SOSC 13- PSY A FINAL THOUGHTS by

Bianca Tadeo

2022-05-16 05:27:30 UTC

If I have to summarize my greatest learning from this course into one sentence, it would be this eye-opening quote by John Paul Lederach that I encountered from my Philo 13 class: “... the quality of our life is dependent on the quality of life of others.” Our lives are all intertwined in more ways than we can imagine. This is a good thought to ponder on whenever we go about our daily lives making choices here and there – what may seem like a trivial choice or decision for us may have a significant impact on other people. This calls us to look beyond our privilege. SoSc 13 affirmed my existing belief that progress done for the sake of the privileged few and at the expense of the marginalized is no progress. Putting this in relation to our NSTP learnings, I’ve learned that the true essence of development involves viewing our freedom as being bound to others. In our last synchronous session in NSTP, it was emphasized that if we view our freedom as tied up with others, only then can we truly work for and with others.

During online learning, what I learned about myself and my study habits is that I should not measure my worth through my productivity. There will be times that we would be lagging behind when it comes to acads, but that doesn’t make anyone any less of a student. That only makes us a human being worthy of rest. This, I think, is my advice for future students who will be taking this course. Rest when you must. Embodying the lessons that this course imparts to us is, of course, a task that is easier said than done. My advice, not only to future students taking this course, but also to us who are just about to end this course, is to try our best to uphold the values we’ve learned and continue fighting the good fight even if it seems hopeless. To sir Charlon, thank you for teaching us so much more than what the textbooks contain. Thank you for imparting life lessons that we’ll carry with us for the rest of our future endeavors :)

Eric Jabagat

ericjabagat — 2022-05-16 06:26:15 UTC

I think the greatest learning that I have gained from this class is that we should always look beyond economic or financial metrics when engaging in a discussion about development and that it is always important to align your understanding of development with the people who have experienced poverty and grappled with other socioeconomic stressors on the ground as their experiences provide a richer and clearer picture of development. This learning goes hand-in-hand with my experience in NSTP as I was encouraged to listen to the stories and experiences of my partner community and to anchor our outputs with what has been gleaned from the discussion.

As for recommendations, I recommend that future students of this class learn to manage their time well, as it will become hard to keep up with everything that you have to do in the later parts of the semester. I really have no other message for you, Sir, except that I very much appreciate the passion and interest you have displayed for Economics in our class, and I hope this is something that more students would be able to share with you in the future. Thank you, Sir!

Kat Uy

2022-05-16 10:13:47 UTC

In line with current state of the elections, my greatest learning from the course is that sustainable development is greatly dependent on the leaders who institutionalize policies and programs, because as much as we have individual capacities to contribute to the community's issue, the leaders we choose will dictate how we move forward in uplifting different sectors. This lesson aligns with what I have learned in our NSTP community where I realized that there is so much more that needs to be done for Pineda Elementary School when promoting mental health education, such as proposing sustainable programs and bringing current policies to light based on their circumstances.

One of the learning habits which I found to be helpful in this course is the ability to manage my time well and to apply what I've learned in everyday issues. My recommendation for future students is to look past their requirements and see how SocSci 13 is relevant to the issues that are important to us. I have no suggestions for you, Sir, but I would like to say that I enjoy listening to the class lectures and I have learned substantially thoroughout the duration of the course. Thank you so much po!

Marian Ramos

marianramos4 — 2022-05-16 13:23:32 UTC

My greatest learning from the course is that sustainable development can be attained through the collective efforts of the government and its citizens. The government creates the laws, policies, and programs that inspire, lead, and govern the citizens and the economy. In contrast, the latter can form organizations, social movements, and services that empower communities and reflect the SDGs set by the government. This lesson is connected to the insights I obtained from NSTP, which is: we should be working with the community we wish to encourage and empower; we should not be doing the work for them. Their involvement in our programs is important because it implies we are reaching out to understand them and they are making an effort to assist themselves.

My study habits really helped as I went through the course. I managed my time well and ensured that I worked and submitted my assignments early. I recommend future students of this course to do the same and to participate in your synchronous sessions. For you, sir, I would like to say that you have been really kind and considerate to us this semester; I was usually surprised that you often accepted the class’s request to move deadlines. Thank you very much for this semester po!

