I am an MDC student at Benguet State OPEN University. I
started to change my points of view and be more aware of its culture when I
enrolled here and met my classmates and professors. We all know that Open
Universities aim to extend educational opportunities to all. We also call it as
“distance-learning”. In an open and
distance mode of learning, the students do not attend classes in classrooms
regularly. At BSU-OU, students are given
course modules and they meet their professors and classmates once a month. Additional consultations with the professors
are also done by any modes of communication, i.e. through email, telephone or
text messaging. With this arrangement, students are therefore able to gain new
knowledge and skills wherever they are whether at work, at home or even while
on travel, and at their own pace and time. Though, we only meet each other once
a month, I can say that our one-to-one connections with each other are the
foundation for change. I had a chance to understand how this culture affected
my whole life. I noticed that most school improvement plans concentrate on academic
achievement goals only. But Benguet State University is far from that, it is
focused not only on the improvement of the students academically, but also socially.
This school has a “welcoming atmosphere”.
Our professors treat us as professionals. I remember one of the
professors said that, “you are professionals so we have to treat you as
professionals”. They are so approachable and they make us feel more comfortable. In some schools professors act “mean” or
“arrogant” in the classroom just to show how knowledgeable they are or portrayed
that they are so much smarter than us, I know that’s just a part of their
teaching style but I think students will feel intimidated by them and it will
be hard to ask something in confidence. Students want professors who are
like-able and can authentically motivate them. One more thing that I like about
the culture in this school, the staffs are very friendly too, they greet “good
morning” to everyone who enters the building. They even offer free coffee and
Pandesal as well. Ha-ha. This kind of culture and school environment has
created a cordial atmosphere in Benguet State Open University. Since we seldom
meet each other, exchanging messages became more common. Unlike in other regular
schools that you will really need to work hard on your own to achieve better
grades, here in Open University, we treat each other as “friends” and not as
competitors. It made me realize that relationship is very powerful. This kind
of culture was discussed to us on our first day. They told us about the Open
University system. So I therefore conclude that Culture should be uncovered, openly and purposely discussed, assessed, and developed. I learned a lot of
things since I enrolled here. I learned how to be more sociable, confident on
expressing my thoughts and Ideas. I will never regret studying Development
Communication in this school. I know that despite the obvious advantages of
distance learning, there are problems as well. Perhaps it could be the quality
of education and the attitudes of the instructors, students and administrators,
but in my case I am fully satisfied with it. I know that they are doing their
best to update us and give what we deserve.
Individualism vs. Collectivism
In BSU-OU, We have a common goal; we help each other so that
we can finish our Master’s degree “together” after 4 semesters. We can consider
this as a practice of collectivism, but Individualism is still more important.
We can’t graduate if we don’t have self-determination. We can’t depend on our
classmates but we always show concern to each other and give a hand if we
could. In our
Communication and Culture subject with Mr. Dacawe, we learned
about Collectivism and Individualism. According to him, Collectivism is the
practice or principle of giving a group priority over each individual in it
while Individualism is a habit or principle of being Independent and
Self-reliant. I have also read that
Collectivism is a social psychological term that relates to the manner in which
humans identify themselves and prioritize their goals. Collectivism, which is
the opposite of individualism, focuses on the priorities of the group and not
the individual. In a collectivist society, people identify themselves with the
goals of the group much more so than the goals of individuals. Collectivism
also focuses on things such as fitting into the group, behaving in ways that
are line with social norms, group solidarity, and gaining a sense of identity
from being part of the group. I have
also researched about the advantages and disadvantages of Individualism and
Collectivism. One of the advantages of Individualism is a person can foster his
ability to perform well individually and find strength within themselves to overcome
obstacles. On the other hand it has disadvantages as well. Individualism does not allow other people to
experience a person’s talent or creativity. They have more problems with
finding good friends because they don’t care about other’s opinions. It can
lead to difficulties with social life. I think Learning to cooperate with
others is what builds character, friendship and important life skills. While
individualism has advantages and disadvantages, Collectivism has them too.
Collectivism allows each person to take care and help one another to fulfill a
certain goal. It can help with the achievement of the whole community but
because of this practice some people tend to be lazy, they become dependent to
the other group members. In my opinion “neither is best”. As I said before,
Collectivism is important because it associates with socialism. It is necessary
that everyone supports each other so we can grow as a community. On the other
hand Individualism is required as well; we also need to flourish independently.
They both have their benefits and
detraction.
