The threat of a week-long transport strike just fizzled out in two days after the government and the transport groups agreed to continue consultations regarding the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.
On Day 1 of the “tigil pasada” a Twitter post by a certain Kara Taggaoa caught netizens attention. Captioned “Hello, DepEd. Kaya nyo ba ‘to (Can you beat this)? #NoToJeepneyPhaseout”, it shows two photos of very young children, not even of grade school age, coloring different sketches of traditional jeepney images while some are lettering style of the same hashtag.
It can be told that while the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide or PISTON was mustering support from jeepney drivers to make commuters suffer from the lack of jeepneys plying Metro Manila’s roads, other sympathetic groups were mobilizing even innocent minds, and twisting their little hands for their cause.
The children’s arms are evidently short, not enough to reach the earlobe on the other side — a common Filipino practice to gauge if a child is below seven years old and can be enrolled in Grade 1.
While it is true that coloring pages help children learn their colors, inspire their artistic creativity, and sharpen motor skills, the children’s pure ease stands in stark contrast to the female activity assistant who is helping them with their pro-jeepney phase-out activity.
In a rapidly changing world, molding young minds with the right mix of skills to thrive is critically challenging.
The appalling Twitter post calls for the need to highlight the negative impacts of indoctrinating children or minors on any ideology, such as the recent transport strike that Vice President Sara Duterte herself described as communist-inspired.
The process of indoctrination involves forcibly or unduly influencing children to adopt certain beliefs or ideologies without questioning them or considering alternative perspectives.
While some parents may believe that indoctrinating their children is a way of instilling moral values, such practices can be harmful to the child’s cognitive and emotional development.
It is crucial to recognize that children have unique experiences and discoveries that shape their perceptions of the world. As they grow, children should be left alone to explore and form their opinions based on their observations and interactions with the environment around them.
This way, they can develop critical thinking skills, which are essential for analyzing complex issues and making informed decisions when they become young adults.
The process of indoctrination can hinder children’s ability to develop critical thinking skills. Just like children recruited into communist front organizations, who are taught to accept certain beliefs or ideologies without questioning them, and become less likely to evaluate the validity of these ideas.
This can lead to blind acceptance of beliefs that may be harmful or contradictory to the child’s best interests. They may fail to question the negative aspects including disregard for individual freedoms and human rights.
Historically, many communist countries, such as the Soviet Union and China, have been accused of indoctrinating children who were taught to accept communism as the only legitimate political ideology.
The consequences have been devastating, as they resulted in the suppression of individual freedoms and the violation of human rights.
In the Philippines and Southeast Asia, the practice of indoctrinating children with communist ideologies has been a significant concern. The Communist Party of the Philippines has been accused of indoctrinating children through its various fronts in the education and social sectors leading to the radicalization of young children, who are often unable to fully understand the implications of their beliefs.
When children are forced to accept certain beliefs or ideologies without alternative perspectives, they may feel conflicted or anxious. They may also struggle with issues such as cognitive dissonance, where they hold two conflicting beliefs simultaneously.
“Starting them young” is subjective. They must be molded carefully because anything less than a piece of sculpture is impermissible.
Who knows how chaotic our world may be in the future?