Each academic subject promises learners specific competencies that would surely help them make sense of the world they are engaged in. English equips them with the grammatical and communicative skills necessary in dealing with people. It provides them the edge on the opportunities that call for the use of speech. Going beyond the usual counting, measuring, and estimating, Mathematics drives learners to think critically, discover concepts, and explore extensions through reasoning. Science, without a doubt, offers the answers to queries we ask out of curiosity. It has managed to tickle the Einstein or Newton in learners.
If only the word “promising” could appropriately be associated to subjects, then Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) deserves it best.
The academe now lives in the age in which authentic learning is celebrated. Learning now goes outside the confines of the classroom.
The emergence of the K to 12 curriculum has reverberated in the ears of everyone and despite the multitude of controversies it has encountered, the prime movers of the educational wheel could not get away with the fact that the said curriculum has given rise to meaningful and lifelong learning, inculcating the areas of interest of the learners. K to 12 advocates on the principle that students learn best when they are actively involved.
And this is what TLE is up to.
Gone are the days when TLE is ignored and taken for granted. It is no longer acceptable to view it as just a minor subject for it has proved to be one of the vital avenues for the learners to become productive members of the workforce. With the present curriculum the Department of Education has implemented, the learners have come to realize the rewarding contributions the subject could bring to their success in the career they will have chosen to endeavor.
TLE has climbed its way up the educational arena, paralleling other courses that would earn the learners a huge chance to prepare themselves in the world of work. Provided that TLE takers master and acquire the skills and competencies of the course, they could go all directions: if they wish to land on a job in an industry or a company, then they can; if they want to be their own boss, then they can venture into small-scale business.
The name says it all. Technology runs the livelihood of people. Thus, TLE is a means of yielding productive ends.
Evidently, TLE has gone a long way in the journey of educational transformation. What once was an option is now the priority.
By: Jeremie P. Castillo | Balanga, Bataan
