What's the Buzz?

It's not from the bees. It's from the swarm of gossiping students, teachers, parents and nuns, who have nothing better to do but talk about how much of a disappointment the whole batch is becoming, how even the best students are falling off the roof, and how we are not living up to the preceding batch.

So I took a survey, among my batchmates, of the reason why. But, as it is the greatest issue, I only asked about the English examinations.

"Why do you think we failed in our English exams?"

A. The Teaching Style
B. The New Principal
C. Others -- (it's our fault, we don't listen/study, it's too noisy in class)

And with that, behold! Here are the results:

A - 50.00%
B - 7.14%
C - 42.86%

Winner: The Teaching Style!

And here are the reactions of my classmates, when they answered:

"Teaching Style, grabe (translation: totally)! As in, without a doubt, TEACHING STYLE."
"I think it's the teaching style. Seriously, if you compare it to the other subjects, they're fine."
"Teaching style! Because, well, duh!"
"A. Teaching Style. Kasi, parang ganun. (translation: Because, it's like that.) I didn't understand anything, even when I listened na (translation: already)."

Ah, yes. Hear the masses cry.

I had to agree with them. Honestly? During English class, the teacher would just have some visual aids there and explain them. I don't know why, but I don't really find it effective. Even when she did have activities, I find them quite--hm, how to say this--irrelevant.

Honestly, you can't ask me about her teaching style. Because, at times, I'd fall asleep. But for the people who are always awake, and always attentive, like Tala and Trix--they said that the teaching style was the problem.

But then, someone brave enough said it was B.

"B, the new principal. Why? Kasi (translation: because), I've been studying in DBS for the past 11 years, and I never failed in English except ngayon (translation: now)."

To which, the rest of the world realizes the fact with a big, "oh, yeah." Because, well, we've had the same English teacher for our Freshmen year. So, in some sense, maybe it wasn't her?
It's true that the new principal is just raising the bar, and that she's doing this for the sake of the PAASCU accreditation. Not only that, she's thinking that it's better to have the exams harder.

But if it was only for our good, then, maybe it was our fault. Maybe we didn't study enough, or we didn't listen carefully during class. I'm not going to exclude myself though. I'll be full out on saying that I sleep a lot in class. And that my classmates are noisy, just like as the C-voters had said.

"Ang ingay sa klase! (translation: It's noisy in class!)"
"Wala kayang nag-aaral. (translation: Nobody studies.)"
"I think it's C. Mahirap lang talaga yung mga exams. (translation: The exams were really just difficult.)"
"It's our fault."

But I had to think otherwise. What about geometry? I mean, I'm asleep during most of the geometry classes. And we're noisiest during that class, because Ms. Sotelo happens to be too nice. And I never did study for geometry. But everyone passed in geometry class, and I even happen to have had the highest grade.

But then, a wise man reacted, saying, "I think it's C. Others. We can't just blame it all on one person or group. It's a combination of all the factors."

And thus, the wise man's statement has been supported with my mother's:

"If a few students failed, then it just means that it's the student's fault. But if more than half of you failed, then it's already the teacher's fault. And, sometimes, they want to make the exams so hard, that even those topics, which haven't been explained really well, are included in the questions. It might have been just your over-confidence got the best of you. But if that's the case, the rest of the class wouldn't have fallen along with you."

Ah, yes. Moms do know best. For one thing, she was just telling me that it's not fully my fault, and that's just how the world revolves. But she was just being supportive. I know for a fact that I stand with a fault in this.

So it's goodbye to A, B and C,
Because the answer here was, "me".

Or, alphabet-wise, I.