GADGETS: A New Way of Life

The month of November is regarded as the Filipino Values Month accordingly to the DepEd Monthly Celebrations. Our school, Ilocos Sur National High School conducted a celebration for the month of November 2018 with the theme: “Mapanuring paggamit ng gadget: tungo sa mapagkalingang ugnayan sa pamilya at kapwa". Let’s start by giving a definition to the word gadget. A gadget is a small tool such as a machine that has a particular function, but is often thought of as a novelty. We all know that nowadays, we can easily found children as young as two years old are playing with an electronic devices and gadgets anywhere. That is not only the video games that make the children stay, it is also includes television, mobile phones and smart phone application, computers, tablet computers, PSP games and etc. Parent may find it easier to make their children stay in one place by giving them a gadget to play with.

What do you think are the effect of the gadget on the relationship of one family? The advancements in technology maybe made a strong impact on almost all areas of our society. It is making a serious difference in the way kids and parents perceive the world and each other. Gadgets can also help in saving a lot of space. Earlier while using a telephone you need to sit at a single place to talk with the other person or your family member but now you can travel anywhere with your cellphone and talk sitting wherever you want. Technology has affected our families both positively and negatively. May I discuss the positive one first? Was able to reach family in trouble, interaction with family groups, and for home security systems. The negative are when a person is too much time on screen, lack of quality time, poor face-to-face interaction with your family or your loved ones,  interrupted family time and limited outdoor acitivities. 

I may say that gadgets is not a bad thing, it helps us rather, but the mistake is within us, we, the user, because we don't know our limitations, we use gadgets as long as we want. It's not about the gadget who made us lazy, its we, it's we the one who's making ourselves lazy. Because we give too much time in using our gadget. Gadgets were made with a purpose. Never blame the gadgets, we should blame ourselves. The problem is in we, not in the gadgets. Let us be a better person. Let's use our gadgets wisely to connect with our family. Because in today's modern age, gadgets has become a way of life.

READING: The More You Know, The Smarter You Grow

                The month of November is regarded as the English Month accordingly to the DepEd Monthly Celebrations. The celebration of the English Festival will be conducted at Ilocos Sur National High School for the month of November 2018 with the theme: “Pagbasa: Susi sa Magandang Kinabukasan.” What does the theme says? We all know that it is not a secret that reading is the key to success; we have been told and taught this from a very early age. Reading is an important part of our society. It is key to learning an understanding. According to my research It has been proven that children who read better, perform better in school and have a more active imagination, leading to a larger world and more possibilities for success. I have been reading well for a long time, my mother taught me to read before, when I was elementary back then my teacher used to remind me to read our lesson everyday. And I can say that having that knowledge early made my school days a breeze. My research told me that  26% of children who were read to three or four times a week by a family member recognized all of the alphabet; compared to 14% of children who were read to less often.

              But why is reading so important? Reading imparts on students a much richer vocabulary than just hearing spoken words can possibly provide. Rarely does a spoken conversation include a description of an angry individual becoming inflamed at a remark, rather than getting mad at what someone said. We as a society tend to ask questions, but reading helps us to inquire or compile a query instead. The ability to read not only helps a student to do well in language arts classes, but all subjects, as well as allowing common tasks to become easier. Reading even helps us communicate in writing better by allowing us to know how words are spelled and how grammar works. So why, then, are less and less people reading everyday? Less young people are reading because of all of the distractions in today's society. TVs, iPods, computers, video games. With technology advancing so quickly, people just aren't interested in the old-fashioned books of yesterday.

            Educators have said for years how important reading is for student success – which is quite true. However, it is more than that. Reading is important for Life success.  The more you know, the smarter you grow.