Anna Ong

2022-05-16 17:15:05 UTC

One thing I will surely take away from this class is that while we cannot discredit our own individual actions in society, we also cannot ignore that policies play a huge role when it comes to wide-scale change. It made me realize the importance of working in groups, not only those of governments, but also through different social movements and organizations. From the tie-in with NSTP, I was able to see this more concretely as well. As we were partnered with other students, I was able to see how other younger students find mental health an unfamiliar territory, even if it is important to learn about in such a time. While we might have been able to help a little bit with our output, policies such as implementing mental health education into school programs can still be created to reach out to more students who might benefit from these topics.

I would say my learning habits were challenged in this course, but in a good way. I also wanted to say thank you sir for being patient with us and for being understanding of us. Despite the current learning situation, you have made the course interesting and connected to our experiences as well. :) Thank you again sir!

Maegan Velasquez

2022-05-17 07:54:11 UTC

The greatest thing I learned in this course is that economic development should always prioritize human development. While we did learn the importance of investments, assets, and capital, what is more important is how we are able to use such assets in developing human life. This course made me question what the priorities of the Philippines are in terms of economic development. There are so many sectors in our country that need more investment such as research & development, education, and agriculture.

It was difficult however trying to tie-in this course with this subject however. Based on my experience with the engagements with Pineda Elementary School, the students didn't seem to encounter current economic problems. I hope we had more engagements so that we can better understand the economic situation of the students (which I think is a point of improvement for the NSTP coordinator). As for the teachers however, they did raise that inflation and no pay raise posed an economic risk to them. This is the only point of relation I understood between NSTP and SOCSC 13.

Overall, my experience with SOCSC 13 was fruitful. I enjoyed participating in our discussions during sync sessions and learning about economic jargon I didn't know before.

Danielle dela Cruz

2022-05-17 14:20:33 UTC

My greatest takeaway from this class is how various socioeconomic factors interact with one another in the development of the Philippines. If we want to address any of the issues of the country, it would be crucial to understand the problems in more ways than one because there could be underlying factors that affect this. In this way, we understand that the issues in the country are more complex and complicated. So, as a country, investing time and effort in understanding all these socioeconomic factors is vital before we could adequately plan ways in solving them. Tying this to NSTP, we see that communicating and engaging with our sector is important to analyze issues or weaknesses of the community instead of just assuming or relying on secondary sources for what they would need—coming up with the solutions required their input in order to come up a solution that is useful and relevant to the community. Moreover, having even just the motivation to know one another as well as empowering and encouraging each other also plays an important role in helping our communities.

I learned a lot from this class about the importance of sustainable development and the economy, especially during these times in the country. I could see how all the topics in the class are needed now in trying to help our country become a better place for everyone. My recommendation for future students is to take the time to understand the topics and really try to see how this applies in the country so they could be a useful way of absorbing all of this. Thank you, sir, for being patient and understanding with us this semester, and for all of your efforts in teaching us despite the challenges of the online set-up.

Frances Lopez

2022-05-18 10:35:54 UTC

This class has provided me the outputs, lessons, and theoretical frameworks needed in order to critically analyze current issues—which entails the consideration of different socioeconomic, cultural, and political nuances. With this in mind, it is crucial propose solutions that take all these into account in order to move towards sustainable and inclusive development. In relation to what I have learned from the NSTP program through the children and teachers from Pineda Elementary School, it is important to fully understand what a community is experiencing before concretely implementing solutions. For example, the administration takes into consideration the different contexts of each student, which allows them to aid them by providing the necessary resources. Furthermore, they also prioritize the mental health aspect of their lives—which results in prolonged rest days every week in order to detach themselves from the stress of remote learning and the pandemic.

In terms of study habits, this class has allowed me to definitely manage my time better. I would admit that I did initially struggle to write papers of quality, however, I was able to push myself to understand the lessons and assignments to the best of my abilities. Thank you, sir, for teaching us this semester! :)

Vere Chua

erynchua — 2022-05-18 13:45:54 UTC

This class has taught me to see the various realities in the country that we live in. It provided me with ways of analyzing why society is the way that it is and how to begin addressing such societal problems. I appreciate that this class collaborated with NSTP and Abnormal Psychology as I fully got to apply my psychology lessons to the online engagements that we attended as a group. Through this, I've come to realize that we must not help our partner communities for our sake but for theirs. This entails asking them what they need before helping so that we can ensure that what we do will truly make an impact on them. In the case of Pineda Elementary School, we first asked them what they wanted to learn which we then took into account before making any learning material so that we can fully help them to the best of our abilities.

