Demospongiae = Nostalgia + Spinelessness. Don’t ask. Turn to the next page for a prologue.

Spinelessness

The other day I was listening to stories of my mom opposing the RGEP’s rushed implementation (it was first applied to our freshman batch). The reasons were numerous, but among them were how this was a major experiment they would be applying to us, the students-slash-guinea-pigs. That the program should also require certain subjects regardless of the freedom of choosing. That the GE Council had patterned it after Portland U, and that UP should choose more prestigious ivy league schools instead. (The compromise was that students were required to take six units of Philippine studies and English, as well as exemptions from GE courses students already major in.) Her stories then shifted to debates with Fidel Nemenzo and Randy David during those kinds of meetings, after which all would be swell, like nothing had happened.

It was all work aside from her usual work (that is, teaching), and was a wee bit like things I’ve been in. Not the arguing part per se, but the advocacy, loyalty, debate, and the desire to know, inform, enlighten, and work aside from the usual work.

Did I lose those things when I left the academe? Will I ever be able to do it again? I’m not sure. But it makes me not want to be a spineless sponge now.

Turn to Page: 1 2