#FEATURE | A Humanistic Deficiency: The Evolution of Pisay’s Elective Roster
by Nicole Datlangin and Migs de las Llagas
You stare at the Pisay Direct announcement, eager to finally enroll into an elective. You had it all planned out, ever since stories of the Grade 10 electives started floating down from the upper years. The different science classes were fascinating, but it was always the creative electives you were attracted to — specifically, the Multimedia Arts (MMA) elective.
While your other friends said they felt uneasy with its draw-lots admission process, you found it somewhat relieving knowing you wouldn’t have to worry about preparing a portfolio or taking an editorial test like in the writing electives. It was all luck, and nothing else. Calming yourself down, you tap on the link to the enlistment form.
As you steadily scan the roster of offered electives, you let out a long breath you didn’t realize you were holding until you reach the end of the scroll bar. Blaming it on your excitement, you read through the form twice, then thrice.
You quickly shut down your thoughts as you keep reloading the link, that is, until your friend group confirms your suspicions for you: the three-letter acronym you kept your eyes peeled for just wasn’t there. In fact, the remaining humanities electives you see in the list are the two journalism electives and, surprisingly, one for Basic Mandarin.
Guess you should’ve saved that luck for another day.
What really happened: A briefer on the elective changes
In a system-wide gathering of representatives from all PSHS campuses, a certain provision was stumbled upon in a review of the Curriculum Instruction Manual. The condition, cited below, prompted the revision of the Main Campus’ tenth grade elective roster — once known to feature a number of ‘humanistic electives’ ranging from Journalism to Multimedia Arts.
“The advancement years program may offer elective subjects in the Grade 10 level…The program gears towards the basic sciences, engineering, and technology courses. This scheme is aimed to ensure that the high school graduates achieve general literacy as well as improve the pre-university preparation of students intending to pursue professional careers in mathematics, science, and engineering.” (Excerpt from PSHSS Curriculum Instruction Manual, 2016)
With the manual written in 2016, electives without a scientific slant essentially operated ‘illegally’ for the school years leading up to the system-wide review. Other campuses of the PSHS system had followed through with the provision; it was only in Main Campus that its implementation was delayed.
“We were only reminded of it when we had a system-wide meeting, and the other [campuses’ representatives] said, oh, the electives should be just science and technology, as per the manual,” confirmed Ma’am Veronica Torralba, PSHS-MC’s Curriculum Instruction Division Chief.
While the literature-intensive Creative Writing elective was in danger of being dissolved due to such provision, journalism electives were exceptions to the rule, serving to maintain the activity of school publications and provide student representatives to inter-school journalism contests.
Similarly, the incorporation of technological aspects in the Multimedia Arts curriculum left the elective unaffected by the provision. MMA, therefore, was dissolved not due to its humanistic features, but rather the unavailability of its former teacher, Sir Jayson Bingcang.
The subjects that are offered in the elective roster primarily hinge on the availability of teachers and their respective specialties. For instance, an elective on the Information Technology industry is among the new electives offered in place of those dissolved, with Ma’am Virginia Andres handling the class following her term as Campus Director.
“Since I’m [in the] Management Committee this year, we preferred to have ASA advisorship instead of me having [another] class,” explained Sir Bingcang, now the head of the Division of Student Affairs.
A comparison of PSHS-MC’s Tenth Grade elective rosters through the years. ‘Staple’ electives (those constantly present in the roster) are in purple, while humanities electives are underlined. New elective offerings are also marked with exclamation points.
The dependence of the electives offered on the varying specialties of available teachers was also what paved the way for the Basic Mandarin elective. Added to the list of electives last school year, the course is currently being taught by a Taiwanese teacher from the Manila Executive and Cultural Office (MECO).
Currently, Basic Mandarin is also being taught in the PSHS campus in Clark, Pampanga. Garnering positive feedback gathered from the previous classes, the class was intentionally set for a second batch of alumni in MC this school year.
“Kunwari wala ring mag-eenroll, hindi na namin siya i-ooffer,” Sir Bingcang said. “Pero, malaki pa rin yung demand. Maraming enrollees ngayon, fourteen sila, and one teacher. ‘Di pwedeng lumagpas, kasi merong books na binibigay, so fifteen lang talaga.”
The unusual incorporation and survival of Basic Mandarin (in spite of its humanistic nature) can be considered a special case as an additional elective. There was, however, still a way for the Creative Writing elective to survive: the incorporation of scientific elements into its curriculum.
‘Disappointing’ CreW removal
“I would rather not have [Creative Writing] than have to pretend for an entire year that what we are doing is a STEM-related elective.”
Perhaps the biggest controversy surrounding the latest elective changes is the removal of the Creative Writing elective (fondly called CreW), formerly handled by Mr. Jose Eugenio “Joey” Arguelles of the English unit.
