During the House basic education committee hearing last May 28, the Department of Education (DepEd) advised removing Ethics, along with two other general education (GE) courses, from the college program and having it just taught in the Good Manners and Right Conduct class of the “Strengthened Senior High School (SHS) Curriculum,” further citing that such is already part of junior HS under Values Education.

This, DepEd justified, would avoid redundancies, help reduce college units, and give more focus on practical skills development to make students more job-ready.

In contrast, the Ateneo de Manila University Department of Philosophy said that Ethics helps students “develop...the capacity to envision a range of experiences, perspectives, and outcomes in the wake of one’s actions,” while the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman argued that “weak critical thinking…and limited moral discernment” may result from, or be more prevalent, if the plan pushes through.

I have personal experiences and viral social media issues that erupted recently that showed that ethics is a lesson that needs to be taught—adeptly, continuously, independently—at all academic levels, even beyond.

Just 10 months ago, for example, the issue of the legal and ethical responsibility of keeping one’s right to privacy, particularly in moments of extreme medical sensitivity, was dissected in social media and mainstream news.

Imagine you were delivered the news of your loved one’s passing, or even his brush with death, and then you see a video clip of his cardiac monitor—flatlining—being used for a student’s personal social-media posting.

How would you feel when you realize that your desperation was used as just a tool to garner social media reaction? More so by a person whose sole attention should be in giving care instead of getting fanfare? Would you not feel insulted? Hurt? Outraged?

The National Privacy Commission states that if the video does not include identifying details about a person, disclosing it may not fall under the scope of the Data Privacy Act of 2012. But the commission also acknowledged its potential risk to individuals’ rights and freedoms, especially for patients and their families.

I expect it is taught that medical students should prioritize patients in their most vulnerable situations, making them feel safe and having them trust him or her with their lives. But can you blame them if they cannot? If they do not trust someone who will sacrifice their right to privacy at that helpless moment for social media views?

I am not yet in college and will only be in 11th grade, but during my two years with “The Licerians,” we have already conducted teleconference interviews with high-ranking professionals from various fields and subspecialties, including a sports psychologist, a specialist nurse in the UK, a public school district supervisor, and a philosophy division head at a UP campus. My fellow campus journalists and I learned a lot from experts in their fields who have the necessary background to support their knowledge.

I would like to continue learning.

I’d like to learn from those equipped with experience and expertise to teach ethics in an Ethics class as much as I was taught by someone with vast knowledge and reliable competency in journalism to be a skilled news writer, good editor, and a responsible journalist. But this won’t happen if DepEd thinks of ethics and other GE subjects as mere high school lessons and college units.

The DepEd should remember that schools are where students learn many lessons that stay for life, from ABCs, equations in math, and formulae in physics up to the importance—and practice—of integrity, respect, and ethics.

A school is not just a place to learn numeracy, scientific, and literacy skills; a school is a sharpener of character and a molder of morals.

A dedicated Ethics class, with lessons and analysis discussed once we are more mature with more experiences of life, is better than it being just small parts in high school classes taught by those whose specialty is in a different subject or field.