Friday, June 06, 2008 Arinday: Pass the education reform bill, please... By G.H. Arinday Jr. Sunfare
IT IS now very difficult for us to revive the spirit and strength that animated our grandparents who started their grade school education with the morally-driven first grade textbook-"The Little Red Hen."
In a nutshell, the story was about the hen calling for other animals like the pig, cat, dog and other domesticated pets to help her plant the rice, but the poor fowl's request was conveniently rejected until harvest time. But when the hen announced the baking of the cake out of rice flour, there was a rush to the table by all of the pets to partake the bread when the hen announced as to who liked to eat the cake.
Such simple story of industry, indolence and opportunism has had its patent embedded in the minds of our elders so much so that the generation that followed was awed by the efficiency and quality of their language, let alone their demeanor even among those who finished only the seventh grade.
Indeed, those were the days when no digressive and divisive political chicanery and unintelligent ideological espousal wrought havoc on the educational system.
The post martial law era showed the system in shambles and the cry for quality education began to rent the air until today when education has become an interesting enterprise with so many disciplines seemingly reticulated and designed without any incubi of insight. So we have graduates like square pegs in round holes.
Education, which is one of the priorities of the State, appears to be secondary to most lawmakers-their primary concern is their image building and dabbling on popular issues to project themselves beautifully before the adoring public.
Now waiting for serious deliberation with only a few days left before the congressional sessions end is the bill sponsored by Senator Mar Roxas entitled the "Omnibus Education Reform Act of 2008."
While the bleeding hearts in both chambers of Congress are always proclaiming their complete adherence to qualitative and quantitative results of educational programs, the budget for such undertaking is a drop in a bucket with only three percent of the Gross National Product (GNP) and six percent below the global standard!
Among the reforms suggested in the bill is the increase of the number of years in basic education from10 to 12 years, conformably with the progressive standards in democratic countries.
While this proposal is unquestionably beneficial to the diligent students, it is certain that some parents who consider their children as future "working machines" to meet their caprices would likely oppose with anemic reasons that having such additional years in the academic curriculum would be just additional expenses.
To put it in a manner that of a sloth would do, the shorter the course is better for the family. Let the future takes care of its own, they would rationalize.
To assure the qualitative knowledge of the grader, the Roxas bill provides for the imposition of performance standard through diagnostic tests at the "end of Grades III and VI and to identify students who will need special learning as they proceed to the next grade." It sounds fine but it also demands professional competence.
Emphasis in English, Science and Math is of course the standard requirements to achieve wholistic instructions. The balancing scale of science and technology in relation to humanities in the tertiary education is another problem area.
The system, which provides for a compulsory "pre-school education year," is idealistic. But the biggest obstacle to the reform program is the unduly political interference which even at present still obtains when the local tin pot dictators would interfere in the appointment of "para teachers" temporary but holding full-load academic position and paid with pittance.
Experience-wise, noble intentions are often derogated by unwarranted political interference by nitwits holding power.
The education reform bill must be treated as a non-partisan measure if quality education is really desired.
Verily, in extending the range of education, character-building shall also be enhanced. While the Roxas bill is not the panacea to what ails our educational system, it could hopefully be the start of the renaissance in this politically-tortured land.
Mr. Palengke, err... Lawmaker, how about "educate the educators" or "teach the teacher" mechanics?