This class has truly allowed me to see the potential that we have as a society.

Mari Uygongco

2022-05-18 14:57:08 UTC

From my experience, the class was something refreshing to me given that my last economics class was way back senior high. It was nice to be able to learn new things and take it up a notch, especially since the class revolved more on the current context of the country. I got to be able to understand concepts applicable to our country and government in a deeper level, as this class revealed ideas that I was not aware of in the first place. When putting this class side by side my NSTP class, it served as a real life example of some sort that we were able to identify the concepts we learned in class - especially in understanding our partner communities even more.

In terms of the online class situation, the classes and the means of discussion were both helpful in my understanding of the lessons. They were easy to grasp especially with the provided examples, and the activities were also helpful enough in expressing our learnings. For the papers and the feedback of grades, I would say that the comments and suggestions were equally helpful and appreciated as well, especially that they were consistently timely and not delayed. Thank you so much for being very much approachable and considerate, sir! Thank you as well for having patience as a mentor. Though it was something new, I truly enjoyed learning things outside my comfort zone that this course, and you as the professor were able to provide me with.

Andrea Samonte

2022-05-19 01:41:20 UTC

My greatest learning is that there is a cause and consequence to everything. Based on the many topics, there are many causes as to why certain things happen, for example, the lack of quality education or having education can cause the cycle of poverty to repeat, or how there are many factors taken into consideration that would result in the decreased or increased development of an economy. Even foreign aid can be a good cause but the consequences could be a disadvantage for the country due to the terms for the aid. And these can also be related to NSTP wherein situations happen and there will always be consequences for it. Such as the COVID pandemic had a great impact not only for workers but also students, causing academic difficulties and increased drop-outs among others.

In terms of the learning process, I realized I relied more on the synchronous sessions instead of the recorded videos in the modules in terms of receiving information. I wasn't able to fully participate in all of the sessions but I do hope the next class will be able to do so since the topics are all interesting. For you sir, thank you for being our prof for this section!! You have been understanding with our situations and have been patient with us. You kept the course interesting and very relatable in terms of current events! Thank you sir!!

Catherine Romualdez

2022-05-19 03:00:53 UTC

That solutions proposed to address socioeconomic issues cannot just be bandaid solutions but each issue should be addressed at the grassroots level. It is also important to note how important each person is in creative a more sustainable future. It may seem easier than it truly is because of the fact that alternatives have to be considered for all people belonging to different social classes in order for sustainable developments to push through. Respecting the interconnectedness and circularity of our environment with its people is what will truly lead to a more sustainable future.

In line with NSTP, I learned the importance of really getting to know the demographic and situation of the people and places we interact with. Just by making ourselves aware of the situation of Pineda elementary school and conversing with the kids I was able to empathize with them. I was able to learn from them through real life examples and the social issues being faced in our country today. Thank you sir for being so patient and considerate with us and our outputs!

Ira Pasco

2022-05-19 11:24:45 UTC

One of my greatest learning from this course is how complex and multifaceted development is in terms of the economy and society. Oftentimes, it is insufficient to analyze circumstances using a singular approach, hence, the course equipped me with the knowledge and skills necessary to adapt a more holistic approach in viewing issues and to deep-dive into current events and their implication towards both economic and human development. Moreover, in pertaining to the tie-in with NSTP, I think it was more challenging to assess and integrate the concepts we’ve learned in an actual situation, however, this provided meaningful insights to how I would later navigate situations.

