New School

In barely a month’s time, we’ll be bidding our sour goodbye to summer, and it’s back to hitting the books once again. Some of you could already be picturing the perfect backpack, flashiest pen cases, roomiest lunchboxes, or most fashion-forward take on the mandatory school shoes. Just as natural as the bargain-hunter gene inflicted into our respective DNAs, we’re starting to become the fill of every back-to-school sale this early. Little did you know, a different back-to-school sale is brewing up, and this time, it has nothing to do with pad papers.

May I introduce to you the BEC (or the Basic Education Curriculum), the newest program-revamp from the Department of Education. It features a whooping 40% off your accustomed curriculum set, a buy-one-take-five package on one subject, and a high-"value" free-gift for every course period. Confused? Let me explain.

Every 10 years or so, given the proper reasons, the Education Department undergoes major curricular reform. It has been more than a decade since its last revamp and the DECS thinks that the old curriculum is overcrowded, which results in low mastery of skills and less learning concepts taken up. That is why, though the country has a high rate of adult basic literacy rate (which is approximately 94.6%), they are seeing a need to promote functional literacy to some 18,000 students.

Functional literacy includes speaking, listening, reading, writing, and thinking in the languages of everyday life. We have our local language (Filipino), the global language (English), the mathematical and logical language (Math), and the language of technology (Science). With this in mind, the DECS made these the first four key learning areas, otherwise known as tool subjects.

Sure, those subjects are exactly the ones you took up last year, so where’s the change? Here is the bombshell, guys. Remember the time when you had that cross-stitch project in Home Economics, that recital in Music Class, or that leg cramp you got during your PE period? Or that F in an Araling Panlipunan exam? Well, those moments might never come haunting you again—or at least not as much. In this new curriculum, these punishing subjects comprise what is now a single subject called, the Makabayan.

Dubbed as the "laboratory of life," the Makabayan aims to make patriots out of apathetic students, without dwelling too much on the tried and tested History. You’ll have a dose of economics, social and civic studies, Indigenous Arts and crafts, local music, dance and games, just the same.

And just what happened to the subject that makes you a little ethical than usual? Well, those who adore the "po-and-opo" system would be glad to know that Values Education is still around, though not a solitary subject anymore, but is included in all five subject areas—and hopefully, this time around, it would be more efficient.

That was basically the change in this so called "Millennium Curriculum". What was once your seven or eight subject overload is cut to five. Cool, shorter study skeds, right? Wrong! The four basic subjects (Filipino, English, Science, and Math) will have a one-hour slot everyday while your daily dose of Makabayan takes up two and a half hours. Sum it up plus recess and lunch and it would roughly be seven hours of school time, just like what you had last school year.

But that’ll be such a bore just the same way, you say. But then again, the BEC really wants to lower down the bore factor of school. It wants every subject to be integrated, so your Math lesson could just be the geometric perimeter of the country or your English homework could be the history of the Pythagorean theory. For thorough learning, all the subjects become interrelated to be sure nothing is overlooked. Also, the mode of teaching becomes more interactive, so don’t be surprised if you’ll be using your e-mail to pass in your seatwork or your teacher uses a magazine to prove her point.

Also, the BEC would also boost up the early graders (Grades 1-3) on literacy, such as reading and writing functions and produce newer Math focus in the secondary level. That could mean that you’d dabble in on some Shakespeare as early as second grade, passing algebra before you graduate grade school and study advanced calculus on your first year. It could mean more advanced yet easier learning for students.

In the curriculum, less subjects don’t mean less teachers, so teachers could just take a breather. Secretary Raul Roco made it clear that no teacher would lose her job. She’d just be more equipped. A generalized teaching course could be well in the way, and Internet low-downs could just be in the works. So it’s smarter, better, and (thank God) more modern teachers.

With all that, it seems that everything is good. There will be less workload, more quality study time, less homework (hopefully), and more fun and creative ways of learning. As for budget-conscious parents, this may mean fewer books. But then, why are there a lot of people who think that it’s such a sore deal?

Just as this article is starting to perplex you, the main concern of these anti-BEC folks is confusion. With five or more subjects squeezed in into one class, how would the students know what to focus on? And the whole integration part makes it all worse.

Another thing that they don’t agree on is the fact that social studies is mixed in with minor subjects. To them, it seems more like a destruction of patriotic values than a nationalistic boost-up. "It is an insult when we are giving English, a language not even our own, more importance than the study of our country and its society," notes one concerned parent.

And yet some are really concerned with values. They hate the fact that DECS transformed Values Education into a side show of other subjects, which, according to them, could be a reason for producing a more arrogant and unethical generation. For them, it is clear evidence that the DECS value academics more than ethics.

While their red-letter placards are restlessly lobbying in the entrance of the DECS, there is actually little, if any, that they could do to stop it. The new curriculum would be in full swing starting this June. But the question is up to you, grade school and high school students: Are you sold-in or bought-out?