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This was a very interesting and educational class for me, as someone who was very much not interested in economics but was greatly involved in sustainability projects outside of academics. I had not realize how intrinsically linked these are in the grand scheme of things, but realized through this class how important it is that I understand their relation with each other, especially concerning the SDGs. I wasn't able to attend a lot of synch classes because of my schedule, but I definitely had a lot to take away.

In its connection to my major ARTS103 and NSTP, I was able to develop my understanding of how art & design can solve social problems, a path I'm thinking of taking in my future as a Fine Arts graduate. So I'm very thankful for this class and you, Sir Charlon. Thanks for your kindness and your reliability as a prof in answering our endless questions. Hope to meet you on campus one day to thank you for a great semester in person!

– Dany Papio

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Throughout the course, I was able to learn the importance and great impact sustainability has not only in our environment but also in our economy. I realized that it is one of the things the government must consider when they make decisions with development and I'm now concerned and hoping that sustainability is considered more when OUR government makes choices because a lot is really at stake these days.

I personally enjoyed this class despite not being able to attend all the 8am synch sessions hehe Thank you Sir for making this class engaging and relatable  even though economics was something I was never interested in (BUT I definitely am now thanks to this course). Thank you again and God bless ^-^

- Julia Popple

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This course, though overwhelming, taught me that sustainable development is more than just the economy, but relies heavily on society as well. With the tie-in to NSTP, I was able to analyze the problems of the community using the different development frameworks that could be applied to improve their situation for the better.

I really appreciate the compassion and consideration that you have displayed, Sir Mayo, as it really helped me adjust amidst the difficulty of the semestral system. I also appreciate the prompt responses to emails, as well as the feedback which helped me improve on my work.

- Miguel Ong

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This was an interesting class. I was able to learn how to deal with things. Online classes were ok. It was difficult but thanks for everything sir

-VR

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Our discussion on the economy and its relation to education was very timely, as our unorthodox circumstances have gravely affected both of these areas. It elucidated how multidimensional and interconnected issues in our country are, consequently proving that mere bandaid solutions will not suffice in eradicating their underlying cause. Now, our experience interacting with a lesser privileged community gave my understanding of their professed reality a new layer. Every engagement was an opportunity for further enlightenment, and I finished the course feeling extremely fulfilled and humbled.

With regards to the learning material and workload for this class, I thought that they were manageable for the most part. Some concepts were just harder for me to grasp personally because I had little to no background on economics. That aside, I would definitely say I picked up plenty of significant lessons from our discussions, and my desire to contribute in initiatives to achieve sustainable development has been fueled.

Lastly, I wanna thank you, Sir, for being extremely understanding (especially when I reached out to you earlier in the semester). You’ve been so approachable, considerate, and willing to adjust, which I believe made a lot of our lives easier during this insanely grueling transition. I appreciate how much effort you put into teaching despite all limitations, and I hope you get your well-deserved rest this break. Happy Holidays!
- Chloe Parlade

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Significant changes, especially the ones that lead towards sustainability, can start individually, but only truly take-off when all relevant sides come together and ensure it. Although the various economic theories are a wealth of information and insight, the practical aspects that are intertwined with our NSTP sector really helped shed a light on the human side of these societal issues. At the end of the day, there will always be actual faces behind every statistic of poverty and the like. Any change or development that we would like to see in our society should always take into consideration the lives of the citizens, especially those in marginalized communities. In our case, it was enlightening to engage and interact with the children in these communities, and it shows how it’s one thing to learn about these theories that help us understand development on a large scale, and another thing to apply and understand them within smaller communities.

As for the class itself, thank you sir for being understanding and considerate! However, online learning hampered my own experience, since I feel like I would be able to absorb the information much better in a physical setting than just recordings and slides, because I found it hard to keep engaged consistently. Still, since we can’t do anything about that for now, I really appreciate your efforts to make do with what we have at the moment. Thank you for that, sir, and for also being accommodating with deadlines, etc! Super appreciate the lecture notes as well. Happy holidays!

-Ralfy

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My biggest takeaway from this class is something that I've always wanted to know more about for the longest time: how so many aspects of our society come together to affect both us as individuals living out our everyday lives, and as humans living in a big, globalized world. I appreciated learning about the dynamic interactions that exist between economy, society, sustainable development, and the arts. This kind of learning, I believe, is key to building a better world— one that is not just "better" in one aspect and stagnant or worse in another, but a world that is holistic in its development.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to you, sir Mayo, for being a wonderful professor to us this semester. Because of how the class is set-up, I can see how it will naturally tend towards becoming information-heavy, yet I can also see how much effort you put into trying to make it digestible. The modules were organized really well too. 8 AM classes did not feel daunting at all, and if anything, they felt like a safe space to be in considering how pleasant the discussions were — reciting really did feel quite nice! If there is a way that there would be more emphasis on understanding the core concepts and their applications to real life, over the need to strictly memorize technical terms that would be great!

