13/05/2026
Education Attained, Manners Declined?
Knowledge without character is a double-edged sword. While it can pave a path towards progress, it can just as easily cut through the virtues of humanity if wielded by the wrong hands.
Recently, a disheartening issue regarding the steady decline of students’ good manners has emerged after the school administration of Malvar Senior High School (MSHS) utilized Artificial Intelligence (AI) on a public post in the MSHS official page, only to have so-called "smart" students turn the platform into a digital punching bag. Rather than engaging with the institution's elevating tool with respect, individuals used their wit to criticize and dismantle the school’s digital presence.
Walk into any modern home and you will find walls lined with medals and shelves heavy with trophies. Today’s generation often ignores the mandate of DepEd Order No. 36, s. 2016, which explicitly states that awards should promote holistic development and personal discipline among students. We are obligated to nurture our very own intellectual property, yet our manners become secondary. As these honors are proudly displayed, one fact remains—students have attained academic excellence, but their character foundations are crumbling.
This is not a failure of students alone; it is a failure of the environment that society has built for them. With the country’s frantic search to enhance the Philippine education system after ranking 77th out of 81 countries in reading comprehension, science, and math, we have traded the development of a human being for the development of our education. Have we forgotten that intelligence without empathy or respect is simply another way to be cruel?
Some may argue that these students are simply exercising their critical thinking skills or holding the administration accountable for using AI. There is a fine line, however, between valid critique and malicious mockery. While the school’s use of AI may be debatable, the response reveals a deeper rot; our current education system, somehow, signals to our youth that high grades hide a multitude of character flaws, suggesting that as long as they are smart, they are exempted from the rules of basic respect and the code of ethics expected of any civilized community.
At last, we must shift our focus from creating wise critics to nurturing conscientious students. School administrations and parents alike must stop overlooking intelligence as a sign of wit and start demanding a return to the core values of the K-12 character education. We need to prioritize empathy as much as we do to education. Let us look past the medals and re-evaluate students, for if we continue to prize the display of honors over the preservation of our manners, we will find ourselves stuck in a world that is incredibly smart, yet utterly soulless.
//anonymous
//Editorial
