Classroom instruction is basic, yes. But it isn’t everything. It has to be augmented by much much more. One cannot learn a skill in sports unless he plays the game. One cannot appreciate the principles of sportsmanship vis a vis competitiveness without competitions, athletic or otherwise.
Furthermore, pupils and students differ in their strong and weak points. By limiting education to the classroom, some will be deprived of their moments to shine and gain self-confidence, admiration and respect. If education will be nothing but lectures and notes, the budding writers, musicians, horticulturists, sculptors and athletes will remain hidden. As my favorite teacher, Tito Rolly, said in on of his entries, not all of us were born to build rocketships. Doesn’t everyone deserve the chance to find out what’s he is good at, allow him to develop his skills even more so that he can be a happy and productive adult later on?
Finally, school should remain wholesome. It must be fun and enjoyable. It should be relaxing enough to create an atmosphere conducive to learning. Classroom work five days a week is boring. Lectures, graded recitations and tests five days a week is too stressful. The hard work should be balanced with other wholesome activities without sacrificing learning. Just a little imagination and creativity from the DepEd, school administrators and teachers will spell all the difference. You all get paid for doing your jobs, anyway. Why not do your job well instead of just doing them in so-so fashion? After all, our days in school are memories we shall always treasure through our lives. Why turn school into a horrible experience?
Dear DepEd Secretary Florencio Abad, I wish you would broaden your horizons a little. Looks to me you are a product of the brand of education you espouse and are thus unable to see beyond your training. You may be content with what you’ve got. But we parents want something more–something better–for our children.
It is all a matter of finding the right balance–developing curricula that are responsive to the needs of every age group of pupils and students. Harder than writing one memo, definitely, but isn’t genuine public service all about doing the right thing instead of the easy and more convenient thing?
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