As time passed by, the educational system in our country are continue to change. In the past years we have BEC and RBEC Curriculum and now we are introducing the K TO 12 Basic Curriculum Program. Prior to the implementation of the K 12 curriculum guide, the Philippines was one of only three countries in the world and the only one in Asia that still had only 10 years in basic education(http://www.deped.gov.ph/k-to-12/faq) . This has always been seen as a disadvantage for our students who are competing in an increasingly global job market. The longer educational cycle of the K 12 curriculum is seen as critical in giving Filipino students a higher quality of education. The K to 12 curriculum is standards- and competence-based. It is inclusive and built around the needs of the learners and the community. It requires all Filipino students to have one year of Kindergarten, six years of elementary, four years of junior high school ( grades 7 to 10) and two years of senior high school ( grades 11 to 12). The adaptation of the K 12 curriculum guide means that students will graduate a bit older compared to those who graduated under the 10-year education cycle.

But still, we heard some negative comments regarding this program. The government encourages parents to think the positive side of the K TO 12 Curriculum, the benefits of this to the students and not having two extra years of high school. Graduates of the new educational system will be fully equipped and globally competitive. And to lessen our burden we need to embrace this program. Change is never easy, especially when it comes to implementation of new educational system curriculum, it consume a lot of time in terms of preparation of materials , references and training for teachers as well but it guaranteed quality education. As teacher we should encourage our learners and parents to love what we have now and share the learning that we got from it. There are some best practices in implementing K-12

      Organized curriculum content, well defined skills and tools.

      Tracking student progress / adequate reporting tools.

      Well trained instructor in delivering courses.

      Using multiple strategies in terms of quality interaction. (Learning by doing, peer teaching, collaborative work, using real objects).

      Using Mother Tongue as medium of instruction from kindergarten to grade 3.

      Considering students multiple intelligence and learning styles (spatial, linguistics, logical, spiritual etc.).

      Integration of ICT in teaching contents of different disciplines under the K-12 Program.

      Providing student with enough training / clear expectations around responsibilities to take course.

      Offering rigorous and engaging curriculum.

      Providing various cooperative learning structures to ensure active and optimum learning.

By: Rosalee Joy R. Maaño