A group of education workers expressed concern about the new curriculum for Kinder to Grade 10 noting that it will essentially weaken the sense of nationalism among learners in the primary years of schooling.
(MARK BALMORES / MANILA BULLETIN)
“ACT agrees that the development of foundational literacy skills should be ensured in the primary grades,” the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said.
However, the group pointed out that with proposed changes in the K to 10 curriculum, particularly from Kinder to Grade 3, the instilling of nationalism among young learners might be compromised.
ACT observed that the revised curriculum abolishes the Mother Tongue as a subject, merges Social Studies with Music-Arts-Physical Education-Health (MAPEH), and teaches English as a subject at an earlier time, from its current introduction in the third quarter to the first quarter of Grade 1.
“The proposed abolition of the Mother Tongue as a subject runs counter to this objective,” ACT Chairperson Vladimer Quetua said. He noted that the teaching of the Mother Tongue as a subject is "foundational in developing literacy skills as learners can learn to read and write the easiest with the language that they use and most understand.”
He added that Mother Tongue also “enhances the awareness and appreciation of learners of their cultural identity, and preserves and nurtures our own culture.”
With the proposed abolition of Mother Tongue as a subject, Quetua pointed out that the merging of Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) with MAPEH into Sibika, Sining at Kultura, Kasaysayan at Kagalingang Pangkatawan (SiKaP) “effectively cuts down teaching time for a very diverse set of subject areas that are essential in developing national and cultural identity, critical thinking, nationalism, as well as a healthy lifestyle.”
Quetua noted that giving “ample time to teaching social studies and MAPEH should not be seen as a hindrance, but as additional areas that can help develop reading, writing and arithmetic skills.”
On the other hand, Quetua said that the English language will be introduced at an earlier time.
Early in his term, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. Marcos he wants English to be taught in the earliest grades for Filipinos to “maintain their advantage as English-speaking people.”
For ACT, this step “messes up with the logical transitory framework of Mother Tongue as the first language, Filipino as the second language, and English as the third language in learning.”
Quetua alleged that the “real agenda behind this is not really for our learners to have a mastery of the vital lessons that hey have to learn, but to make them marketable to foreign employers.”
Meanwhile, Quetua pointed out that DepEd’s proposed revisions to the K to 12 curriculum “seem to veer education further away from addressing the learning crisis and correcting the problems” of the original K to 12 curriculum which have long “diluted the inculcation of nationalism with the abolition of the Philippine History subject in junior high school, and watering down of the contents of Araling Panlipunan and Filipino subjects.”
While ACT supported the decluttering of the current curriculum for it to enable learners to master foundational literacy skills, ACT said that this should be done by the curriculum prioritizing the “must-have” than the “nice-to-have” competencies.
“Mother Tongue should continue to be taught as a subject and the DepEd should rectify its errors in the problematic implementation of the Mother Tongue program,” Quetua said.
He added that all subject areas should be designed to incorporate the development of literacy skills. “More importantly, subjects that engrain nationalism and promotes national identity and culture should not be sacrificed to favor the English language,” Quetua said.
Moreover, ACT said that Philippine History as a dedicated subject in high school should be “restored” and the contents of Araling Panlipunan and Filipino subjects should be “strengthened.”
DepEd released the curriculum guide for K to 10 last week which is open for comments until May 3.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2023/4/29/dep-ed-releases-draft-of-k-to-10-curriculum-what-s-new-this-time
The Senior High School (SHS) or Grades 11 and 12 curriculum, on the other hand, is still undergoing review.