going to do if plastic is the most efficient and readily
available packaging on the market? On the following day, my Mom ordered me to buy hotdogs for
our breakfast. After paying, the storekeeper said that I should hold it with my bare hands because
they are prohibited from using plastic bags anymore, and if they don't comply and get caught,
they will be charged 2,500 pesos plus two weeks of suspension. They said that they couldn't
afford that so that they would follow the rules. However, a week after the ban was implemented, I
noticed that people were using plastic again. It appears to be the perpetrator of this undesirable
act is our Barangay Leader. He owns the biggest Sari-sari store, yet instead of being a role
model, he chooses to be a bad example to his people. After analyzing our situation, I have
realized that although our Barangay Captain conducts misbehavior, we people should also be
responsible for our actions.

Our behavior is a mirror of our culture, a culture that has been passed down from generation to
generation. Suppose we can adopt the behavior of our neighboring country like Japan. The
Japanese obsession with cleanliness is rooted in their religion. Shintoism teaches that Evil is
associated with dirtiness, Good with cleanliness. Since they were young, they were thought that
cleaning is also part of students' daily routine; this develops an awareness of their surroundings.
While in our country, students are starting to lean backward. It was not like the old times when
students were instructed to clean their rooms and gardens as a culminating exercise. It seems
like students nowadays were not taught to be responsible, even from cleaning their rooms as
their studying area.
Another Japanese cleaning culture is the "Kegare." Kegare is another key concept of Shinto; it
means (impurity or dirt), the opposite of purity. Kegare can refer to anything unpleasant, including
death and disease. "If an individual is affected with kegare, it can harm society as a whole." As a
result, maintaining cleanliness is critical. This cleanses the people and helps avoid bringing
calamities to society. This depicts that the Japanese care for their environment and people. With
this in mind, we Filipinos should also have our own cleaning culture. A culture where we prioritize
our majestic environment while utilizing the 3R's; Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Incorporating the
3R's in our culture will lessen our waste and will aid to reduced human casualty when there is a
calamity. Filipino resiliency is true, but "Prevention is better than Cure" is indeed more excellent.

Above all the differences of Filipino and Japanese, I believe that we Filipinos has
indestructible and nationalistic heart. Our love for our nation will drive us to take the initiative and
achieve a better and sustainable country.