I cannot also thank you enough for being such an understanding and hands-on professor. We really appreciate you looking out for us and allowing extensions or extra activities in order to help us do better in your class. Exchanging emails has always been a breeze and I never felt anxious to approach you with questions or concerns, I'm very honored to have been a beadle for the first time here!

— Ian

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I learned a lot this semester about the economy, poverty, sustainability, the society, and the environment - all of those topics that I have learned from socsci 13 are definitely worthwhile because even if it was a deep dive of all of those topics, I was able to understand life so much better especially in the world we are currently living in, so much of the world is shifting in a fast-paced rate. Thus, the topics that I have now learned will forever stay with me as the lessons are essentials in trying to to understand that economics isn’t really just about money or measuring productivity, at the core of it, economics is really about how to help each other flourish to live better, thus, people are at the core of what economics is. Additionally, the course reminded me that in order to have a “healthy” or successful economy is to always put people and the planet first before anything, even sacrificing for the sake of good business or doing “business as usual” routines to satisfy the market. The economy is about helping each other live for the long-run.

Within that, this course has fueled in more knowledge in my mind on the different topics, strategies, and information in creating a better place through economics. Not only that but I didn’t realised how incredibly important economics is to help solve environmental problems and as someone who is an environmentalist and activist for the people and planet (esp for the youth), the information that I have now obtain is so essential to my journey/road to participating in the movement and constant work to create a safe place for the next generations in mother earth.

With the integration of NSTP with socsci, what I learned from that experience is the application and the actual practice of the topics in socsci 13 you see happen to play when you are actually doing community work. All of the things that I have gradually learned throughout the semester of this course has appeared in my reflections or musings whenever I would be working on NSTP outputs or engaging with the community and listening to their stories. I would be using the frameworks, theories, and strategies learned from socsci 13 as an analysis basis to understanding better (but internally) the partner community.

Overall, I feel like throughout the whole duration of online learning for this course made me realise how super tedious it is to learn things online because you always have to be updated and be on check with the different subjects you are learning for the semester but speaking specifically for this course I would say the tedious part of it would be the readings and being able to remember the first few lessons learned from this course. Because I realised that in the middle of the semester I thought to myself “wow I totally forgot what was module 1-2 even about because of how long the semester was and yet despite it’s length the modules do move fast, thus, I realised that how fast-paced the semester set-up really is.

And to wrap up everything, I feel like my only feedback for the course, specifically how you po sir gave the lessons, I feel like the asynchronous video lessons are super great and more flexible in terms of introducing and getting into a topic deeper but I would suggest to not make the videos super long as 22mins might be too long considering of how information heavy it is. I suggest to make the pacing of the videos more casual but still withholding that professionalism when teaching, just to allow students/viewers to take in the information in a digestible way.

Within that, I just wanted to say thank you so so much sir for everything that you have done for us po! I am super appreciative for you being our teacher for socsci 13 because you have been so genuine, super duper patient, kind, thoughtful, and very enthusiastic especially at every synchronous class time at 8-9 am. I am grateful that I was able to learn these topics from you po because you’ve been real gentle and flexible with us po. I also feel the love/passion you have for teaching these topics, thus, your energy in putting together the modules and even discussing topics in synchronous sessions has transitioned onto our energy to also have the same enthusiasm and drive to understand the topics.

Thank you again po! xxx - Natasha Soriano

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If I were to summarize my greatest learning from this course it would be that significant change can only occur when all sides work together, hand in hand—a liberation that works both ways. As I have learned from the various lessons in this course, attaining sustainable development is so much more than just economic objective achievement; it largely involves the human aspect. Sustainable growth and development cannot be reached if we are to ignore the various situations, contexts, and stories surrounding a country's people, especially the poorest and most vulnerable communities.

Tying this with our online engagements with our partner organizations and communities in NSTP, I was not only able to learn about and deepen my own understandings on the contextual issues within these communities but also recognize why such challenges occur—such recognition achieved by both actively listening to the stories of its members and utilizing relevant development theories from SOSC 13. Through both courses, I also began to unlearn the notion that the poor or marginalized are helpless and in need of our "salvation"—that they are dependent on others to help them out of their situation and that they cannot do anything to help themselves. I learned that such a paternalistic mindset often disallows us to recognize their capacity to work alongside others. It is equally important for us to help them to realize their capability to stand on their own two feet. A community is able to drive change not only by working alongside the local governments and organizations or by helping the vulnerable attain their needs but also by allowing each individual to realize their own capacity to act independently. The same goes for a country as a whole. Just as I have mentioned in my one-sentence summary, change can only occur when all sides work together for that change.