Admittedly, learning online was difficult considering how it’s mostly self-paced. However, this allowed me to realize that discipline is neccessary to stay on top of your tasks because oftentimes relying on motivation may not be enough. As for future students who will be taking this course, I suggest that they try their best to read and understand the readings provided. While I found the concepts themselves to be difficult and challenging, I appreciate that you sir as you have been so patient and understanding with us. It was evident that you tried to make the course more engaging and as digestable as possible for us. Thank you so much, sir! <3

Jana Alcantara

2022-05-19 18:14:52 UTC

Admittedly, economics and politics are topics I have a difficult time talking to others about for various reasons. Thus, everything I do know is from my own research and reading. Even then, there are a lot of subtopics that are very overwhelming and are easy to misunderstand. That is why, while I was honestly very scared of this course, I knew I would enjoy it because I love learning about these difficult-to-talk-about issues with open-minded and progressive people. I am grateful that I was able to have the opportunity to be able to join these discussions and study a new lens to view and analyze the world. One can view the world from many different standings, however, the economical approach is one that I am inept in despite it being an integral lens for development. Being introduced to the economical lens like this is my greatest learning from this course, and while I cannot say I am now an expert, I think my best step forward in this journey is the fact I can somewhat understand how much I am lacking. And with that, I can now take more steps forward and learn on my own from now on.

As for feedback on the online course, I think that maybe a reassessment of the amount of synchronous and asynchronous work as an accumulated load must be conducted. There is only so much we can reflect and use to analyze if we spend too much time creating outputs without learning the foundations. Furthermore, what I found to be useful in online learning is the predictability of the topic flow and how this had helped create a study calendar for asynchronous work. I realized that the online learning experience is heavily dependent on the organization of its asynchronous work. Thus, I recommend professors and future students to focus more on the structure of the asynchronous work and the way students can learn to freely make their own system and calendar.

Thank you for the semester, sir!

Ivan Capuyan

2022-05-19 20:21:08 UTC

Summarizing all I've learned from this course into one sentence is a daunting task, but my best attempt is as such: "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”, from the Book of Matthew, Chapter 25, Verse 40. I picked this set of verses as they speak about the less fortunate, and this line specifically because of how I've come to understand development as not only limited to certain sectors of society, but to everybody, including those who are struggling in the peripheries. The class has taught us that development cannot truly be called development if the problems of poverty, and the issues that stem from it, are addressed in order to bring those suffering under these difficulties into a better state of life. And that means that our choices, and the choices of those in power, affect not only our quality of living, but also theirs. As such, it is the responsibility of those in power to do what they can to aid these plights - and our responsibility as fellow citizens to understand the less fortunate, and extend a helping hand to them whenever possible.

Tying this realization in with NSTP, it was at first difficult for me to see the ways in which poverty was affecting the children of Pineda ES; when asked to talk about their parents' job security, or their financial status, the children replied that they were not experiencing difficulties in that regard. However, after making the effort to understand them, and listening further to the stories of not only the kids, but also the teachers, revealed the multifaceted issues that they faced (which were not limited only to monetary problems, reflective of what our lessons have taught us). To achieve development, these are the kinds of steps that must be taken: working closely and involving communities in order to address the root of the issue, and to move forward as one.

As for recommendations regarding the course, I think that establishing a clearer connection between the formators of the partner subjects would be beneficial in working out the details for how and when projects should be submitted, as this was a point of concern that I noted within my group. Thank you so much for your persevering and your consideration sir, and I wish you and the rest of the class the best in the future to come!

Jasmine Teng

2022-05-20 14:48:32 UTC

One of my greatest takeaways from this semester is that the topic of economics is quite multifaceted when we begin to take in the more "human" side of things--that being actual development in a country. I was quite interested in how this subject mentioned it would tackle viewing the economy of a country. In all my old Econ subjects (in SHS, and Econ 110), we looked at economics from a strictly theoretical and conceptual lens. We would evaluate only how the economy itself behaves. It never really delved into how the individuals of an economy are actually affected by these various movements of an entire economy. In the conventional ways we study economy, it's really easy to forget the people WITHIN the economy we must take care of too. I love that the course differentiated economic growth and economic development, and placed a lot of emphasis on how important it is to look into the quality of life of citizens within a specific country as well. I wasn't personally involved in my group's NSTP outreach since I already finished online ROTC last school year, but it appears that my group was closely involved with elementary school students and how they're adjusting to the pandemic. The transition from face-to-face learning to online learning, while necessary, was abrupt and not really well-thought out in hindsight. As a result, several students who did not have the economic power to find their own online resources and gadgets at home suffered significantly in the quality of their education. I've realized how important it is to make sure a drastic change in society or the economy does not affect people's lives too adversely (and to prepare accordingly so that they do not feel the brunt of its effects as bad).

