Studying Secondary Language: A Boost for our Brains

(Narration)

Nowadays, learning a secondary language is a need. Your world doesn’t only

revolve around your comfort zone. Not everyone can adjust to the language you
speak. Remember, communication is a two-way process. Both speaker and receiver
should understand each other to have a better communication. As a Filipino student,
my secondary language is English since it’s already been taught to us since
kindergarten. It really helped me in a lot of ways especially when I am
communicating with foreigners. According to Research Gate (2017), English is no
doubt as the global language since 70 countries are using this as their means for
communication. That is why learning to speak and understand English is very
essential.

Aside from English, there are still other languages I want to learn. Studying a
new language actually helps boost our brains. It improves memory, longer attention
span and reduced risk of of age-related cognitive decline (Lewis, 2016). I want to
consider studying Spanish. According to Mosalingua (2018), Spanish is the 2 nd most
spoken language in the world after English. With roughly 400 million people speaking
it across 44 countries, it becomes one of the most useful languages in the world
today. For us Filipinos, it is quite easy to learn Spanish since our country has been
colonized by Spain for about 333 years. Spanish is also a phonetic language in
which you read words as they are written and that makes it as one of the easiest
languages to learn (Mosalingua, 2018). When you visit countries in Europe and Latin
America, Spanish language is a very essential tool for communication. Business,
Agriculture and Industrial aspects in the European and Latin American continents
widely speak Spanish.

Studying Spanish as your secondary language is very worth it. As a runner-up

for English in global language and its millions of speakers around the world,
everyone could actually benefit from it. Studying and speaking Spanish can be really
a great advantage for every Filipinos who are seeking for jobs abroad, establishing
businesses in all parts around the world and working for big companies. With a lot of
benefits we can acquire, studying Spanish can make us be inspired.
 The Truth Behind Violent Video Games

(Definition)

Playing is always a fun thing for everyone. Whether it is indoor or outdoor,

everyone has the chance to enjoy and play. With the evolution of our technology,
video games become a trend. It becomes a thing to every millennial nowadays. As
long as you have a cell phone or tablet or computer, you can already enjoy lots of
video games. Every day, you would see kids and even adults just staring at their own
gadgets for almost the whole day. Video games are not bad. It actually helps us in
building our own strategy to win a game, improve our problem solving skills and
enhances the right part of our brains (Green Garage, 2019). It only becomes bad for
us once we don’t learn to balance it and take over our lives. That’s the sad thing with
playing violent video games.

Violent video games are defined as video games that focus primarily on
combat involving projectile weapons such as guns and missiles (Ozgun & Pirdal,
2015). It is also referred to by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2010) as video
games that represent violence as the best or only way to resolve conflicts. Many of
our youths today engage in playing violent video games such as Mobile Legends,
Clash of Clans and etc. Around 90% of boys and 40% of girls in the United States
aged 12-17 play violent video games (Green Garage, 2019). A lot recent studies
concerning with the psychological effect of playing violent video games have been
carried out by psychological experts. Violent video games appear to increase
aggressive thoughts and feelings, physiological arousal and aggressive behaviors,
as well as decrease pro-social behaviors (Gentile & Anderson, 2003). The debate of
prohibiting violent video games already started since the early 70s. During the
Congress hearings in some states of USA, many congressmen said that violent
video games have a desensitizing impact on youth. This prompted the video game
industry to establish the Entertainment Software Rating Board on September 1,
1944.

Playing violent video games have pros and cons. I personally believed that
violent video games should be limited rather than to be prohibited. Setting limits by
parents should be the best source of discipline for the youth. They must always limit
their children in using gadgets so their children could also focus in their academics
and being a well-rounded person. Establishing requisites could also be a key to
balance the effects of playing violent video games. Lastly, being mindful with what
their children are playing by knowing the themes and contents of the game their
children want to play. It’s okay to play violent video games as long as you are able to
balance and always set limitations in playing it.
 Choose What Best Suits You

(Persuasion)

Everyday, millions of students around the world strive hard to go to their

respective schools. Learning is very crucial for our future endeavors. What you have
learned can be applied in your everyday lives and in your future job. But not all what
you have learned in school can be very essential for you. Some subjects seem to be
irrelevant from your dream career. Many students around the world face this kind of
situations. It’s very hard especially when you know you’re weak to that specific
subject. That moment when you got good grades in other subjects but there’s this
one subject that you failed. The feeling of frustration engulfs you every time you’re in
that kind of situation.