Administered in PSHS-MC for a full decade, the elective covered lessons on writing fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, coupled with workshops wherein students could produce their own written works. These were then compiled at the end of each year in an edition of the Dalumat, along with outsourced works from other student contributors.
News of CreW’s removal led to much online clamoring from the student body for the elective’s revival. According to Sir Arguelles, several alumni even expressed their willingness to file a protest in response to the move to discontinue it.
“I told them that I don’t want to be that kind of teacher who thinks that his subject is so important that it should survive,” Sir Arguelles explained. The subsistence of CreW would require the addition of STEM elements like science communication and science fiction, which “defeats the purpose of the elective” for Sir Arguelles.
“I cannot offer Science Fiction because, for one, it’s not my style. In four quarters, that’s practically the only time you can integrate science, and the rest will just be pretend. I would rather not have it than have to pretend for an entire year that what we are doing is a STEM-related elective,” he added. “Yeah, it’s disappointing, although I do understand what [the Management Committee was] trying to do.”
With this, the succeeding batches of Grade 10 students may not be seeing the Creative Writing elective again anytime soon. However, can CreW be revived, if not as an elective, but as an extracurricular organization?
“I really can’t see it working that way,” Arguelles contended. “Club meetings would end up as lectures, and who wants that? It’s not like, ooh, let’s write in pretty snowflakes and do whatever you want! Well, some teachers would want that, but that’s not how I view it. In electives kasi, you’re basically locked in for a year. With clubs, it’s just really voluntary. So if you don’t want to work, then you don’t want to work.”
Other qualms raised by Sir Arguelles included scheduling concerns (as clubs meet in the afternoon, past his official time) and the possibility of alienating those specializing in poetry and non-fiction. In a club setting, devoid of the rigid structures of elective curricula, Sir Arguelles — a fictionist himself — mentioned that he would also end up giving more feedback and mentorship to students writing fiction compared to those interested in other genres.
Nevertheless, the closest that students will get to a CreW revival this school year is a new edition of the Dalumat, and the addition of a literary section to The Science Scholar’s official paper publication (both currently in the works). Both these initiatives are spearheaded by Matthew Dofitas of 2021, an alumnus of the CreW elective.
“I felt that the elective had gone out unjustly, thus this would be one way to make up for the elective’s absence,” Dofitas said in an online correspondence. “I truly believe in the power of writing and I hope others still believe (and help) as well.”
Equally imbued with the humanist values
“As a scholar, I embody the scientific spirit: inquisitive, logical, analytical and critical, but also equally imbued with the humanist values of justice and compassion, prudence, integrity and humility.”
In a science-centered school like Pisay, HUMMS-oriented electives serve to complete the circle of holistic development and encourage well-roundedness in students. From the removal of these electives, major avenues for such humanistic expression have been limited, contrary to what the monthly recited Scholar’s Pledge promises.
“I do get that line that you can put humanistic values into subjects, but what really saddens me is the fact that, every year, I manage to find the best writers in a batch, and I give them a platform,” Sir Arguelles expressed. “Yeah, true, it’s a very small part of the population, but I believe kasi that writing is an important thing, especially stories, poems and all these things. And therefore, it’s quite sad that that venue is gone.”
Contrastingly, Ma’am Torralba maintains that the humanities do not lack rigor or attention in the PSHS-MC community.
“If you look at our curriculum in the humanities, very strong din siya,” she contended. “And there are a lot of opportunities, especially through the projects being given in those areas, [that we grow] in terms of the humanities. And aside from those curricular aspects, pagdating sa mga clubs, ang dami ring venue para ma-access natin ‘yung humanities aspect ng students.”
Nonetheless, Sir Arguelles maintained: “True, there are other venues. There are still other organizations and subjects to do that, but it’s sad that one option was taken away.”
Clearly, the rift between the STEM and humanities-oriented aspects of Pisay life has yet to be mended. Future batches of Grade 10 students may have to look beyond their academic lives to immerse themselves in the humanities at the same degree to which STEM is habilitated in the PSHS curriculum.
Dofitas expressed that the removal of CreW entails the removal of sources of constructive criticism, mentorship, and valuable opportunities for exposure and the development of one’s work ethic in writing.
Sir Arguelles imparted a final takeaway for aspiring writers, and those who were hoping to take up the CreW elective — as well as anyone interested in other forms of creative expression:
“Well, you just have to… continue writing. Eventually, those who really have the talent — they will eventually, you know, get there, if they really want to, if they have the desire. It might just be more difficult for them, it might just take a while, because Creative Writing is not there to show them what they can do. But I’m sure they will, if they persist, they’ll find a way if they really want to.”
Interested student writers may send their original fiction pieces to the Dalumat Editorial Board (officialdalumat2020@gmail.com) until January 4, 2020 to get involved in keeping Creating Writing alive in the Pisay community.
