We Filipinos tend to settle for the mediocre; this is best exemplified by the phrase “Pwede na yan” (that would be Ok). This characteristic was again reinforced when I sat down as a member of the panel that checked on software projects of several students.

When I am about to begin expressing my sadness over the mediocrity of a project, I ask the students to sing the first two lines of that James Ingram staple, Just Once:

I did my best,
But I guess my best wasn’t good enough

And after singing, their eyesights go to the floor. I have made my point.

Then I begin my comments, from asking probing questions to exposing false arguments and glaring mistakes. I appear angry, but deep inside I feel so frustrated and sad for them. For most of them did good software projects, but they tend to do shortcuts, thus making the entire process suspect. They had the right idea, but they always fail to express them. Even if you ask them leading questions, you’ll get unsatisfying answers. Obviously, they did not prepare well; some of them crammed (who didn’t, anyway?).

One time I asked a student why did they made the project; the answer didn’t shocked me. He said that he made the project to comply with the requirements for graduation. I always ask that question; never in four years being in the academe that I have heard a student answered “To excel”.

To excel. To do your best. When I was a teacher, I never fail to exhort my students to do well, for that value is highly prized in the workplace, and it will do you wonders. I tell them to never settle for 100%; if they think they have reached 100%, I tell them to aim for 101%. I tried to instill in them the passion for never settling for anything less than what their talents and skills can achieve. I always feel heartbroken to see a student fail to realize the potentials that he has.

The culture of mediocrity that hovers over us is palpable. We are always criticized for settling for the mediocre, from the work that we turn in to the leaders that we elect. We abhor quality audits and quality monitoring for it exposes our weaknesses, our laziness, our mediocrity syndrome. We enjoy watching love stories being repeated in variation ad nauseam in the television. The evidence is there, loads of them.

I have a theory why we had turned out this way. I think Jose Rizal had already touched on this issue. I think it was because we don’t live in a society that values merit over relationships. We had all have experienced, in one way or another, how a deserving person was bypassed for promotion because that person had not enough connections. We had seen a student self-destructed because his performance was not recognized, in contrast to what happened to the teacher’s pet. Why aspire for the best when it will not be rewarded anyway?

No wonder we are a society of mediocrity.

It is time we end this senselessness. It’s time we value merit as we value relationships. It’s time we tell our students that effort is not enough. It’s time to tell our leaders that we want transparency and good government. It’s time that we ask our actors to be actors and not hearthrobs. It’s time that we tell ourselves “Di na pwede ang pwede na” (It’s not OK to settle for less).

When was the last time you worked on something and did the best that you can? Isn’t it about time to do so again?