The problem with our current education system is that students are spending
too much time in classes that are irrelevant for their future and not enough time in
classes that will actually help them in life and their careers (Knights, 2016). Our
education system is very ‘universalized’. Schools should know that different students
have different capabilities and skills. Some students maybe good in English and
Literature but suck in Mathematics. Others do great in Science but are not interested
in Arts. We cannot judge the ability of a fish to climb a tree when it is made for
swimming. Learning things that cannot actually help you in the future is just a pure
waste of time. This problem in our education system causes students to lack
motivation in learning. Blake Boles of Huffington Post once said, “Real learning
thrives when students have real choices.” The freedom to choose their own subjects
to take can be a very big factor for students to excel in their own fields. Taking
subjects that are not so related to your course can somehow be helpful by molding
you to be a well-rounded person but not to an extent where it requires more tasks to
comply rather than your major subjects.

To sum it up, our education system should always consider our different
abilities. It would really make a big difference when schools give their students the
chance to choose their own subjects. Schools should always remember that
students have different minds and interests. We excel in different aspects. It would
really be unfair if our education system would generalize our capabilities as students.
 How Can We Solve Corruption?

(Problem-Solution)

Corruption has always been an issue in almost every country. A lot of sectors
around the world are involved in this problem. Many think that corruption always
occurs in political aspects but it can also manifest in business, education, industry
and other aspects. In our everyday lives, corruption always occurs that we only didn’t
notice. Example of this situation is when rich people get easy accessibility to basic
goods or services in exchange with money. Corruption is defined as the abuse of
entrusted power for private gain (International Transparency Organization, 2018).
Political corruption is the most common form of corruption. It is the manipulation of
policies, institutions and rules of procedure in the allocation of resources and
financing by political decision makers.

Somalia, South Sudan and Syria are the top 3 most corrupt countries around
the world respectively (Odusanya,2018). They are ranked based on the Corruption
Perception Index. The problem with corruption is that it is very hard to determine its
root. Hunger for power and money is closely associated with corruption. People who
are already at high positions in the society wanted more power and money to
manipulate all aspects in their countries. Corruption impacts in a multitude of ways.
In worst cases, it can even cost lives. Law enforcers and political leaders across the
world are doing their best to solve corruption in their respective countries. One way
of solving corruption is through transparency. Transparency is the shedding out of
light on plans, rules, processes and actions (International Transparency
Organization, 2018).Transparency ensures that all public officials, civil servants and
political leaders have record and report of their activities. Other solutions include
following a step-by-step process in any transactions made, building partnerships and
by staying non-confrontational (International Transparency Organization, 2018).

Corruption cannot easily be rooted out with just one big sweep. It takes a long
process before we can eliminate this problem in our society. All solutions mentioned
above can be very essential to solve corruption. They may seem to be little steps but
if we all do it, we can easily solve corruption. We must also bear in our minds that we
should always be honest in every action we do and have pure conscience.
 Technology or Creativity?

(Cause and Effect)

The rapid evolution of our technology made everything almost possible.

Things which are very tedious to do before can now be done easily with the help of
technology. In the world of innovation, technology plays a major role. When we say
innovation, it is closely related to creativity. Creativity is referred to as the act of
creating something unique, innovative and original using imagination (Treyvaud,
2018). When people are being asked by the question ‘is technology limiting
creativity?’, many people would say yes. According to Katie (2017), if we can find
everything in online, we don’t give room to ourselves to problem-solve and innovate
on our own. For most people, technology limits creativity.

While most people agree that technology limits creativity, they don’t actually
see how technology helps in improving creativity the other way around. Most people
view that technology limits creativity because older generations perceive creativity
through painting, drawing, creating handwritten poems and such. These were the
common hobbies that enhances creativity way back our internet-free world. They
don’t realize that we’re already in the 21st century where everything is done through
technology. Technology redefines creativity (Libera, 2017). Younger generations
today usually use technology as their medium to express creativity. This includes
activities such as online painting/sketching, writing blogs, building websites and
many other. Sometimes, there are drawbacks in using technology as our medium to
express creativity. This includes young people being less regulated than real world
when exploring their creative identities (Libera, 2017). It is also easy for most people
today to plagiarize others’ works which destroys the value of originality. Although
there are cons of using technology as medium for creativity, there are still a lot of
pros it offered to us.

For me, technology doesn’t limit creativity. It redefines creativity. Technology

helped in paving way for creativity to be expressed in the internet. With technology,
your creativity can be appreciated by people around the world since it can reach
almost every place in the world. If we only use technology in proper way and right
purpose, then it wouldn’t be accused of limiting creativity.
 Different Levels of Censorship

(Classification)

Internet is dubbed as ‘information superhighway’ during early times. This is

because we search most of the information we want to know through internet.
Sometimes when we search, we cannot access to some parts of the web because it
is prohibited. This is what we call internet censorship. It was created to put
restrictions on what information can be publicized or viewed on the Internet (IP
Location, 2016). Many governments and other organizations use internet censorship
to block access to copyrighted information and harmful contents. There are different
levels of Internet Censorship: IP Blocking, DNS Filtering and Redirection, Uniform
Resource Locator Filtering, Packet Filtering, and Connection Resets. Some of these
types will only be applicable to specific situations.