In regards to the semester, it was honestly quite stressful on your end in the early half. I struggled significantly with accomplishing several heavy requirements due within the same week while still being able to keep up with modules and synchronous classes. I burnt out surprisingly early into the semester as a result, and struggled trying to stay motivated in such a heavy-handed subject. I appreciate that you held synchronous sessions frequently to teach us and ensure that we were understanding the module content though (and recording it too). In spite of your unusually heavy hand in the first semester, it was also nice that you were willing to move deadlines for us on account of outside stress or our other subjects' workloads. I only wish that things had lightened up a lot earlier in this class; maybe I could have approached a lot of modules and lessons in this subject much more enthusiastically and taken away more from this class.

Michelle Go

2022-05-20 18:48:07 UTC

My biggest takeaway from this course in one sentence, would be that economic development is concerned not only with economic growth or a financial aspect of success, but also with every individual's overall quality of life. I used to think economic development was a bit far removed from the qualitative concerns of minorities, but this course has really opened my eyes to the intersectionality of different issues and problems our society faces, and the importance of tackling these issues from quantitative, qualitative, macro-level, micro-level perspectives. Along with our engagements in NSTP, I found value in the small scale efforts we made to produce an output for our community, and enjoyed the process of listening to their narratives and experiences of what life is like for them. If we are to effect any sort of change or intervention in a community, listening to their voices and stories is definitely a must, so that we can make our solutions as empowering and sustainable as possible.

While this subject has a lot of interesting and very relevant topics, learning online has been honestly difficult for me. It's hard for me to keep up with 8 subjects at once, and I found myself losing motivation a lot. I guess what helped me is having compassionate professors who accommodate students' concerns as much as possible, and having digestible asynchronous materials to go over. Thank you sir, for being a considerate prof to us, and for integrating relevant social issues and problems (especially Philippine-related ones) into our course discussions! I really appreciate the efforts to make module pages as digestible as possible given that some of our readings are a bit heavy and I personally find economics a difficult topic. Despite the difficulties of online learning and the turbulence of current events, thank you po for the fruitful semester :)

Erika Arroyo

2022-05-20 19:18:25 UTC

My greatest learning from this course is the importance of understanding socioeconomic issues as multifaceted. We should learn to evaluate issues using different frameworks and perspectives, on a community and national scale. Tying this with what I learned from NSTP, a contextualized and comprehensive approach toward social, economic, and environmental issues is more constructive. Valuing inclusivity considers the involvement of the community members in creating well-crafted and sustainable plans to address these issues.

Online learning challenged my study habits, but it was also an opportunity to improve them. I would recommend future students to value what they will learn in the course and see how it can apply to them and the contributions they wish to create in the future. I would also like to thank you, Sir, for the semester! I appreciate all that you shared with us during the synchronous sessions.

Jullia Chen

julliachen1 — 2022-05-21 02:28:46 UTC

My biggest key takeaway from this course is that the economic and social development of a country only take place when no one gets left behind; when minorities are valued and given the care they need rather than simply sweeping their problems under the rug. True development occurs not only in monetary value, but also in the way that these monetary progress bleed in to people's needs. I learned the importance of humanizing the stories of our fellow Filipinos and listening to them to know what they truly need. Our help must thus be anchored on what they need and not what we think they need. Through NSTP, we were able to listen to our partner community and discern the areas in which they need help and empowerment.

The online learning setup revealed to me that I am in charge of my own time, and if I don't stay on top of it, then I wouldn't be efficient with my tasks. Building a routine and making a realistic schedule without exhausting myself too much is a good way to go through the online course. I also recommend that students accomplish tasks without letting them pile up because it can be overwhelming to perform tasks that have accumulated over time.

To Sir Charlon, we truly appreciate your passion in teaching us this course. Your patience and understanding towards us are unmatched. We couldn't thank you enough for the extensions and considerations you have given us. Thank you so much for instilling in us values and lessons that we will bring with us our whole lives.

