Teaching Economics Only in Fourth Year During K+10 Was Just Plain Absurd

I could remember one of my memories was having a teacher like the late Miriam Defensor-Santiago in high school. She was a pretty strict and brilliant woman like the late senator. Some say she was unreasonable but I wouldn't say that. She was temperamental but she made sense (most of the time) when she was angry. She did flunk me in the first grading but offered to help me as well. Though, I was thinking that economics in high school was rather hard to understand. When I look back--I had a brilliant teacher but the education system was dumb. Maybe, it was for the best that she left the Philippines with my science and math teacher. I ended up thinking it's too bad I wasn't able to communicate with her during my commerce days.

I could think about how learning economics at the University of San Carlos-Main Campus was fun. I think about microeconomics, macroeconomics, and economics during my graduate school days. I think about how the struggle with economics, later on, wasn't so bad compared to high school. Maybe, because I learned better study habits since I never experienced having back subjects. Sure, I had some barely passing grades (my first two accounting subjects) but I didn't get that with my economics. I did have basic economics during my Associate in Computer Science days for one semester. I felt that economics was truly a fascinating subject only during commerce.

I ended up reflecting back on how it's absurd to teach economics only at fourth-year high school in K+10. Economics should be gradually learned in both middle school and high school. That's why I'm for K+12. Economics needs to be gradually introduced and not just a one-shot deal for an entire year. Economic literacy is something that was barely taught. I confess that I even once thought of going to a coffee shop as an "arrogant gesture" without knowing why coffee shops sell higher. If premium ingredients are used, if salaries are high, if the cost of utilities is high then shouldn't customers pay for both the good food and the ambiance? It's like how I paid PHP 250.00 for my Monte Cristo sandwich set in Jolly Bubble because it's a cafe that operates for long hours. If coffee shops don't charge high then they can expect to go bankrupt from using premium ingredients and having a nice ambiance. Some restaurants have service charges to have net profits to keep it going.

Economics is something that shouldn't be waited until college before you know its application. It's something that should be taught as soon as possible and not just during the graduating year. I feel so stupid I only learned how economics is part of life in college but not in high school. Math formulas related to economics run all our transactions. A year of economics before college doesn't even cut it. Somebody may get a high grade in economics during that time. However, I'd like to ask if there was any actual learning really even there? Economics is part of life so why teach it shoddily? Even a brilliant economics teacher is wasted if that's the case.

If economics were taught in both middle school and high school--I could expect students to learn more about it before college. Economics isn't that easy in the long run since it requires plenty of analysis. Microeconomics and macroeconomics are two different but related subjects that are better studied separately. You need to learn the micro before you go to the macro. I think students will learn how economics is part of life better when it's taught in middle school and high school than just being taught in the graduating year.

Comments

How Many MORE Unmitigated Typhoon Disasters Before Filipinos Realize That the Filipino First Policy is FAILING Them?!

GMA Network I remember surviving through Typhoon Odette last 2022. Tino happened on November 6, 2025, which also reminds me that Yolanda's anniversary came two days later . Yolanda was even worse than Odette! Thankfully, Cebu City's impact wasn't as bad, and power didn't take too long to return, unlike Yolanda. However, seeing news reports such as an investigation done against Slater Young's project in Monterazzas de Cebu should highlight a bigger problem. Looking at the photos of floods on Facebook makes me think, "How many more unmitigated typhoon disasters until Filipinos realize that the Filipino First Policy is failing them and that the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines badly needs updates?" For die-hard defenders like Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. (who will turn 90 this December 20) or Atty. Christian Monsod (who's 89 this year), they're prone to saying that it's just a matter of implementation . However, whether we want to admit it...

Filipino First Policy Also Responsible That ONLY 2/10 Pinoys Have Emergency Funds

Yes, it's been a day since Typhoon Tino. It was a stormy, scary time, and I thought about how expenses were piling up after I was hit by Typhoon Odette . Thankfully, I had contingency savings at that time. However, with Uswan moving upwards and entering another area of the Philippine Area of Responsibility, I considered the issue of emergency savings. I thought about how Christmas can be the most stressful time of the year, with issues such as traffic caused by last-minute Christmas shopping . This time, I thought about some not-so-surprising statistics on Filipinos. It turns out that only 2/10 Filipinos have enough emergency savings . This should be considered disturbing, and this is another thing I failed to consider in my younger, more foolish years, according to the Philippine Star : Commissioned by insurance firm EastWest Ageas, the PURPLE Report conducted by consumer intelligence company NielsenIQ showed that most Filipinos only have P50,000 in emerg...

Helping Others is Good But Not to One's Own Expense

I advocate for helping others. I believe in helping others but there were times I overdid it. One time, I gave up so much that I had to be stopped. I was told, "If you gave everything now, how can you help others later?" I would donate some sums here and there, without thinking much. I'm not going to write them all. Some of them left me good while others left a bad taste (and a bad record) for me to endure. Sure, I want to help people but I tend to overlook the consequences. Some of the bad habits I had in the name of helping others are like: Being too generous with buying with credit. Eventually, I lost a lot of money which was never recovered . Some seasoned entrepreneurs may admit their own falls including the credit trap pitfall. Being too willing to give a discount without thinking about how it'd affect profits. Sure, a cheap price can draw people near. However, there are times when the prices of goods and services need to be raised to keep a business running. I ...

