Child Labor

http://pulitzercenter.org/projects/philippines-gold-mines-child-labor-economy

Through my research about child labor, I came up with four major reasons why child labor

exists.

First is the violation and enforcement of laws regarding child labor R.A. no. 1658 is an act

prohibiting the employment of children below 15 years of age in Public and private undertaking. However, it is being violated because it is not being enforced or monitored properly.

For example, in a factory there are thousands of workers, so the workers' profile is often not properly monitored. Sometimes they also intentionally hide child labor because they want to cut back production costs.

Second is Poverty. Due to this, poor children and their families would depend to child labor to attain basic needs. There are many factors to Poverty, if I would explain this further; this paper would not be enough, so I focused only on poverty as the reason for Child labor. Corruption is one of the main reasons why there is Poverty. Corruption in the Philippines is very rampant, that it affects the economic growth of the country. Another reason to Poverty is Unemployment, Lack of opportunities due to lack of education, it leads to having no proper income to obtain basic needs. And lastly is Indolence, a trait influenced by Spaniards. They

http://www.borgenmagazine.com/child-labor-today/#prettyPhoto

conquered the Philippines. They burned a lot of houses and they let the Filipinos work and gain

less money than them. That was the reason why Filipinos became indolent, because they we’re

thinking that even they work hard, it won’t never be enough. Spaniards also introduced siesta,which until now, most of Filipinos are still doing.

Third reason for child labor is access to free education. Though there is an easy access to freeeducation, there are still miscellaneous fees to be paid making it hard for the families to really send their kids to school. There are also failures in the educational system; instead on mandating that all children must go to school, the government allows the families to decide.Most of families would rather have their children to work and bring an income than going to school. Last reason that I came up to is the ethical tradition. In the Filipino community, it’s a tradition for children to obey their parents and elders, because they must compensate as much as possible to reduce the economic burden.

My opinion

Most of the kids who are into child labor came from poor families. I think the best way to end Child labor is to understand its root causes. Poverty is always the main reason of all social issues. Many families need child labor to attain basic needs. If we help these families come out from poverty and get a steady income, I think they would not sacrifice their children to work. However, the government should be the one to support this system and they may not be as enthusiastic about supporting this Idea, perhaps, because they don't have the capability to do so. Since greed and personal interests are also causes of poverty, I guess we should be wise enough to choose a trustworthy leader that would focus on the development of the country and not to steal money from the government. If we eliminate corruption, they would be able to give more opportunities to poor people to have a source of livelihood. It’s very hard for poor people to be emancipated from poverty if the government will remain unsympathetic to them. Chinese proverb says “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”.

DEARtime (Drop Everything and Read)

http://www.whydev.org/missioncreep-4-arseholes-perceptions-and-books/

This program is being implemented in Pines City National High school to improve the reading comprehension of students and to instill the love for reading. It gives students time to read what they want to read, share what they have read, and receive the support they need for further reading explorations and reflections. Daily reading sessions last for 10 minutes. They will have a conference with their English teachers as soon as they had finished reading the book, to share what they have understood. A daily DEARtime project provides students with much more than a just-sit-there-and-read experience since, during their English subject the teacher is able to evaluate the students’ progress in reading and comprehension. It gives the English teacher a structured time to touch base with each student over a period of time, assess improvement, and target instruction. To measure students’ oral reading speed and accuracy, teachers will do the procedure that uses regular classroom texts to determine the number of words that students can read correctly in one minute. To obtain a words-correct-per-minute (WCPM) score, students are assessed individually as they read aloud for one minute from an unpracticed passage of text. All teachers implement this program but only English teachers can measure students’ improvement.

The theory about literacy instruction and learning; they think that Students learn best in a community of learners, in a safe environment, and when they are being guided by teachers’ instructions and of course independent practice. This Theory about the daily reading program where students select their own readings and share their reactions to the texts with others in the learning community will help them to become competent in the future.

This program is being practiced in other western countries not only by students who are in the classroom but also by people who have little free time to relax. Pines City national High school used the diffusion approach in order to implement this program, teachers got the instructions/message from the person who initiated the DEARtime program, and explain it to their respective advisory classes which will be followed up and monitored by the English teachers and students will accept this program for their development.

On the other hand, some teachers think that this program is not useful for students; they say that 10 minutes will not be enough for students to develop their reading habit and because of that students’ improvement will take some time.

Blogging: Make it Right!!!

You, Yes You... Be.A.Ware!

Every one of us has the right to publish a blog; we are free to write about personal interest, events, situation, topics or opinions and post it worldwide via Internet then let visitors leave comments and even messages. A web blog will help us to gain knowledge from someone thru the World Wide Web. I think, it is one of the enjoyable things to do because it makes us feel better at the same time we’re providing information to our readers.

 “A blog can be seen as a form of social networking service, because they build social relations with the readers and other bloggers”

- Blog. {n.d.} In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 4, 2014- from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

Not all bloggers are Journalists but they also need to follow Moral ethics and laws. If we just want to write a blog for fun and enjoyment we should still be responsible enough in publicizing our blogs.

CyberJournalist.net has created a bloggers’ code of ethics, by modifying society of professional Journalists code of ethics for the Weblog world. CyberJournalist.net follows this code and impels the use of it.

“Professional integrity is the cornerstone of our credibility.”