Frencheska Montemayor

2022-05-21 13:22:53 UTC

I have always found it difficult to fully understand the concept of economics, this might have been due to the notion that economics pivots on figures and numerals; of which is not entirely true. In the study of economy it is vital that one delve into the very core unit of this system: the people. The quality of life people live within the society mirrors the country’s economy, the function and participation of each individual member of society affects the growth of the country. Having said that, zoning on the people: the lived realities of the people, their living conditions, the standard of living, as well as their daily struggles is just as important as recognizing the country’s distribution of goods. Furthermore, sustainable development is infeasible whilst there still remains to be people or groups of people that are left from the equation. As mentioned, everyone has their own functions and contributions within this system thus when one is lost the development we all yearn for will fail.

From the engagement sessions on the other hand, one important take away I had was that my notion of the reality our partner community has is not their actual realities. With that, it is not appropriate to have presumptions prior meeting the people you are trying to understand and learn from. Further, secondhand accounts will always harbor inaccuracies hence it is safe to say that only narratives from the very mouth of the people we interacted with can be deemed as true; this is the reason we opted to hear from the very people involved.

Taking Socsc 13 in an online setting allowed me to take as much time as I needed to digest the topics. Yet, probably one of the best things about this class was that sir was very considerate and knowledgeable. Thank you so much Mr. Mayo for all the knowledge you have imparted with us! These lessons will surely be employed in our daily lives and future decision-making.

Sophia Beatrice Navarro

2022-05-21 15:49:32 UTC

If I were to summarize my learnings from this course it would be that many of the issues that plague society today are interconnected--from sustainability to public health to economy. Addressing these problems will allow people to be productive members of society. I realized that everyone is capable of creating change even on a small scale, which is the purpose of NSTP.

I believe that the way classes were conducted in SocSc 13 were well-prepared, given the situation that we are currently in. Despite the early class schedule, I felt encouraged to still come to the synchronous sessions. Although, I admit that more effort could be given from my part.

Thank you, sir! This was a truly memorable class and I'll be sure to bring with me all the lessons that I learned in this class. I hope you were able to learn from us as well. See you around, sir!

Claudia Cruz

2022-05-21 19:06:31 UTC

My greatest learning from this course is that economic development is not just about the financial and industrial success of an economy – it’s about an equitable quality of life for all members of an economy. Before taking this class, I had never realized how central quality of life is to economic development. I had always thought that economics was all about statistics and financial growth and production. Now, I know a lot better. Economics goes farther than just numbers, economics is concerned with the overall well-being of each and every individual within a community.

From NSTP, I learned the importance of seeing the world through the lens of the marginalized. It can be easy to overlook problems that don’t affect us if we cannot recognize and understand them. We cannot truly understand how to help others without seeing things through their perspective. At the same time, this experience emphasized how much our leaders need to utilize the participatory approach in order to involve the marginalized in the process of creating programs that are meant to benefit them.

Learning online helped me recognize how important it is to stick to a set schedule and to do all my work and readings in advance so that I am not constantly trying to catch up. For future students, I would recommend that you appreciate and really understand what you are learning. There are some great lessons that I have learned in this class. I am very grateful to our professor for doing his very best to always help us students learn about the subject matter. Thank you, sir!

Joanne Renee Constantino

2022-05-22 05:30:57 UTC

If I were to summarize my greatest learning from this course is that the problems of our economy, society, and personal problems may be more interconnected than we imagine it would be. Based on my experiences in our NSTP online engagements, the problems of the minority is something that we can’t just simply ignore because we personally heard and saw how these people struggle with these things and still continue to push through every single day. It’s infuriating to see that there is a lack of action and awareness towards their situation and it’s also saddening that they are often looked down upon. Through Socsci 13 and NSTP, I was able to look into the lives of marginalized in a more clearly. I learned that poverty is not just a common phenomenon occurring in a country, it’s an indication of a greater problem that needs to be addressed.

