The Senior High School (SHS) Program was implemented beginning School Year 2016-2017 by the Department of Education (DepEd). The SHS is part of the streamlined Basic Education cycle of the Philippines known as the K to 12 program and it is expected to address the problems of the former system of education in the country. Graduates from the Junior High School get to choose their tracks of specialization before entering SHS. Among the tracks they can choose from are General Academic Strand (GAS), Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Accountancy and Business Management (ABM), Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) and Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE).
Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) geared towards the development of technological proficiency and is anchored on knowledge and information, entrepreneurial concepts, process and delivery, work values and like skills. This means the TLE that works is one that is built on adequate mastery of knowledge and information, skills and processes, acquisition of right work values and life skills; the TLE that is functional is one that equips students with skills for lifelong learning; TLE that is concerned only with mere definition of terms is meaningless and shallow; TLE that is focused on mastery of skills and processes without right work values is anemic and dangerous; and, TLE that is founded on the cognitive, behavioral or psychomotor and affective dimensions of human development. When teachers teach TLE, they teach facts, concepts, skills and values as a whole (Department of Education, 2014).
Student’s choice of TLE specialization begins in Grades 9. After having been exposed to an array of this course during the exploratory phase in the first two years, the student will be most benefited, if in Grades 10, 11, or 12 he/she continues with a TLE course in which he/she already has a COC or Certificate of Competency. In that way, he/she will get a National Certificate (NC) issued by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) faster.
By: MS. JULIE FE S. DE ALCA | TEACHER II | BNHS-SENIOR HS | BALANGA, BATAAN