- Jun Pasaylo, 2013 THE PORTAL, Grand Inquisitor, retrieved from 

http://junpasaylo.wordpress.com/2013/07/04/the-portal-professional-integrity-is-the-cornerstone-of-our-credibility/

 Bloggers who use this code of principles are not only practicing ethical publishing but they are also telling the readers that they can be trusted.

Here is the bloggers’ code of ethics from the CyberJournalist.net but the explanations however are mine. I’m explaining it based on my own understanding.

Ø  Be Honest and Fair

Since I am just a newbie in the world of blogging, I’ve learned that bloggers must be honest and fair in gathering, reporting and interpreting information. We should know how to give credits to our sources. We should not plagiarize. If possible ask permission from our sources that we are going to cite the information from.

 It’s also our right to voice our opinion out, but we should know how to differentiate an opinion from a fact. Even though you disagree with a fact you, still have to present them, remember to always tell the truth. If you are going to publish something that you are not sure of about, state your own stance what you thought of with regards to the topic.

Ø  Minimize Harm

We need to treat our sources and subjects with respect.

Tim O’Reilly called for bloggers to work together to create a blogger’s code of Conduct.

According to a Blogger's Code of Conduct:

You must….

·         Take responsibility not just for your own words, but for the comments you allow on your blog

·         Label your tolerance level for abusive comments.

·         Consider eliminating anonymous comments.

·         Ignore the trolls.

·         Take the conversation offline, and talk directly, or find an intermediary who can do so.

·         If you know someone who is behaving badly, tell them so.

·         Don't say anything online that you wouldn't say in person.

You must not…

·         Violate any local, state, national or international law or post any Content that would encourage or provide instructions for a criminal offense.

·         Impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent yourself, your age or your affiliation with any person or entity

·         Send or make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, solicitations, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation

·         Post or share any personally identifiable or private information of any third party

·         Solicit passwords or personal information from anyone, including those under 18

·         Use information or content you obtained on the AMYC website or service in any manner not authorized by the AMYC Code of Conduct or Terms of Use.

·         Post any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment

·         Register more than one account or use or attempt to use another's account, service or system without authorization or create a false identity on the Service or the Site

·         Engage in any predatory or stalking conduct

In this case, I think they urge the bloggers not to harm others by avoiding strong language about hatred and profanity they also want to encourage us to become civil at all times when we disagree with someone else’s opinion.

Ø   Be Accountable

Bloggers should admit mistakes and correct them promptly.

We need to apologize. It is not a good Idea to deny or hide the mistakes in our blog; our mistakes can make people disappointed. Admitting them save our credibility as bloggers.

“Making a correction while retaining the error is best (unless it was libellous or is causing legal trouble) rather than simply changing the text as if it was never there.”

How to Admit Mistakes on Your Blog {n.d.} Wiley-Dummies, retrieved from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-admit-mistakes-on-your-blog.html

If we are going to promote something, make sure that we have examined the product before publishing it. If not, we will be bombarded with questions about our motives for promoting it. If we noticed some exceptions about the product it would be better if we are going to disclose it to our readers. It is our responsibility to provide the necessary information to our readers so we need to explain clearly the content of our blog.

Bloggers’ Legal guide:

"With Blogging Comes Great Responsibility”

Raymond R. May, 2013, With blogging comes great responsibility (University of San Francisco) retrieve form http://lawblog.usfca.edu/internetjustice/2013/with-blogging-comes-great-responsibility-a-bloggers-legal-duties-and-dilemmas/

Blogging is free for everyone, but we also need to consider abiding the laws of blogging.

Ø  Copyright infringement

 This is a law that Protect Bloggers’ Content from Theft.

 According to the Oxford dictionary, Plagiarism is the practice of taking someone’s work or Ideas and passing them off as one’s own. Sometimes we also put designs on our blog to attract more readers but if we use those images and designs without permission it is also considered as plagiarism.

“If you’re desperate to use something really fantastic that you’ve seen elsewhere, you can always email the creator and ask if the image is available for use and if there are conditions to this”--- JESSICA MEDDOWS (JANUARY 31, 2014)

Ø  Trademark infringement

As bloggers it’s not recommended to use trademarks of other companies to support our topics in our blogs because we might mislead our readers. They might think that we are related to the owner of the trademark and we are representing them. If we do, we will be in a big trouble.

Ø  Defamation

“The action of damaging the good reputation of someone; slander or libel”-oxford dictionary

A false statement or a fact can also be an element of defamation, but if you are just sharing your own opinion it will not be considered as Defamatory as long as you have stated clearly that it’s just your own opinion.

If we publish untrue information about anyone or anything that could negatively affect them. If we don’t have a proof about the subject that we want to publish, we better not publish it at all or else we will be facing a big trouble which is called Libel.

Dare to Change!!!

Before I was thinking that Development Communication is only for those people who desire to become news Anchors, Journalists or editors so, I was thinking-twice whether I would enroll or not. Since I have decided to enroll, I've realized that Development communication would definitely change your views in life.

Honestly, I really want to be hired in a government agency as a public relations officer. This career field aims to gain understanding and support for clients, as well as, to influence opinion and behavior, it will also help me understand the uses of all forms of media and communication to build and sustain good relationships between the employing organization and its clients. I think development Communication would really help me in achieving my goal, and with this course I would be able to improve the key skills that a public relations officer must possess. I would know how to transfer information correctly, build a development plan for communication and build trust with other people; I would also know how to apply different development communication theories. I chose this course because I believe that I can develop my skills and abilities in communication. This course will help me to become an effective public relations officer in the future.