Rationale

By: EJ Kyla Rose M. Valdez

                Every decision must undergone a lof of process before it would be validated.

            President Rodrigo Roa Duterte approved the restoration of ROTC, Reserved Officers Training Corps and made it mandatory to Grades 11 and 12 in public and private schools nationwide. However, there were groups and individuals who opposed on this idea. They provided their own reasons base on the history and past studies related to this issue. What are the cause and its effects, negative results and its influence to people specially to students?

            As an article said, “The implementation of Mandatory ROTC stopped in 2001 when university of St. Thomas students and ROTC member Mark Welson Chua was found dead after exposing the alleged corruption in his unit.” Government, Institution, parents, and people of the public sees it as one of the reason to force stop the ROTC. Crisostomo also stated that “ROTC should be abolished, not made mandatory. The program has never installed nationalism, social responsibility, or discipline. It isa training ground for fascist repression and corruption. He said that when ROTC will be implemented, hazing and abuses will just get worst.

            On the other hand, there was also this people who strongly agreed on making ROTC mandatory, such as Castro. His argument says that “The unpopularity of bringing back mandatory ROTC remains significant as students, parents, and school officials are highly convinced that it is not only through that program, wherein the youth can be installed discipline and good citizenship! Which is contrary to what had Crisostomo said.

            I, as one of the first batch of the K-12 Curriculum and the main target for ROTC also agree to make it mandatory. For I believe it is really beneficial to an institution and students as well. Students would be taught self-discipline that is one of the most problem caused by teachers and community as a whole. ROTC would be a big help to made students responsible in their every actions. It serves also as an advanced training to those aspiring soldiers of the future.

            Aside from that, military leadership may also be imposed by the help of it. Also, disaster response, map reading, and rope course and jungle survival skills that is essential during emergency. Moreover, infantry weapons, small unit tactics, communications, field artillery training, self-defense and first-aid could be learn in this program.

            There were so many beneficial reason why ROTC should be implemented, rather than its negative one. Actually every single program. It depends on how people response to it. Either on a good or bad way, positive or negative, take it as a challenge to impire, or consider it as a problem to make life more complimented.

Book Review: The book in the celebrated Tillerman cycle-

Dicey’s Song

By EJ Kyla Rose M. Valdez

Dicey’s Song is the second book in the celebrated Tillerman cycle. This book is a Winner of Newberry Medal. A teen fiction book, and would be appreciated by young people with hardship on dealing with everyday life. It was a well-written narrative story, of a typical girl, having three siblings. Her life, her reason of holding on, and how painful to let go.

The story runs on a life of a girl who kept all the responsibilities on her siblings because of the absence of their father and being left by their mother.

Characterization

The story was circling around characters with different characteristic. First Dicey, a simple, not well-known, a girl who does not think a day ahead, intelligent but does not know by herself, type of a person who have difficulties in letting go due to tightly holding on things, and most of all a loving sister, daughter, and granddaughter.

She had her brothers and sister. James, a wide reader. Sammy, trouble maker and trouble seeker. And Maybeth, the youngest. Maybeth have difficulties in reading and recognizing letters. However, she loves and great in playing piano and singing as well. They’ve been leaved by their father since they were little ones and followed by their mother who have been put to a mental hospital.

Abegail Tillerman, also known as Gram, Dicey’s grandmother. A mother who made a mistakes before. A mother who loved her children very much, but did not done anything to fight and find them the moment they left her and choose to go. Also, same to Dicey, there’s difficulties in letting go because of holding tightly things on the past. And most of all a loving grandmother.

Plot  

Dicey’s Song was a good enough inspiring story. Readers may learn a lot of life lessons and important things to consider on it. The way Cynthia Voigt wrote the story was same as a song, there’s different tune, genre, and lyrics. She starts off by describing the setting and on what the main character feels. The reader, becoming interested, would want to know the story behind the abandonment of the children and how does Dicey handle things with the fact that she is 13 years young.

In every chapter, there’s a lesson that would really relates to everyone’s heart. Make them eager to finish reading, to know the reasons behind everything, to read for the journey of the characters, and how she learn to let go. You could only find the answer by carefully reading and understanding the entire book and to understand every words meant. It is very significant to read every chapter, do not leap or jump to another, for the readers able to understand the real story.

Cynthia Voigt made a heart – touching novel. Story that happens in real life, not a magical or a fairytale.   It contains conflicts that may also happen or happening on her readers. She does not just write a story to entertain but also to inform and educate readers about realities on life. Later on, she also revealed everything. What had happened to Dicey’s mother. How Dicey learned to accept and let go.

Art and Delivery

Voigt uses very descriptive words when she’s writing. She describes the home, the barn, the boat Dicey use to paint and fix, and what the characters does. It was nice because she let her readers to imagine the setting of the story, to have a complete picture of what’s happening. It could really put readers on in-depth thinking that could help them to have a good mind exercise, widen vocabulary, and become critical reader.

The typography was good, not messy for the eyes. Font size that is enough to read. Though, there is no visual pictures, words create world instead. The novel was a long story but it is worth to be read. It was a thick book compared to the other fiction.

The approach of Dicey’s Song on how it made people to imagine and understand was excellent. It has a unique characteristic and way to tell story. I can’t do well as Voigt did however, I wish I could write on the way she does.

Final Verdict

With an inspiring stories and excellent writing, the series for me was perfectly done. It made me cry not just once. Every point means a lot, a challenge for the readers to think and think. For me this is one of the best book ever. It would be a pleasure for me to recommend this book to my friends whom I know badly needed what lessons and learnings on it. You could learn to understand things to use not to before. Realized simple things maybe complex and vice versa. Over all, its main target was the reader’s heart.