Comparing the 21st Century Education to the 20th Century Education
Posted by saicebrian on December 22, 2009
This video shows and explains the difference of the 2 Educational Perspectives, while we are already part of the 21st Century, our educational system sad to say is still heaven and earth from it. Perhaps some private educational institutions may be able to adopt to the 21st century education, still the bulk of our learning institutions which is dominated by our Public School System is way way behind.
The school is the microcosm of the society around it, for many years people from all walks of life have pondered on the root causes of the chronic corruption and disrespect for the rule of law in the country. We have seen people rising against regimes we thought have perpetuated this corruption only to be replaced by the same type of regime. Coup De tat from the ranks of the military and police such as the Oakwood are thought to be the solution to the endearing problem.
But i would beg to differ, i believe that the root cause of all our pressing problems as a nation starts from our educational system. We have inadequate support system and infrastructure for our teachers and students, the backlog of our classroom still hovers around 27,000 + , teachers are inadequately equip and trained with the new methods of teaching (actually this concepts are already around in the 80′s). I remember a principal of a national high school owned the school canteen and selling item exorbitantly, the teachers would require the students to sell items to the students such as ice candies or snacks, recently in one school i’ve been through, the teachers would come very late and leave the school as early as 2pm…you might ask what is the principal doing? well he/she is nowhere to find also…always on “official business”. The topics of the students at the end of the 3rd grading is just at the beginning of the 2nd grading, the students in that subject (4th year mathematics) doesn’t even know fractions! what the heck! My 4th year students in math which belongs to the crack section so far is only up to the trigonometry (SOHCAHTOA), and im following the deped issued texbook which is algebra and trigonometry.
This are some of the problems that perpetuate in our educational system, that reverberates back to the society. I remember one article i’ve read quoting Sec. Jesli Lapus that the level of competency our 4th year high school students is just grade 4, believe it or not but that is the reality. I remember back then my math teacher is a Filipino major…
One of the solutions is to retire the old teachers and replace them with young bloods, teaching positions in the public school system should not be treated as a jobs program but a human resource development program designed to meet the 21st century needs of the economy. Another is the standardized examinations given to all students around the country that would determine if they are qualified for promotion to the next level or not. This will force the “PA PETIKS PETIKS” teachers to perform as expected, a performance based assessment similar to the one used in the private industry must be adopted, that if a high percentage of learners would fail under the same teacher for 3 consecutive years the teacher would be kicked out of service. A shape-up or loose the job stance must be adopted.
Together with that program, a support system for teachers must be provided also, adequate training and seminars which i think is always provided from time to time. One principal quipped “ewan ko kadaming training at seminars na ng mga ito pero pag uwi dito no change”. If a high percentage of learners would fail in the competency test, the teacher must undergo basic training on professional education. I remember in the Scout Ranger School, units would rotate regularly to undergo basic training, you see this is the most lethal force and elite unit, yet they undergo the basic training over and over again twice a year, as basic as marksmanship, CQB and Small unit tactics…why do they have to undergo regular basic training? This is to keep their proficiency high. Same must be done to our teacher, over time we tend to forget the “basic” that is why a refresher course must be done regularly, we should always go back to the basics if we want to improve our educational system. Principals must be held responsible also, if their school keeps on getting below the passing scores, they should be sanctioned or fired!
This would take a whole damn amount of political will which sadly is not present also, lobby groups is just too powerful enough to make a balls-less politician quiver in fear, status quo is the solution so we just keep the cycle going around. The students are not blind not to see this, that develops an impact on them that such behavior is just fine thus the schools becomes the biggest provider of corrupt and inept leaders whether in private or public service.
But im a believer that we can and we will adopt the 21st century education eventually, we will be forced to do so because of the need to survive, not on the individual scale but on the macro level. Nations such as vietnam, cambodia and laos would eventually diminish our advantages on technical skills, innovation and creativity. Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia did just that, so is china…and now Vietnam has overtaken the Philippines in terms of economic competitiveness. This will push us further in the envelope that will eventually push us to be awaken and reflect in order to become competitive again. The only asset they would find hard to defeat is our english speaking ability, but they are now flocking like birds to our schools to learn english. We would compete with them in a more difficult position than we have today in the near future.
For now, 21st century education is just a figment of my imagination but if we do this today, we can snatch back our competitiveness from other countries and bring economic boom in many parts of the country. There is no chance we can achieve 1st world stauts using an industrial base, we can’t create hyundai ,toyota or ford of our own, china is just too attractive for setting up factories. The only way is through knowledge based economy, the I.T industry holds the promise for our future. We can produce I.T experts, software developers, network engineers among others that can set-up industries that would compete with companies found in advance economies. We can only do so, if we change gear ahead of our neighbors and other countries…
