Editorial

Writing
By Jeanne Acton, UIL and ILPC Journalism Director
Editorial
An article that states the newspaper’s
stance on a particular issue. Basically, it is
a persuasive essay that offers a solution to
a problem.
 In t r o :
P r e se n t th e
p r o b le m o r
s itu a tio n .

T a k e a sta n d !

O p p o s in g v ie w p o in ts a r e r e b u tte d .
Reason #1 for position

E v id e n c e fo r a ll 3 p o in ts .
Reason #2 for position

Reason #3 for position

Present Recap
a logical the staff
solution. stance.
 Saving kids from drug abuse

With the country facing a

serious drug problem, parents
would want to protect their
children from the scourge.
Going about this, however,
needs careful planning and
implementation.
 The law authorizes mandatory drug
testing for students in high school and
college. As the secretary of education has
pointed out, however, grade school children
are excluded from the coverage of the law.
Now the Philippine Drug Enforcement
Agency is hoping to change this, by including
elementary school students from fourth grade
up or at least nine years old in the public
school system to undergo drug testing.
 It’s not unusual for pre-adolescents to
experiment with banned substances. Among the
extremely poor, even rugby is sniffed for a cheap
high and to assuage hunger. Drug abuse is also
likely among children who are hired as mules by
adult traffickers because the law exempts
juveniles from criminal prosecution. Parents –
unless they themselves are engaged in illegal
drug deals – will want to protect their children
from the drug menace. And they will normally
accept any help from the government to see this
happen.
 Children, however, need special
handling and optimal privacy
protection. Drug abuse is a complex
problem that is often linked to personal
or family issues. Testing positive in a
school drug test can stigmatize a child
and aggravate the distress, especially if
authorities are careless in sharing what
should be confidential information.
 Department of Education officials
have reminded the PDEA about the
exemption of grade school pupils from
mandatory drug testing under the
Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of
2002. There is also the question of
resources: DepEd officials estimate that
drug testing for 14 million students will
cost P2.8 billion.
 The PDEA is correct in wanting to clip
drug abuse at a young age. It would be better
for the PDEA, however, to first consult
DepEd officials, educators, parent-teacher
associations and even student groups to
discuss measures for curbing substance
abuse among the young. The intention of the
drug-testing proposal may be good, but if
badly implemented, there’s a well-known
saying about what paves the road to hell.
 No more homework?

The teaching community itself is

divided. Some are opposing the idea:
banning homework altogether is bad for
learning, they say. There is just too much
work to do and the time allotted in a
regular class hour is not enough, so
students must complete the lesson at
home. Homework also helps in lesson
retention.
 The other side of the argument is
that children need time to relax, and
to enjoy quality time with their
family. All schoolwork must be done
in school, according to this
argument, which is supported by
certain officials of the Department of
Education.
 A compromise may have to be worked
out. Filipinos have been doing homework
since formal education was introduced in
this country. So far, there has been no
indication that Filipino students have
suffered from severe school stress – the kind
that has driven some of their counterparts in
recent years in highly competitive education
environments such as those in Japan and
South Korea to commit suicide.
 It’s true that there are parents who
help with their children’s homework.
But parents in such instances typically
explain what they are doing to their
children, to promote learning. Such
sessions can help fill gaps in
explanations in the classroom. Doesn’t
this enhance family bonding? 
 Give today’s school children more time
to themselves, and what might they do? Even
when they are with their families, their heads
are buried in smartphones, computers and
game consoles, watching videos, chatting with
friends or exploring anything and everything
in cyberspace, including subjects that parents
would prefer to be taboo to young minds.
Homework can pry children away from
gadgets for a certain period after school hours.
 There are undoubtedly also “terror”
teachers and slave drivers who can
overburden students with homework. What
education authorities can do is temper or
rationalize the assignment of homework,
perhaps declaring “homework-free” days to
give students more time for other activities.
As opponents of the homework ban have
pointed out, homework has its uses, and
totally prohibiting it needs careful
consideration.