IP Blocking is a security measure that prevents a connection between a

specific or group of IP addresses and a mail, web or Internet server (Technopedia,
2017). It blocks or bans undesirable sites and host from entering the server. This
type of internet censorship is commonly used by companies to prevent intrusion and
prevent their employees from accessing websites that are not related to their works.
DNS Filtering and Redirection is a technique of blocking access to certain websites,
web pages, or IP addresses (Web Titan, 2018). It works by redirecting to a local IP
address that will display a block page explaining that the site cannot be accessed .
URL Filtering checks hyperlinks, and URL for specific commands, keywords and
malicious code (Cybrary, 2017). This type of internet censorship is commonly utilized
by web and email scanning engines. It is also used in large corporations and
businesses to reduce security risks and avoid liability. Packet Filtering is the process
of passing or blocking packets at a network interface based on source and
destination addresses, ports, or protocols (Rousse, 2005). It is often part of a firewall
program for protecting a local network from intrusions.

As the internet is growing faster, its accompanying risks are also spreading
wider. We need internet censorship for our own protection against malicious
programs and other internet risks. Cybercrimes are already rampant in our internet
today. We can prevent from entering websites that may contain cybercrimes through
internet censorship. Also, always remember to think before you click. You don’t want
to become one of the unsuspicious preys of cyber predators in our internet today.
 To be a Politician: A Form of Art or Inborn Talent?

(Comparison and Contrast)

Being a politician is not easy. It requires love and compassion to serve for the
people. Since you are elected by the people, you must give all of your best to
accomplish your duties and make a change in your country. According to Merriam-
Webster Dictionary, politics is defined as the art or science of government.
Politicians can be elected by the people in democratic countries or appointed by a
leader in non-democratic countries. They participate in running the country by
establishing public services, creating and implementing laws and amending the
constitution.

As what I mentioned above earlier, politics is an art of government. It is a

carefully crafted art. Most people today neglect it as an art - the delineating and
practice of how and when to do these things and above all, how to persuade a self-
governing people to accept and loyally observe them (Menzies Foundation, 2018).
This neglect is of crucial importance. Nowadays, politics is very concentrated in
scientific aspects through measurement of economics trends, organizing finance
devising of plans for social security and such. They forgot the art of politics which
builds the foundation of being a politician. Politics can also be fueled by passion. You
need to sacrifice all your personal gains for the betterment of your country. This is
not easy especially if you do not have the heart to serve the people. Passion is not a
blind excitement but devotion to a cause (Hartwitch, 2018). It needs to be coupled
with a sense of responsibility as a leader to bring change in your country. If you have
these characteristics, being a politician is your inborn talent

Politics can be either an art or inborn talent. Even though both are viewed in
different perspectives, it only has one goal: to serve the people and that is their
similarity. No matter where you come from, if you are born to be a politician, you’ll
surely bring change to your country. If it is the art of politics that fuels you, it will be
easy for you to persuade people and govern them. One thing, don’t let power corrupt
you. Take that as a reward for yourself from the people who entrust the future of the
country to you. It will be a great privilege and honor to you and people will always
remember you for the betterment you brought to the country you served.
 Education is Becoming a Business

(Description)

We’re living today in a world full of payments. Every move we do is

accompanied with money and prices. From the food we consume, transportation and
fares, to everyday necessities. (Schrum, n.d.). Today, education is also being
affected by commercialization. In this essay, I will explore how education becomes
so commercialized today through describing it. I will also consider the positive and
negative side of education becoming commercialized. So, is commercializing
education a bad or good idea? Let’s continue to ponder.

In Marketing, there is a concept of Supply and Demand. If the amount of

supply surpasses the demand, it devaluates the product. This concept is similar to
what is happening with our education today. The supply of talent pool is far
exceeding the demand which results to education being devaluated (Bhatia, 2012).
There are many factors that contribute to the degradation of education and
commercialization is one of it. Large amount of private institutes invest in the
education sector thus, they have the power to influence education (Bhatia, 2012).
The real agenda of education is hijacked. Instead of helping to educate people, its
main goal is generating profit. If you are rich, you have higher chances of getting and
attaining education degree. This neglects the right of less-fortunate people to
education. Although the bad effects of commercializing education is more prevalent,
it still has some advantages. This includes the development of facilities in some
schools and universities which can be used for advanced learning and quality
education to be provided to the students. They got more chances to apply their
knowledge through laboratories and such.

In conclusion, commercialization of education has more bad effects rather

than good ones. This makes it as a bad idea for our education system. Many less-
fortunate didn’t get the chance to go to school or even attain a college degree
because of commercializing education. If we could only balance it, then it could pose
lots of advantages. It is okay for private institutes to help our education sector but not
to the extent that they will manipulate it and make as their business.