There have been several attempts to define, redefine and refine academic excellence. It may be because of either the increasing cultural pressure from the society to further impose the scholarly manners to everyone and everything, or the various small yet audible counter-academic sentiments that have sprouted inside and outside the academic world.
But at the end of the day, academic excellence never really abandoned (and it never will) its narrow essential traits: quantity over quality, grades over grasp, and merits over morals.
Let's face it. Who is the better performer in terms of academic excellence, the student who got a high grade by submitting a plagiarized research paper, or the student who has a very sound understanding of the Philippine Revolution but got a failing mark from his/her pro-Magdalo professor for submitting a position paper stating that Andres Bonifacio is the first Philippine president? No matter how we put it, it's the former who can be "labelled" as the academically excellent student, not the latter. The proof? The grade. Simple.
Similarly, who is the "better writer" in terms terms of academic excellence, a graduate of AB English who does not even know basic verb tenses (yes, they exist here in the Philippines), or a prolific essayist who does not have a college diploma? You got it right! It's still the former. The proof? The diploma.
I know a lot of people would disagree with me, arguing that they did not finish college education just for the piece of paper that goes with it after four years. Some people may cite other more sensible, honest, practical and even noble reasons behind their studies, like skills, interest, need and helping the poor. True. No doubt about it. But these reasons are way beyond the concern of academic excellence.
For the dictum of academic excellence is to attain academic merits through scholastic pursuits. No more, no less. So that means if somebody resorts to prostitution to raise enough funds for tuition fee and ends up graduating as suma cum laude, that person is still academically excellent. It's as plain as that.
Come on, if a licensed chemist who graduated summa cum laude in UP poisons the water supply, do you think he will lose those high grades he got in college? Hell no! Yup, he may be imprisoned or even put in the death row, but his academic excellence will stay as if nothing really happened. In the eyes of the public, he is still "matalino". Gago nga lang.
But as far as academic excellence is concerned, hindi bale nang wasak, huwag lang bagsak.
Academic excellence ALWAYS cares about merits but NEVER cares about morals. Thus, academic excellence is not just immoral. Academic excelence is amoral.
Academic excellence comdemns Erap not because of his crime of plunder but because he does not have a college diploma. Academic excellence sings praises to Ferdinand Marcos due to the fact that he got a degree in law (end even topped the bar exams) despite the human rights violations allegedly committed during Martial Law. And I can even go as far as saying that it's academic excellence that insulted and betrayed Andres Bonifacio. During the Tejeros Convention, isn't it in academic grounds that Daniel Tirona objected Bonifacio's election to the post of Director of the Interior?
Much to our ignorance, academic excellence and the overall culture of academic elitism has greatly affected our history as a nation, and will continue to do so. It creates a long and continuing history of corruption, marginalization, and moral decline.
Our children continue to cheat in exams. Parents continue to do their children's assignments. Students continue to plagiarize their research papers. College prostitutes continue their business every registration period. And towards the end of the semester, the "kuwatro o kantot" tales continue to be told as campus legends.
All these in the name of academic excellence.
And the sad thing is academic excellence simply doesn't give a damn on how you do things.
So what do we replace academic excellence with? I will discuss that in my next post.
But at the end of the day, academic excellence never really abandoned (and it never will) its narrow essential traits: quantity over quality, grades over grasp, and merits over morals.
Let's face it. Who is the better performer in terms of academic excellence, the student who got a high grade by submitting a plagiarized research paper, or the student who has a very sound understanding of the Philippine Revolution but got a failing mark from his/her pro-Magdalo professor for submitting a position paper stating that Andres Bonifacio is the first Philippine president? No matter how we put it, it's the former who can be "labelled" as the academically excellent student, not the latter. The proof? The grade. Simple.
Similarly, who is the "better writer" in terms terms of academic excellence, a graduate of AB English who does not even know basic verb tenses (yes, they exist here in the Philippines), or a prolific essayist who does not have a college diploma? You got it right! It's still the former. The proof? The diploma.
I know a lot of people would disagree with me, arguing that they did not finish college education just for the piece of paper that goes with it after four years. Some people may cite other more sensible, honest, practical and even noble reasons behind their studies, like skills, interest, need and helping the poor. True. No doubt about it. But these reasons are way beyond the concern of academic excellence.
For the dictum of academic excellence is to attain academic merits through scholastic pursuits. No more, no less. So that means if somebody resorts to prostitution to raise enough funds for tuition fee and ends up graduating as suma cum laude, that person is still academically excellent. It's as plain as that.
Come on, if a licensed chemist who graduated summa cum laude in UP poisons the water supply, do you think he will lose those high grades he got in college? Hell no! Yup, he may be imprisoned or even put in the death row, but his academic excellence will stay as if nothing really happened. In the eyes of the public, he is still "matalino". Gago nga lang.
But as far as academic excellence is concerned, hindi bale nang wasak, huwag lang bagsak.
Academic excellence ALWAYS cares about merits but NEVER cares about morals. Thus, academic excellence is not just immoral. Academic excelence is amoral.
Academic excellence comdemns Erap not because of his crime of plunder but because he does not have a college diploma. Academic excellence sings praises to Ferdinand Marcos due to the fact that he got a degree in law (end even topped the bar exams) despite the human rights violations allegedly committed during Martial Law. And I can even go as far as saying that it's academic excellence that insulted and betrayed Andres Bonifacio. During the Tejeros Convention, isn't it in academic grounds that Daniel Tirona objected Bonifacio's election to the post of Director of the Interior?
Much to our ignorance, academic excellence and the overall culture of academic elitism has greatly affected our history as a nation, and will continue to do so. It creates a long and continuing history of corruption, marginalization, and moral decline.
Our children continue to cheat in exams. Parents continue to do their children's assignments. Students continue to plagiarize their research papers. College prostitutes continue their business every registration period. And towards the end of the semester, the "kuwatro o kantot" tales continue to be told as campus legends.
All these in the name of academic excellence.
And the sad thing is academic excellence simply doesn't give a damn on how you do things.
So what do we replace academic excellence with? I will discuss that in my next post.
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