Overall, I would say that this course is definitely worth taking as it opened my mind to different realities and ways of thinking. I would also like to thank you, Sir Mayo, for being truly understanding of our situations, concerns, and struggles and for also being considerate when it comes to deadlines and outputs. Grading was fair and feedback was always substantial and relevant. Thank you so much po for teaching us in such a way that the lessons were digestible and a lot easier to understand! Hope you enjoy the holidays po! :))

- Stephanie Vivar

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My greatest learning from this course is this: Most (if not all) problems in society are products of systemic failures or corruption--and thus could only be fully solved at the root. With the tie-in with NSTP, I was able to realize that there is truly so much more going on under what we readily see in marginalized communities. They have a lot of stories to tell and I learned a lot in engaging with them.

For my feedback for the course, I admit that I struggled a lot with the midterms, because there were a lot of concepts that I had to try to grasp within a short time. Since I was not very knowledgeable about economics before this course, I found some concepts too technical, so it was overwhelming especially with the amount of topics and materials. What I did find really helpful were the real-life examples, and the activities that made me see the concepts play out in society (like the budget activity!). The interactive SDG quiz was fun as well.

All in all, learning online revealed to me that I am able to digest more learnings when I am able to focus on a few topics/materials at a time. Especially in this setup that I often feel that I am studying alone in front of my laptop :< But it really helped to try to have fun and really put the topics into a real-life perspective. They become easier to understand when I think of them as actual events rather than theoretical abstracts. I also recommend to future students to take rests, reach out to classmates and the instructor whenever needed, and try to join in synchronous sessions! :>

For sir: I'm sure this online learning setup has also been challenging for teachers as it has been for us students, so I would like to say thank you so much po for doing your best for us! I really appreciate po that you listen to us, and that you try to make the lessons as interesting as possible. Kahit po antok pa because maaga yung class, nakakatuwa po yung little jokes that you add in the slides hehe. And as one of the class beadles, thank you rin po for always being accommodating and understanding!

Thank you so much po for this sem, sir! It was really a valuable experience. And I wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season po! :D

- Caryl Guinto

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There are so many things going on that aren't immediately obvious when we look at the current issues of our country. It's all so complex and interconnected, but this doesn't mean that solutions aren't possible. The important thing is that these solutions are equitable and sustainable. In terms of the tie-in with NSTP, it was very eye-opening to meet the people whose struggles we are learning about in SocSci. I think I've grown into a better person because of it.

Regarding the course as a whole, I really appreciated the in-depth lectures (both recorded and synchronous) that also incorporated main ideas from the readings, as this meant I didn't necessarily have to fall behind if I missed a reading or didn't understand a reading too well. The case studies during synchronous sessions were also helpful as they helped us apply very theoretical concepts into real-world happenings.

(For sir: I feel like I should say sorry for only attending a few synchronous sessions huhu but really, your lectures were very helpful and insightful. Thank you for being so considerate with deadlines, and for being so responsive to Canvas messages! I'm very grateful that I made it into your class despite being Batch 2 during enlistment, because I felt like I was learning a lot without the course requirements becoming too stressful. Thank you again, and advanced happy holidays po!)

- Bianca Santiago

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Through this course, I was able to learn more about the facts that back the environmental and societal issues we face and experience today. We are often focused on making grand statements and maybe even participating in performative activism that we forget to pay attention to the nuances and details that make up these issues. With regards to NSTP, I was also reminded that there are real people facing these issues on a daily basis, and that it is not our duty to come up with short-term charity, but rather to educate ourselves on these issues so that we can use our privilege and learnings to assist and guide those who were oppressed by the systems of power. The online setting may have proven to be a challenge, but it also further inspired me to work with our circumstances to be able to make a connection with our partner community. It was truly inspiring to see them put in an effort and learn from our project and it made me want to improve our workshop output all the more.

