SGA's Wisdom Trove

If you want to make your students learn Math, make them fall in love with it first.

I've seen some posts about a noontime show featuring a number of honor students who failed to answer some basic questions correctly

Here are my two cents

1. Judging students' level of intelligence based on their ability to answer WHAT questions (which mainly require memorization) isn't really fair. I'd like to point out the common adage by Einstein that "If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid".

So judging these students based merely on the skills they do not possess (memorization of facts/remembering) is really quite not fair for them. I believe they may be good at other things which have made them honor students.

HOWEVER, let the abovementioned not be an excuse from meeting people's expectations - that is, showing them what honor students should be like.

So here is the other side, please read on

2. For students in general

As a teacher, Ive seen how many of our students nowadays, focus more on chasing AWARDS more than acquiring the necessary KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ATTITUDE (KSA).

They tend to focus more on what is tangible (achievements) over intangible (learning and growth). They choose what's comfortable (oftentimes turn to AI to generate outputs for their homeworks) rather than choosing what CHALLENGES them - to think critically, solve problems by curling up their brain to WRITE, SOLVE, and INNOVATE.

3. Teachers in general

I think it's time to revisit how we do formative and summative assessments. Do our assessment tools measure exactly what they intend to measure?
Or are we really measuring up our students' TRUE ABILITY or just looking at the tip of the iceberg without measuring its depth?

FOR ME, THAT WHOLE THING MUST BE TAKEN CONSTRUCTIVELY BY STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. It's not something to be criticized at but let it serve as a lesson to each one of us - TO FOCUS ON WHAT REALLY MATTERS, and to FOCUS ON SOMETHING that gives us long-term benefits (knowledge, skill, attitude/ learning & growth) over short-term ones (recognitions: medals/ribbons/certificate).

So like what I always tell my students, LET's always EMBODY what we CLAIM to be. 90 and above grades in English mean that we are quite good in English, and same goes with Math and other subjects.

So let's try to ruminate/reflect now: which one are we really chasing?

The answer to this question is a matter of choosing what really matters: tangible (recognitions: medals/ribbons/certificates) or intangible (growth, and learning). It's okay if we choose both, but focusing merely on "tangible" at the cost of intangible, may place us in a precarious state of learning. We may have achieved something BUT how well do we embody it? This question is quite putting us in delusional state as what Brzezinski and Pierre-Bravo coined in their book "Earn It", that many of us are indeed suffering from the delusion of intelligence".

As a teacher, I am encouraging our students in general to chase beyond grades. Chase something greater - something that endures - KSA to include communication skills, problem-solving skills, empathy, emotional intelligence, collaboration, and critical thinking skills.

If we have these, I believe we're not only benefitting from its short-term benefits (awards) but as well as long-term benefits.

How AI Affects Critical Thinking Skills
(SGA)

It’s indeed undeniable that with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) generative Apps like ChatGPT, OpenAI, and the like, many people nowadays including professionals and students are compelled to turn to AI for their research works, assignments, and other school requirements. This may be due to AI apps’ abilities to provide information to users with a single click. From lesson plans, recipes, work schedules, letters, memoranda, and almost everything, if not all of what users ask, AI apps have an answer. Thus, in a nutshell, these apps can make one’s work easier and faster.

Truly, it’s amazing how AI generative apps can do wonders for individuals in terms of providing information. However, according to various studies, like the one conducted by Gerlich (2025), heavy dependence on AI can weaken one’s critical thinking skills. In his study, the findings revealed a significant negative correlation between frequent AI tool usage and critical thinking abilities, which means that higher use of AI tools can decrease one’s critical thinking abilities.

So how does one leverage these AI innovations and take advantage of them without depriving oneself with the opportunities for learning? The answer is simple. AI generative apps are designed to serve as assistive tools to facilitate the processing of large amount of information. They collate, synthesize, and cull information from various online sources to provide the users with reliable information with a single click. However, users must keep in mind, that as assistive tools, AI apps should not be used extensively where every statement it produces is accepted without evaluation, and the information it provides is directly copied and pasted. Instead they should be used only to assist us in our work routines.

What is your answer to this?

The person who doesn't read is no better off than a person who can't read - Stephen Covey

This is how I discipline these two little kids on the use of gadgets

At 8-10AM this 6-year old little boy is allowed to use Ipad while his ate Myiesh is reading....

Then at exactly 10AM to 12Noon will be Myiesh' turn to use Ipad.

I've been doing this since May, this year, and somehow it works really well. They have not just learned on how to manage their time, but also respect each other's time.