Are we there yet?

Now the mainstream media in Manila seems to be recognizing the value of blogging in education. 3 general posts so far. Slowly... Steadily ... I hope more Web 0.5 teachers take notice.

Classroom Shortage?

"Saying that the classroom shortage controversy is symptomatic of the (Philippine) education sector’s dire lack of budgetary support, Sen. Mar Roxas said the first step towards having a permanent solution is recognizing thedimensions of the real problem. 'The confusion and disagreement on the true state of the country’s classroom shortage bring to the fore the one thing we all need to recognize: that the education sector,particularly basic education requirements which include classrooms, lack not only money but also the political will to look for and devote money for education,' Roxas said."

That was a quote from his unofficial blog.

Now for my 2 cents. Does it perpetually have to be a question of the number of classrooms, as "old media-influenced" thinking would have it?

I'd like to think that the growing number of internet cafes are the "new classrooms" Why not incentivize I-cafe owners for devoting a portion of their time/space operations to education, I mean curricullarly structured learning? And while they are at it, why not incentivize bloggers who devote part of their time teaching in these "new classrooms"? I'd like to call that "social capital" meets "private capital".