The need to be at par with other countries in terms of educational service – in order for Filipino graduates to be acknowledged overseas – has pushed the Philippine government into the decision of implementing the K-12 Curriculum despite the clamor of some members of the Filipino academe to give it more time.
We are now on our first year of K-12, but are we really ready for the change?
We are talking about a lot of grade-10 completers all over the country who are supposed to already be housed in colleges and universities but were forced to be accomodated in only a few existing institutions for High School. The buildings, the facilities, the resources that were only initially targeted toward JHS were shared by the sudden surge of Senior High School students; so many students to so few schools offering SHS.
The teaching staff is suspected to be underprepared and we as a nation are facing the accusation of instruction without sufficient knowledge of the lesson proper. Furthermore, according to Professional Teachers already deployed in the Public School teaching field, some SHS teachers that were hired were non-board passers, some even lacking the requirement of Education Units to uphold the mastery needed for the teaching profession.
The books, others would furthermore claim, are insufficient, and for public schools these books are almost non-existent. Those who have proprietorship of these learning materials are very minimal, and the contents are seemingly not as precise as books for Junior High School.
Some people would also look at the curriculum itself, the subjects offered, pointing at the fact that senior high school subjects are all pointing at the wrong direction. Others would say that it is the same; upon graduation, some of the SHS completers would still be underage and would therefore not be able to get employed readily and would have to wait.
It is true; the sudden implementation of the curriculum without having enough preparations provided a shock to the academe as they fear of the quality of education being compromised. But teachers are teachers. At most, even without the things needed to fully function as a teacher promoting holistic growth, they, we, will find ways.
While others are busy pointing at the mistakes and the shortcomings of the educational program implemented as a way to match the standards set by most countries all over the world, the Senior High School Teachers are busy making things work, getting ends to meet, and dealing with the problems at hand, meeting halfway with the Department of Education in putting up optimum efforts.
There are limited books, it may be true, but through the collaboration of a lot of professionals, the shortage is sufficed. Teachers would pore over articles and a sea of resources they could find in the internet for hours every night to cover for lessons that need more attention.
The facilities are lacking, but what good would it be to complain over it? Teachers and Principals in schools settle for makeshift tables, makeshift laboratories, and makeshift rooms which could cater to the education of the students. SHS enrolless came in large torrents, and despite the preparations of schools to accept these new students, the gravity of the new program was still difficult to handle. Nevertheless, the resourcefulness of teachers surfaced, and three quarters in this school year went by peacefully and with minimal problems.
There may be shortcomings in terms of what we can do as a nation, but as teachers, what we can really do is what it takes to make the year fruitful and successful… to the best of everyone’s abilities.
By: Alyssa Marie T. Villarta
