Thread by @sejoalzir

REFORMING BASIC EDUCATION

Let me suggest first the structure:

Preschool - 2 years (Nursery-Kindergarten)
Elementary School - 6 years (Grade 1-6)
Middle School - 2 years (Grade 7-8)
High School - 4 years (1st-4th year)

Each structural level should have unique objectives.

Pre-school should be about playing while learning, doing arts/crafts, shaping personality/character, instilling values/manners, using senses to discover things, observing basic maths and sciences in the environment, and writing and reading letters and numbers, the barest minimum.

The first half of elementary should be focused on these areas:

Writing and speaking
Reading and comprehension
Arts and recreation
Reasoning and basic science
Arithmetic and problem solving
Right conduct and civic education

Use English, Filipino and mother tongue and technology.

The last three years should be formalized in the form of subjects: language, math, science, social science, art, values, sports and technology. These should be integrated: critical thinking, logical reasoning, reading comprehension, informative speaking and observational writing.

Middle school is the continuation of the last three years of elementary. It should be the crucial period in the Philippine basic educational system. The performance of students in Grade 8 will determine if they will go to the academic stream or vocational stream in high schools.

All high schools in the Philippines should offer two streams: academic and vocational. The academic stream prepares students for colleges and universities, while the vocational stream prepares non-academically inclined students for vocation and trade training centers like TESDA.

Both academic and vocational high school students will have the same general subjects but different electives. Perhaps the electives of academic students are Statistics, Journalism and Astronomy. The electives of vocational students are Cosmetology, Electronics and Culinary Arts.

These objectives should still be included in high school education: reading comprehension, logical reasoning, critical thinking, informative speaking, and observational writing. Basic data analysis and research methods should be introduced. Filipino and English should be used.

There should be a lot of different magnet high schools in the country. PSHS is not enough. Now that we know Pisay is a success, it should be replicated. I suggest two kinds of STEM high schools: science and math high schools like Pisay and engineering and technology high schools.

Pisay is under DOST, and there should be a regional engineering and technology high school system, in which the basics of computer science, robotics engineering, electronics and communication technology are taught, under the Department of Information and Communications Technology

All LGU's in Philippine cities should be required to establish science high schools comparable to Pisay. The DepEd regional science high schools should be turned into district engineering and technology high schools with the help of district representatives who love pork barrel.

There should be sports high schools in every city or province. The best in elementary sports should go there. Sports training dominates their education. The best graduates should be prepared for the national teams. This should be under the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs.

We also need art schools. The one in Makiling is not enough. That should be just for Southern Luzon. Such high schools should be established in NCR, Baguio, Dumaguete, and Iligan. The curriculum covers visual arts, media arts, design, theater, music, dance, creative writing, etc.

The art high school system should be run by the Department of Culture, to which all art, language, design, literary, cultural, and historical agencies under the Office of the President will be transferred. Stop overworking the president who has no interest in arts and culture.

That department should also establish three cultural high schools that will educate the best of Lumad, Netibo, and Katutubo students in Mindanao, Visayas, and Luzon. IP Muslims should be included in the program. This will prepare IP students to become future movers and shakers.

Our senators have been wasting funds on projects that can be handled by cabinet departments. They should be asked instead to subsidize private boarding schools for the children of rich and poor politicians. Free tuition for poor students. It's time to educate the political class.

Ateneo, La Salle and other top private schools should be encouraged to establish five boarding high schools in NCR, Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Enough with the Pulongs and the Jinggoys. We need educated politicians, those who are trained early to lead.

Lastly, DSWD should coordinate with DepEd to establish a basic special education system for students with disabilities--from pre-school to high school. It should also establish colleges (academic stream students) and trade schools (vocational stream students) in every region.

There have been deaf, mute, and blind people who have changed the course of the history of knowledge. We should not waste the natural talents and inborn minds of Filipino students with disabilities. They skip college because there are no classes that use sign language or braille.

As a Filipino who knows how it is in the Philippines, I am aware that this thread is an exercise in wishful thinking and futile writing. My sole aim is to show you how we can reform the basic education in the Philippines if only we have innovative, reformist, and smart leaders.

Done.