This online course was manageable, and while it was not my strongest suit, it was enjoyable. The workload was fine, and I appreciated the bonus activities because sometimes my outputs had minor mistakes that I genuinely was unaware of until told (which can be counted as a learning experience for me as well). I will admit that I struggled to wake up at 8 in the morning for synchronous class, but it was worth waking up for every time. I realized that this was a habit I did not out of wanting to be a diligent student, but also out of compassion for sir Mayo who gets up even earlier than us to set up and ensure that we have a safe and adequate online learning space. I think we really have to be more kind to each other in times like these. While I may not have been the best student, I know that I learned so much more than my grades can measure. I think that future students of this class should also consider this in their online learning because there are many things in life that are too meaningful to be quantified.

To sir Charlon Mayo, thank you for doing your best to provide us with a good class and for even adding in simple memes to make us smile early in the morning. Your hard work is not unnoticed and we appreciate you! You have also been so considerate and patient with us, and we cannot thank you enough for that at a time like this. May God bless you and I hope you have a restful break ahead! ❤️

- Sarah Perdigon

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I learned how important sustainability is for the long run, and how individuals have the power to change the world around us as it is a step forward to a greater, brighter future ahead of us. I also realized how important group works are in relation to NSTP as it made me treasure the people I was working with. Without them, I don't think I could have accomplished all of the requirements with flying colors. Cooperating with one's group is key in order to have a successful engagement, and I am thankful that my group mates were so kind and considerate.

I would also like to express my gratitude to Sir Mayo as he was very considerate and fair. I know I have not been the most active student in class, but he was very quick to understand our circumstances and was very lenient and responsive to my messages. As online learning hinders us from fully grasping our modules and engaging in class, I often ponder about how valuable opening one's cam is and the struggles that our professors face.

In terms of workload, I believe that it is fair enough. To be quite honest, Sir Mayo gave many considerations which other professors would not have done, and for that, I am thankful. I would also like to apologize to him as I had not been the most participative student in his class, though I really appreciate his kind efforts to respond quickly to my canvas messages and his fast grading + feedbacks (which greatly helped me in knowing what I should improve on).

-Charlotte "Char" Cheng

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My knowledge about the world, especially in the economic perspective, has definitely widened thanks to this class. It also made me understand further certain realities and scenarios we experience and observe happening in the world. My key takeaway would be, theories and principles may look overwhelming- especially since I'm a Fine Arts major, but once it is being applied, you'd start to understand it further and it isn't as overwhelming as you think it'd be.

And that is something I'd like to thank you, Sir Mayo, for being patient and understanding throughout the semester. You shared your knowledge regarding the topics tackled in the modules to us and tried your best to make sure everyone understands it. Even with the difficulties of online classes, you really made an effort to make sure we're learning and also understood our situation, giving us enough time to work on our requirements and even give us substantial feedback. We appreciate you a lot sir, thank you!

-Krizhia Bacani

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In a world that is heavily tattered with an array of social disparities, worsening environmental adversities, and widening gaps between institutional agents and the social imaginary, it is imperative and absolutely crucial to ensure that both our empirical and ethical compasses are intact.  Although notions of growth and development seem to cast this unfaltering golden mirage of promising prospects, fortune, and success, one must still keenly probe into these methodologies and actions and ensure that it is not being done so at the expense of a marginalized sector or group. Although most of the problems and issues that had been ascertained and delineated throughout the modules were at the macro level, NSTP served as the bridge and channel for us to take on some of these issues on a micro scale.

To be frank, Economics was never really quite right up my alley. However, I genuinely enjoyed coursing through the different theories, paradigms, and methodologies geared towards the eradication of poverty, or achieving sustainable development, and so forth because it equipped me with the lens to gauge problems critically and holistically. For us, these issues may feel nothing more than academic or pedagogical as they are only relayed to us through online modules and are not experienced by us firsthand, but we have to realize that its a grave, inescapable reality for certain communities and groups of people. Thus, even without NSTP in the picture, we still must strive to be socially and environmentally conscious individuals with an impetus to make an impact, even if it may just be meager.

This sem was far from easy to get through, but I just wanted to thank you Sir for being one of the most considerate and understanding profs I've had this sem! Thank you for the knowledge and insights you've imparted onto us. Advanced Merry Christmas po & Happy Holidays :) 🤍🦌🤎🌲

- Chesca Salamanca

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Beyond our little bubbles lies multiple perspectives that we may or may not be aware of. While this is nothing new, there have been many approaches that have been made known to me throughout the duration of this course. The tie-ins with SOCSCI and NSTP result in a "theory in practice" approach, where the things we've learned in class get to be applied through online engagements. My overall takeaway from this is that anyone can make a difference, no matter what course you take, no matter what skillset you have, as long as you have the initiative and the passion, anyone can be a person for others.