Davide Contradicts Himself by Having Experience as a UN DIPLOMAT While Supporting the Filipino First Policy

October is United Nations Month. I would like to bring up the issue of Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr., the favorite source and echo chamber of the anti-constitutional reform groups. I wrote an earlier post where I asked to whom Filipinos should listen to between Kishore Mahbubani and Davide, that Davide was actually a former UN diplomat , until such time of his honorable resignation . I Googled "Hilario Davide Jr. United Nations" and discovered Davide actually studied in SOKA University, during the time he was a UN diplomat ! I would even want to share these words written by Davide, 50 years after Soka University was founded. In just fifty years from its founding on April 2, 1971, our SOKA University has more than fully proven itself as the "highest seat of learning for humanistic education; cradle of a new culture; and a fortress of peace for mankind." It has gone beyond the borders of a great nation through various units in other parts of the world and its comprehens...

Trying to Plan Out What to Do as a Bull Market Starts

I was laughing just thinking about ignorance about the bear and bull markets. Yes, we know about social media gossipers (seldom called a marites in Filipino) tend to spread gossip. I ran into several people panicking when the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) was mostly red. Others would panic but Warren Edward Buffett recommends, "Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful." That's the best market timing. Some people do cost averaging because it's practically less risky in contrast to lump sum investing. Buffett recommends that non-technical people should periodically invest in a low-cost index fund over a period of ten years. Now, the Philippine Star has an article by Wilson Sy, where the first paragraph talks about the Philippines' entry towards the bull market : Most stock markets have undergone a dramatic shift to start the year, transitioning from a bear market to a bull market. Peak inflation, a slower pace of interest rate h...

The Idiocy of Typing Anti-FDI Rants Using IMPORTED Devices, IMPORTED Platforms, and IMPORTED Social Media

Bulatlat It's very easy to open Facebook (or any related platform) and find lots of stupidity , right? There have been idiotic comments I find on Facebook such as FDI is this and that. We can find "thought leader groups" such as Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Anakpawis, Anakbayan, Bayan Muna, IBON Foundation, Kabataan Partylist, League of Filipino Students, and Philippine Anti-Fascist League (PH Antifa) who keep ranting about FDI as this and that. I even remember somebody dared to say that FDI caused Egypt to dry up. Ironically, North Korea and Venezuela, two protectionist countries, have very bad pollution problems. I'd blame it that they don't have the money to do a clean-up drive. How can you clean up a polluted river without the right equipment? How can you expect better power efficiency with outdated equipment that keep coughing up, cough, cough, lots of black smoke? All the talks on social media can be very funny. The big irony is that all calls for "...

A Lot of OFWs Can't Be Home for Christmas Thanks to the Filipino First Policy

It's just a few days before Christmas, right? I was reminded of how certain parts of the Philippines couldn't celebrate Christmas because of Odette (and I was included). Before Odette, there was also Typhoon Phantone which hit on Christmas Day . The idea that nothing goes wrong on Christmas is absolutely stupid. Some people even die during the Christmas season. Christmas gets so often associated with family get-togethers. However, some people wouldn't be home for Christmas when they could've. I'm once again talking about OFWs. Yes, they're working abroad not because they're out there "conquering the world". Instead, they're out there because of one lousy policy since Carlos P. Garcia. That's namely the Filipino First Policy . Once again, I dare say out loud that the Filipino First Policy caused the Philippines to fail . That's why I wrote that Filipino First Policy has no place in the rising Asian century (read here ). I was rather disg...

Refuse to Do Business with a Person Who Looks Down on Menial Work

If there's any reason why some people are angry with the rich--it's because of rich people who look down on the poor. Some people are born rich without knowing the struggles of the one who originally acquired the wealth. Some rich parents make the fatal mistake of making their children feel entitled. Meanwhile, some rich parents make their children do the right thing by not waiting until things get too far. Some rich parents end up making their children attend middle-class schools, do summer jobs, work as employees in their own businesses, and teach them the value of wealth, especially by narrating the struggles before they got wealthy. In looking for a business partner, I feel it's very important to look at the attitude of these people. How do they treat people who do menial work? I could imagine looking forward to a business contract. However, it turns out that the potential business partner is a spoiled brat . Maybe, it's already a red alarm if I'm invited to an ...

Why I'd Recommend Children Learn Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer, Over MS Paint

This is a picture I drew out of boredom. Drawing Santa Claus (or Saint Nicholas) on the beach for fun is an obvious mark of boredom. I used several curves to draw everything, and copied/pasted the trees from my previous works. I dropped MS Paint for Adobe Photoshop (and now I dropped the latter, because of the fees). I remember getting fascinated by MS Paint as a child (though the limits are too, well, still limited today). I was looking into MS Paint on my most recent PC . It's almost useless, especially when I can do better casual drawing on either Affinity Photo (for raster graphics, and it has the basic features of MS Paint) or Affinity Designer. Just reading Affinity's offer of free access to eligible schools , MS Paint may lose its relevance even more. I was looking into Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer, and a child could actually do some exploration, ask an adult for help, do more exploration, and start to do better. Sure, dealing with layers can be frustrating at f...

Why Businesses Need to Adapt to New Technology and New Information, Not Get Stuck in the Stone Age

I could remember the problem of having to deal with the older generation that doesn't embrace change. It's often said that the older you get--the more resistant to change you become. I wanted to write this essay about why businesses need to keep up with technological advancement and new information. It's because much has changed from the 1980s to the present. I was born in 1985 which makes me a Generation Y. Generation X people are from 1965 to 1980. That means I've experienced a lot of stuff during the 1990s to the early 2000s which many of those born later wouldn't know. Remembering the "luxury" of the 1990s that became business necessities today I remembered how often I wanted a desktop back in the 1990s. Adjusting to change can be very difficult. I remembered how I wanted a desktop not because it was cool to own one. The typewriter was such a hassle, especially with how it was a waste of paper. I really hated using the typewriter because of how hard t...

Business & Economics Perspective Blogger

Search This Blog