The online course was indeed hard to manage especially when there are a lot of readings and requirements to accomplish. However, learning about the course is worth it and if one can pace themselves in doing such requirements then they can surely manage the load. I am truly grateful that our professors are always open to hear our concerns and try to meet us halfway by extending deadlines or lighten our load. To the future students of SocSci 13, you are going to read a lot but at the same time you will learn a lot. For our professor, I am grateful for always giving your best to discuss the lessons to us and for always giving comments and recommendations in our submissions in a way that makes us want to improve on our work. This has been a fruitful semester despite everything that is happening in our country and in the world right now. I just realized that the lessons we have learned here may be more important now that new changes will happen in our society soon.

Alexa Cruz

2022-05-22 09:49:02 UTC

Personally, my greatest learning from this course is that sustainable development is a dynamic paradigm that is inevitably interconnected to various human and social systems. There are so much aspects and issues to explore with regards to reconstructing these systems for the economic growth and betterment of the Philippines. Ultimately, I discovered the important role that people play especially in reducing poverty and building shared prosperity among the country’s population, not to mention the ability of the government and policymakers to apply appropriate principles towards legislation. Fortunately, through the NSTP online engagements, we were able to have the opportunity to convert our time and efforts into meaningful service that may contribute to alleviating the marginalization experienced by many partner communities. By recognizing their lived experiences and narratives, I had a better understanding of the situations and development issues surrounding students and educators in Pineda Elementary School. As a result, we were able to contextualize our engagement sessions in a way that would be beneficial to them.

Online learning was definitely a challenge for me since it was difficult to find a source of motivation after all that has happened. However, I realized that writing analysis-related essays really sparked my interest and I found myself being determined and strong-minded when applying the principles I learned in the course to real-life experiences and contexts. Overall, this class has been really memorable and meaningful especially with the help of Sir Charlon and my fellow classmates. Sir, I really appreciate your passion and insightful discussions every synchronous session! For that, I am very grateful to have been your student. All the best to you Sir!

Mirielle Mintu

2022-05-22 15:21:14 UTC

As the study of economy was out of my comfort zone, a valauable learning I had was looking at social issues through different lenses and frameworks outside of psychology. It became more apparent to me that several problems economies face are more deeply rooted structurally within the systems we already have in place in our society. Though it may be difficult for us individually to change such systems, the subject's relation to psychology would hopefully give us the courage to continue to try and strive for a better community. I also hope to be able to use the frameworks we discussed into my future aspects with regard to psychology to better understand the different contexts people live with.

If I had to summarize my greatest learning from this course into one sentence, it would be: "Be sensitive of one another's circumstances, but also understand the reasons behind them in der to actively help." In the tie-in with NSTP, I found that despite differences with our partner area's baackground, we happen to share the similar sentiments with the common problems we face (e.g. online class, pandemic, etc.)

As for the course, the clear flow of lessons was helpful in learnining what we needed to know. I found that online learnng pushed me to complete requirements as soon as possible so that I can have the time to also place effort in other priorities. Thank you Sir for bing patient and undeerstanding of our situations! Thank you po for the semester and wishing you all the best!

Nicole Liwag

nicoleliwag — 2022-05-22 17:55:37 UTC

I'd have to say that my greatest learning from this course is that there are many facets to consider when it comes to achieving sustainable development. Entering this course, I was interested to see how our course could be integrated with Psychology and NSTP, and while going through the modules, I've learned that each can aid in helping think of concrete solutions that will affect and hopefully improve the economy, the different livelihoods of people, and how they react or cope with the problems that exist our of poverty, economic crisis, and more. With this, it is important to understand multiple perspectives while trying to combine all these ideas together as today's problems cannot simply be solved by looking only through a single lens or framework. In line with NSTP, I also learned that it is equally important to interact and actually talk to those who we want to aid, like our partner institution, for example. Overall, this course was an opportunity for me to optimize how to look at the bigger picture and see how different things can affect one another.

Given the online setting, it was admittedly challenging at times because the course includes topics that may be overwhelmingly difficult to digest all at once. Moreover, the workload could get somewhat overwhelming as well. However, the synchronous sessions were helpful and useful in helping us understand the lessons better, and it was evident in how you've taught us and guided us that you tried your best efforts to break down the more complex concepts, as well as your patience and understanding. Thank you sir for being considerate of us, as well as our personal circumstances, and for the fruitful insights we've learned that we'll surely apply as we try our best to improve the state of society in our own ways! We wish you the best moving forward sir!

