I commend Antonio Calipjo Go for his relentless admonition against the Department of Education’s inefficiency and lack of accountability, particularly in the procurement of textbooks, resulting in the very poor quality of education provided to Filipino learners. (“No command responsibility in DepEd,” Letters, 1/30/20). Go’s admirable perseverance stirs up a sense of culpability among us educators, for having given up, being silent, and choosing to just watch while the department is falling apart.
On the other hand, it brought a glimmer of hope when Education Secretary Leonor Briones promised to work on the K-to-12 curriculum and intensify teacher training. If she can manage these tasks effectively, then the present administration can still gain the credit of having set up the initiative of redirecting the K-to-12 program toward its major goal. Moreover, if the President will heed Go’s advice on defective textbooks, a lot of problems in our schools can be finally addressed, albeit slowly and gradually.
Fixing the curriculum will require collaboration of seasoned curriculum experts from the different regions in the country, to eliminate inappropriate content and competencies, congestion of learning tasks, misconceptions on the “spiral progression” scheme—to name a few of the stressful problems aired by teachers.
Having quality and curriculum-compliant textbooks will guide teachers to easily achieve their daily objectives. They will be motivated more to teach
effectively knowing that they are on the right track in the performance of their duty.
Teacher training should focus on prioritized teachers’ needs. Even the most expensive, state-of-the-art training will not matter to teachers who are not ready and open for it, have no commitment to learners, and are not aware of their responsibilities and mandate.
Lastly, the DepEd must work hard on cultivating the teachers’ (and their own) core values of integrity, accountability, and genuine love for children.
FLORENCIA C. DOMINGO, Ph.D., retired schools division superintendent, Department of Education, Mandaluyong City, sdsflordomingo@yahoo.com