I'd like to thank Sir for being able to provide us with insightful modules and lectures. The requirements given are very much well-paced and reasonable in spite of the semestral set-up. Thank you very much for your effort to teach us po and happy holidays!! - Bea

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This course has taught me a lot about understanding the real world around me. I’ve learned a lot about social realities in our country today and the different theories and principles that help explain why these are happening. I guess my key takeaway from this course could be that though we may feel burdened and overwhelmed by the issues we experience in our country, we need to remember that small good deeds can go a long way, and that nothing will happen if we remain fatalistic against these issues. I also feel happy to have been given the opportunity to reach out and relate what I’ve learned in SocSci to my chosen area in NSTP and to have served them in some way.

I want to thank you, Sir Mayo, for being one of the most understanding profs I’ve had despite how hard the online setting has been for many of us. I want to thank you for always being considerate especially towards requirements and deadlines and for always giving substantial feedback to every requirement which I feel shows how much you truly care about helping your students truly learn. Having you as our prof has made the course much more enjoyable and easier to get through and I want you to know how much we appreciate that:)

- Anna Mikaela

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There are numerous approaches to analyze interconnected societal issues, but a country’s sustainable development should  start with its people. I think that this sentence summarizes what I’ve learned as I found that it’s necessary to hear the insights and opinions of the people you are trying to help in order to generate the best possible solution to their needs by taking into consideration all stakeholders involved. As I learned about the state of our country, it showed the fact that sustainable growth and development that a country strives for can’t be attained if it leaves out the living situation of its citizens, especially within the marginalized communities. Although changes are inevitable and advancements will be made, doesn’t mean everyone has the range of  knowledge to comprehend these changes nor would it reach every community. In a way, we should put ourselves in their shoes to form a holistic decision that encompasses all their needs, whereas to uplift a community is to improve their capabilities and give them the support needed to get them moving towards the right direction. In connection, both courses have also given importance to community narratives in a sense that each one’s voice is an important form of representation in getting your advocacy across to help facilitate change. Another important factor is that effective means of communication can encourage one another to be open minded when interacting with different people and    during collaborative efforts.

Generally, I found that the assessments were paced with enough time to complete them, and that as long as you put in effort then it can pay off. I found the modules to have been useful in fulfilling assessments, and appreciated the fast upload of recorded sync classes and inbox replies for class-related concerns or questions. It was also nice that the set of readings were already provided and accessible for students. I found that learning online is about self-discipline and trying to find the right time to do what is asked of me from my classes by planning things out. It was also quite a struggle in finding the motivation to learn while balancing aspects of my well-being in the process. During this class a study habit that has been present throughout the modules would be taking down notes online and highlighting important information from the modules and class lectures that I could eventually look back on when needed. I would recommend future students to  try and attend or listen to class lectures as I found it gave a more in depth view of concepts in modules, and to research concepts on your own to better understand certain ideas. I would also like to thank you sir for being understanding of your students’ concerns and for teaching SocSci 13 in such a way that a fine arts student like me could comprehend :)) and I hope you enjoy christmas this year po!!!

- Lia

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My greatest lesson from this course has to be that the world is unequal, but we have the duty and ability to change that. The lessons showed me why certain people or countries are poor and what makes it difficult for them to get out of the poverty trap. While the SocSci course has showed me a macro scope of this issue, I was also able to see a micro perspective of the issue with my NSTP sector. I was able to learn how to combat poverty in a large scale (like with the theories taught in SocSci) but also how to handle it in a smaller scale (like with personal community engagements).

I also want to thank you Sir Mayo for being one of the kindest and most understanding professors I had in all my time under online learning. Despite the class being so early at 8am, you always take the time to show up and teach us with a smile. My favorite parts of class are when we can have discussions about one's opinions and takes regarding the topics. Like the one we had about the doomer and boomer mentality, it was nice to see that I wasn't alone in the way I thought about the situation. Online learning has been a challenge because of all the classes happening at the same time, but again I just wanna thank you sir for being so understanding with deadlines and requirements, especially with the delays ACED had with our engagements. I also wish your class wasn't at 8am so that more people could've attended since not everyone is a morning bird like me. Since the lessons were truly worth listening to!

- Trish

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There is a much larger world than the one we see or experience, and it is our responsibility to discover that as well as reflect on our complicities and hopefully break them. Sometimes, we can benefit from this 'economical growth and development' but it is important to see if there's anyone this growth we benefit from oppresses. And then to ask ourselves where we stand and what we can do about it.

(Hi, sir! It's been a hard sem but I wanted to thank you for being considerate and keeping our class company as we learned SocSci 13 :))

- Bern