ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY OR NOT?

The use of plastic nowadays is inevitable. Specially, plastic bags. From home to market, mall and restaurants, even it is mandated by the government of not using plastic bags; you can still see plastic bags everywhere. That’s why it is reiterating the banning of plastic bag use to many local government unit(LGU) as implementers. Since plastic bags are not degradable, meaning they cannot be consume by microorganisms and will only remain in the external environment. However, the alternative to these so-called plastic bags are made from paper like paper bags and paper cups for beverages. Now the question is, which is more costly when it comes to production? Paper or plastic?

According to Bekaze of (http://hubpages.com/politics/Wrong-Perception-aboutPlastic-Bag) global plastic production in year 2006 is about 245 million tones. (Plastic Europe Market Research Group, 2007)

Is there any significant oil-saving by banning plastic bags? Most plastic production uses oil as raw materials. Oil is non renewable. But oil is mostly used for fuel (50%), heating (32%), electricity (8%), chemicals (10%). Global oil consumption for plastic production is about 5%.

Only five percent of oil consumption goes to plastic production! From overall plastic production! That means five percent of global oil consumption (= 5% of 245 million tones used oil) goes for plastic packaging for food/drink, plastic packaging for transportation, plastic for electronic component, plastic for furniture, plastic for housing, plastic for tire production, etc. And how many percent of this 5% accounts for plastic bags? ** Source: Leben und Umwelt mit Kunstoffen, BASF* The answer is: less than 2% of total global oil consumption! On the other hand, paper production is one of the most polluting industries since it involves lots of chemicals and uses relatively a lot of water and energy. Recycling paper needs also a lot of energy and chemicals because old papers have to be cleaned, de-ink, etc. Recycled papers need usually 60-80% paper waste, and the rest would be new materials. New materials in this case are often virgin pulp, originally from tree.

So what do you think now? Are you for plastic bags or paper bags? Nevertheless, it only depends upon as users of these materials, on how are we going to dispose them and if necessary, reuse and recycle them.

— oOo— The author is SST I at Madapdap Resettlement High School

Classroom management across the country, in line with the K-12 program, now involves students being engaged in an activity - and may involve technology.

The key element in classroom management is to ensure that students are actively participating in the learning process, not simply receiving it.

How can teachers incorporate technology in classroom management, without ruining the process? Educators should ask themselves how students can benefit from this, how they will grow in their learning, and how they can achieve their goals.

Teachers should design a project or lesson that would answer these questions. Technology should always support and reinforce the learning that is taking place. The key is to make sure that the way you use technology is organized.

Educators should also ensure that students are actively learning or creating to meet certain goals or objectives.

The next step is to keep it simple. It should be something that would best be used by students and teachers. Find something that would meet the needs of students, your curriculum standards, and your goals.

Technology should not create distractions and should be used for a purpose. Make sure that it aligns with the learning goals which would help students reach those goals. When balanced well, students can stay focused and move toward their ultimate goal.

— oOo— The author is Principal II of Dolores Elementary School