Proem
Since
the 1990s it has been noticed that the young generation has a behavior that do
not match their desires. They still dream of great achievements but they are not
doing their best to strive for their dreams and ambitions. They seem to expect
that their dreams will be handed to them in a silver platter.
When
the book "The Bill Curve" was published in the United States, the educators
realized that something was wrong and everybody tried to investigate the causes.
Present
Predicament
Nowadays,
the young generation entering college in Bohol seems to become worst. They do
not have a good command of any language. Our research has shown that the average
rating in English proficiency is only 44.25% where the expected average should
be 75%. In fact of the 1,500 students tested, nobody reached the 75% level.
They
could not read, write, and speak proper Tagalog. Their un-standardized "Taglish"
or "Bisaylish" could not cope with an intellectualized discussion. The
young Boholanos do not know how to read, write, or speak in Sugboanon Bisaya.
In fact their vocabulary level is only about 700 words, which is the level of
a 7-year old.
The
graduates of the elitist High Schools are the worst users of the Sugboanon Bisaya.
This
means that, in term of "emotional intelligence," these students will
be the worst. Emotional
intelligence is closely connected to the mother language because his emotions
were developed using the mother language.
The
new generation of Boholanos has short attention span. They no longer have the
capability to focus and give more time to understand "hard to analyze"
intellectual tasks. They have a tendency to opt - out of the situation.
The
new generation of Boholanos has a little capacity to relate to the topic of discussion
in the classroom. This means that the student comes to class unprepared or that
the stock knowledge they have is unrelated or worst, that they do not have any
stock knowledge at all.
In
the 1990s, students still know how rice are grown, how copra are prepared, or
how fish were caught. Nowadays, in a class of 45 students, I would be lucky to
find 5 students who know how rice are grown. Bear in mind that these students
came from the different towns in Bohol. You could just wonder what the students
were learning all their young lives. They do not have the in vivo (through life)
or in situ (on-site) knowledge of what is happening around them.
You
can just imagine the predicament of the teacher in educating the students for
a profession in life.
The
Person Is Still the Same
However,
you will be surprised to know that the "person" of the student is still
the same. Their brainpower is still the same. Their physical and emotional development
is still the same. What seems to be the matter is that our culture and civilization
are at cross-purposes to the behavior of the young generation.
It
is in the matter of guiding and teaching the next generation that the older generation
has failed. In fact, we can say that the present older generation has failed to
guide the new generation. That is the reason why the new generation is in a flux.
They have dreams but they have no guideposts to focus their attention to. The
situation is the result of the hesitation of the present older generation to teach
their culture to the next generation. | 