A collectivist society
In my hometown in Pampanga, we live in a compound residence
together with my mother’s relatives and neighbors. I can say that the practice
of collectivism is being applied there because the sense of belonging is very
important. The people in this compound residence are willing to make sacrifices
for the betterment of everyone. I can still remember when I had my 18th
birthday party 7 years ago all of our neighbors helped in the preparation. Some
of them donated money; some bought beverages and decorated our place. We also
do the same thing when others need our support. We often ask others opinions as
well and let them give their realistic advice when it comes to decision
making. It might be right because I believe in the saying that “Two heads are
better than one”. Some people also say that sometimes collectivism might be
better than individualism if it is being applied correctly. Different people
have different strengths and point of view. Hence, more people share their
ideas that must concern more dimensions and aspects. Two people working
together have a better chance of solving a problem than one person working
alone. I admit they had a good point on that, but honestly speaking, I didn't
enjoy this situation that much; I felt that I wasn't free. For me personal
freedom is certainly something to be appreciated and enjoyed. When I was in my
hometown, I always think of what other people say. It seems to me that I am
responsible of all of them. If I don’t include them in my plans, they would say
that I am so ungrateful. I want to feel less pressure and judgment and have
more ability to feel free but I guess it would be difficult if I stay there, so
I had to move on. I need to stop
worrying about them for the mean time because I should start worrying about
what is best for me “I’m not getting younger you know”. I know that the practice
of collectivism helped me become a better person, but I have to build
self-determination to be able to succeed in life. That is one of the reasons
why I decided to move here in Baguio City. I want to decide for myself, I need
others’ advice but of course, I always consider myself as the master of my own
fate and the captain of my own soul. Since I experienced being a collectivist
and I learned a lot from it, now I think is time for me to become an
individualist and strive harder on my own.
My opinion about Individualism
As I mentioned, in my hometown in Pampanga especially in our
compound, people are collectivist. Here
in Baguio city, since most of us came from different provinces and cities and
we don’t know each other that much, people tend to be more individualist. We
often greet each other but we tend not to have a long term relationship. Here, everyone
is "on their own" because we are too busy doing our own activities.
Actually, we live close to each other but we have different lives. I don’t care
about them, they don’t care about me. Life is simple because of the practice of
individualism. I don’t need to impress or please everyone, and I shouldn't expect
something in return. My experience here in Baguio city helped me to become a Liberal
person; in this place I felt the sense of freedom. I will not rule or be ruled,
I will not be a master or a slave. Being an individualist doesn't mean being selfish.
It made me realized that every one of us has individual rights and I learned to
understand and respect it. Of course I know that “strong” Individualism has disadvantages,
Individualist could have smaller social support networks, lower emotional
competence, lower intentions to seek help from a variety of sources and poorer
mental health that can lead to suicide. I am not a strong individualist,
because I believe that we should know how to balance collectivism and individualism.
The reason why I chose to be alone for now is because I don’t want to be
dependent on anyone, I learned from a collectivist community and I appreciate
it a lot, but now I want to experience facing and solving my problems on my own,
I am definitely sure that I can be a better person and It can make me feel
stronger. I want to find out what makes me unique and develop it. If I am in a
group of people I think I will never be noticed since all of us are just the
same. I have to set myself apart so that I can discover myself more. Naturally
we need to be surrounded with people who know our worth, I guess, I don’t need
too many people to be happy and successful, just few real ones who can appreciate
me for exactly who I am, will be enough for me. And one more thing, I can
accept advice but I will never let anyone run my life, even my parents who
spent money for my education.
Individualism is congruent to Egoism
We also have different meaning of individualism. For some,
the meaning of individualism is being selfish. Have you noticed? When someone
needs help, especially when it comes to financial support, a good example for
this is the Ice Bucket challenge, we are aware that it is a practice of
collectivism, but since many people are selfish, they showed an act of a
“strong” individualism. If you can still remember the Facebook newsfeed was
flooded by those people who filmed having a bucket of ice water poured on their
heads. Most of them didn’t donate, how did I know? My friends did that!!! But
when I asked them if they donated money for those people who are suffering from
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS),
they said NO. They can only give sympathy not donations, and we are not even sure
if there is sincerity in their action. According to Mr. Joey De Leon, Don’t
nominate if you don’t donate. Perhaps, some were not serious about it; they only
did it because they wanted to get other’s attention in other words “Pour to
impress” ha-ha. That was for their own benefit, they wanted to be noticed and
not because they desired to support that ALS
foundation. Individualism is similar with egoism (the celebration of the
individual for his efforts and abilities) they don’t want to help, they just
promote their desires. For Americans, they also have other meaning of
individualism. For them, Individualism is liberty; it is the freedom of
everyone but it doesn’t mean that they would not give a hand to those who are
in-need.
Philippines’ setting
As a Filipino, I find it difficult to describe us as either
collectivists or individualists given the way some of us behave and think. I assume
Filipinos tend to follow a religious belief, like Christian philosophy and
Christianity is more on a practice of collectivism. One more thing, there are
so many Filipinos who depend on the government. They are expecting that the
elected leaders will be the one to lift the status of the economy and the
status of their lives regardless of what they need to share as individuals.
This action can give the people a habit of trying to get something for free,
that’s why many Filipinos are Lazy. On the other hand I can also see that most
of the Filipinos care about their own interests first before others. I
therefore conclude that “Neither is BEST”. We need others and we also need self-determination
in order to succeed as a whole or as an individual.
References:
Scott, Gregory, N.d. Disadvantages of being an individualist
in an individualistic culture: Idiocentrism, emotional competence, stress, and
mental health, Selected Works of Frank Deane, retrieved from
http://works.bepress.com/fdeane/102/
