Give new education plan a chance

Maybe it is normal to expect resistance to change, any kind of change, more so if it affects such tradition-bound folks like those in our education sector. But there is something obviously wrong with the way we are educating our youth. We are falling behind in proficiency tests compared with our regional neighbors. We have been graduating students who can hardly express themselves or do basic math.

There is no doubt that we have to take steps to reform our educational system or we will surely be left even further behind in our economic development. The introduction of this new curriculum that seeks to upgrade the ability of our youth in mathematics and in reading and writing English is a step in the right direction. It is a small step but a welcome and necessary one. We have to thank our lucky stars that we have someone like Education Secretary Raul Roco to lead this change.

It isn't as if the changes being introduced this school year haven't been studied. We have very competent experts in education and they have studied this change for many years now. The problem is political will. Until Secretary Roco came along, the education department didn't have a leader who was willing to risk the political fallout arising from expected opposition to change.

Some of the objections are understandable. Teachers of many of the subjects that are being lumped together in a new subject called Makabayan are afraid of losing their jobs. Assurances have been given that this is not the case and this assurance should settle this fear. As for the lack of adequate training for the teachers, I imagine that training the teachers is a never ending concern of the education department, anyway.

Getting started in instituting reforms in the education system can no longer be delayed. There was a time when our educational system was the envy of our neighbors. But due to inadequate resources, graft and corruption in the education bureaucracy and the penchant of lawmakers to overload the system with new subjects, we are no longer adequately teaching our students what they need to survive.

The digital world of information technology requires solid grounding in mathematics. English has become the international language so that even China is working double time to make sure that there are enough Chinese who are proficient in the language. On the other hand, we are losing our proficiency in English and, with that, an important advantage in this globalized world.

I say, give the new curriculum a chance to get started. I imagine it can and will be improved as we go on. Think of the bigger picture and don't let personal fears of inadequacies cloud attitudes towards this landmark undertaking. Given that we are leaving our future generations a gargantuan public debt level, a good education is the only way by which they can climb out of the hole we dug for them.

Hopefully, Malacañang is not tempted to play short term politics on this issue, specially as the 2004 fever heats up. Secretary Roco needs all the help he can muster to launch this program and get us started on the right direction.

Model soldiers

Two months ago, I did something uncharacteristic of me. I accepted an invitation from the Metrobank Foundation and the Rotary Club of Makati to be a judge in the annual search for outstanding soldiers. Maybe I couldn't say no to a nephew who is working with the Foundation. I was also curious to find out if the concept of outstanding soldiers isn't an oxymoron.

I didn't realize being a judge in this contest was hard work. After the first meeting, I went home with an arm-breaking bundle of folders containing the records of the nominees. I spent a couple of weekends going through them and together with the rest of the judges, an afternoon to late evening interviewing the nominees for the top award of career achievement.

I have some questions on the process of selecting the finalists that we judged but, on the whole, I found the experience educational. I am a civilian with a most skeptical view of the military, which explains how I barely passed my ROTC when I was in college. The martial law experience did not help improve the military's image, as far as I was concerned. In more recent times, the manner by which Angie Reyes, as then AFP Chief, treated Admiral Wong confirmed my worse bias against the military.

But the experience as a judge in this outstanding soldier contest, at the very least, made me think of the military in a whole new light. I found many more Admiral Wongs among the nominees for career achievement award. These are officers and enlisted men who know right from wrong and are doing their share in polishing the AFP as an institution. I am almost sure that if placed in a situation similar to that faced by Admiral Wong, these officers and men will act as he did.

I am most impressed by those young Air Force officers whose intelligence and training could earn them a more comfortable life in the private sector, but still continue to serve in the military. When asked why, one of them said matter of factly that he still has a lot to contribute towards improving the AFP. The older candidate from the Navy, on the other hand, has not lost his idealism even as he nears retirement. I was in fact more disappointed with the youngest candidate, an instructor at the PMA, for being less willing to risk his career to fight for internal reforms compared to the older candidates.

Most significant however, is the genuine expression of allegiance to civilian authority. It was obvious in their body language that they truly believed the constitutional definition of AFP's role. A little surprising for me is their resignation to the reality that this country cannot afford to buy them the fancy equipment being dreamed of under the modernization program.

In fact, the air force officers wondered if getting fighter jets was the thing to do. Helicopters would be more useful and would not cost as much. The navy officer batted for more modern vessels and rightly so for this archipelagic country but he has done his share in making do with the patched up fleet we have today.

The discipline and dedication of the enlisted men we interviewed was also heartwarming. It was good to talk to those who had been in the line of fire in Mindanao. At the end of the day, we echoed the proposal of Msgr. Nico, one of the judges that all of the finalists be given an award because they are all winners.

If the officers we interviewed are representative of the AFP officer corps, I am convinced that we now have some of the best trained, best educated and best motivated group of leaders in the country today. If they shed their uniforms and run for public office, they would outshine many of our political leaders today. It would also do the nation well to elect them. That's how good I think they are. Now I wonder how truly representative they are, but that's because of my innate bias against anything military. It will take more than a few outstanding soldiers to change that.

Recession proof business

Dr. Ernie E. has something for the times.

A guy walks out of a house of ill repute and sits down on a park bench, deep in thought.

"Man!" he says to himself. "What a business! They’ve got it. They sell it. And they’ve still got it!"

(Boo Chanco's e-mail address is [email protected])