Learning from ‘MaJoHa’

After the initial laughter comes the sobering thought: Is this what our children are NOT learning in school?

The question comes in the wake of the absurd answers given by teen housemates on that reality TV show “Pinoy Big Brother” (PBB), when asked how the three Filipino priests martyred by the Spanish colonial government in 1872—Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora—were collectively known.

Taking a hint from the priests’ first names, one housemate blurted out, “Marjo!” When she was rebuffed, her rival quickly piped up, “MaJoHa!”

The answer is, of course, Gomburza, as most of those schooled on Philippine history before Google replaced libraries would know. But just how diffidently today’s generation is being taught history—if at all—is evident in the PBB contestants’ responses to other history-related questions posed in the show: How was Melchora Aquino, the mother of the Katipunan, popularly known? Instead of Tandang Sora, the PBB teen answered, “Ninoy Aquino.” What was national hero Jose Rizal’s nickname? Not Pepe, but “J. Rizal,” the contestant answered. And so on.

The clip from the April 9 PBB episode went viral, drawing 191,000 reactions, 22,000 comments, over 49,000 shares, and 4.7 million views as of last week.

Quite predictably, the reaction was dismay and disgust over the teens’ clueless answers to “subjects taught in grade school,” with the Department of Education (DepEd) getting the brunt of the blame.

The episode only highlighted the need for DepEd to restore Philippine history as a subject in high school, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition said. In 2014, DepEd issued Order No. 20, which removed the dedicated course on Philippine history from the core curriculum instruction of Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) in junior and senior high school. The subject is now being taught only through Grades 5 and 6.

But game shows are not indicative of the state of education in the country, countered DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones, who added that the agency was only “faithfully” implementing the curriculum passed on to them by previous administrations. Still, that PBB episode may yet be the latest indication of the country’s “learning crisis.” In July 2021, a World Bank report stated that Filipino students “do not know what they should know in school.” The report analyzed the results of international student assessments, which showed that the Philippines ranked second lowest out of 79 countries in both mathematical and scientific literacy.

The pandemic further widened the gap in the education system, with indigent students hard put to afford the gadgets needed for online classes. Erroneous learning modules distributed to public school students didn’t help any. While some of those modules foisted vulgar and indelicate terms on young learners as well as inaccurate information, the latest module error showed politicized content with malicious insinuations against an opposition candidate, for which the DepEd has apologized, and rightly so.

To be fair, it’s not wholly DepEd’s fault. The rigor and diligence needed in classroom learning are no match to the bells and whistles offered by social media platforms, which have become the default distraction among young people these days. As one netizen noted, “[K]ids want to have their own YouTube channels and have one million followers on TikTok but forget the people who sacrificed their lives so that we can have our freedom.”

While social media dilutes the focus and attention that students should otherwise pour into their studies, the greater danger is how it has become fertile ground for fake news, false narratives, and historical revisionism that erode the very foundation of informed decisions. With its instant and wider reach, social media has been used to forward the dark agenda of some players. Trolls and the built-in algorithm of the medium have also magnified questionable information, blurring collective memory and firming up such myths as the Tallano gold and the “golden years” of martial law. With little or no history subjects saying otherwise, how can students and young adults—who also take their cue from misguided elders—know any better?

Instead of inadvertently enabling the spread of false information, the DepEd might do well to revisit its 2014 order and restore Philippine history subjects in the high school curriculum when students could presumably be more discerning and appreciative of the country’s past struggles. Training teachers to elevate history beyond memorizing names, dates, and places into living narratives that affect the present and retold in short videos and other digital tools could also go a long way in holding the fickle attention and interest of young people. Teachers can take their cue from university professor and author Ambeth Ocampo whose long-running column, “Looking Back,” and bestselling books show that history—well-told and made relevant to present-day realities—can be engaging, and that making people see the past as a personal journey is well worth the effort.