Julliene Gomez

2022-05-23 08:11:25 UTC

My greatest learning from this SOCSC 13 course was all the frameworks and facets that make up a community. Looking at a society as a whole, each of its aspects play a significant role into its development. Before taking this course, I had minimal knowledge of economics and what it contributes to sustainable development. Now, however, I have learned more about how each facet and the frameworks it was found on contribute to the well-being of each individual within a society. As an aspiring Filipino, I am inclined to continue learning the value of sustainable development to be able to allow future generations to live in a better community.

From the NSTP course, I was able to apply the concepts I learned in SOCSC 13 into different communities. I learned more about how each economic aspect affect these communities and how I can use the frameworks I learned about to improve the system. Despite differences between the community I grew up in and the community of our partner area, I can say that I was able to gain significant insights and experiences from the course.

Given the online set-up has, I would say that there were a few challenges I encountered. However, I am still thankful to be given the opportunity of learning about economics, society, and sustainable development. I hope to bring and apply the things I've learned to my future endeavors. Thank you for the sem, sir! I hope to see you around campus :)

Shanice Dy

2022-05-23 15:22:44 UTC

The greatest learning that I've had from this course is that there are many ways to understand our society, even in terms of the economy and the various frameworks and theories. From the tie-in with NSTP, I have gained an understanding of how the concepts we learn from our class can be concretely applied to real-life situations in our society. I have also realized that we can understand these concepts better when we are able to gather a better sense of it through real-life experiences.

I find the lessons in our class to be useful. Through the class discussions and presentations, I learned about the theories and frameworks better. Even though the course was purely taught and studied online, I still appreciated the lessons, activities, and requirements that we've had in this course. I realized that there are many ways to learn and work with others, especially groupmates and the partner communities, even despite the online set-up.

For this, I would also like to thank Sir Mayo for being very considerate and understanding. Thank you, Sir, for the hard work and patience that you've shared with us all throughout the semester.

Angelico Garcia

2022-05-23 15:30:08 UTC

One thing I like about this course is how we should not limit ourselves to one aspect of life only. There are times when we limit our problems to only the economic or financial spheres, but we should know that there is more to life than that. Yes, it is important to focus on one thing at a time to prevent ourselves from burning out, but that doesn't mean that we should forget about the rest. This also applies to the people around us and not just ourselves. Whatever we do will affect others and we should try to remember that. In summary, the things we do affect everyone, so we should try our best to understand other people as well.

Bianca Bernal

2022-05-23 15:44:27 UTC

I learned that we wouldn't be able to achieve sustainable development if we do not target the flawed systems that are currently in place in the country. The different factors that affect development are interconnected, thus, the need to target all issues in order to see a positive effect on the economic state of the country. That said, it is important to consider the various socioeconomic factors when addressing societal issues. Furthermore, the course has taught me to look at societal issues using different lenses. I have learned different theories and models I can use when analyzing situations, which would help me better understand how I can contribute in my own way.

With my experience during our session with the students from Pineda Elementary School, it was a bit difficult to see whether or not they experienced any economic problem since there wasn't a mention of any. The only relation I saw would be the lower enrollment rate in their elementary school in a certain year during the start of the pandemic due to the sudden transition to online learning and the families being unprepared with these changes. In terms of mental health, it was quite refreshing to see the students, at least from our group, be familiar with mental health and how they can cope with stress. They mentioned numerous activities they do in order to avoid burn out. My group proposed the use of a primer to brief them more about mental health. While this is small, but cost-effective way to spread knowledge on such topic, it would take much more than that to actually have programs, activities, and policies that would allow for the discussions on such matter be considered normal. It is not enough to just implement policies and programs if we do not reach out to the affected members of the community. In order for these to be effective, the solutions proposed must be contextualized and sustainable.

This class has taught me to go beyond memorizing the terms and models and actually see how this applies in the everyday situations our country faces. This semester was significantly more challenging than the past semesters and it was a bit difficult to find motivation to finish the requirements. Nonetheless, I found this class really insightful and eye-opening. I appreciate your effort in consistently conducting synchronous sessions, despite our lack in participation on some days. Thank you sir for being very considerate and patient with us. Thank you, Sir!