Revision of K-12 curriculum not a change for the better but a step back

In the former, more sensible and reasonable curriculum we used to have, Philippine history was taught in Grade 7, Asian history in Grade 8, world history in Grade 9, and economics in Grade 10. In the time of former education secretary Leonor Briones, Philippine history was unceremoniously discarded and arbitrarily replaced by the teaching of Asian history in Grade 7. World history was then taught in Grade 8, economics in Grade 9, and contemporary issues in Grade 10.

The reason that the Department of Education (DepEd) gave the public for the decision to overhaul the old curriculum was because of “its overcrowded and congested content, [which] hampered learners from fully grasping and understanding different concepts.”

Key findings in the DepEd’s own study showed that “‘Results show that only a few teachers reported having adequate time to teach all learning competencies,’ DepEd noted, adding that typically, only less than 20 percent of the teachers reported they had enough time to teach all the required learning competencies in a quarter. ‘Surprisingly, in some learning areas, almost half of the teachers did not have sufficient time to teach even half the number of learning competencies, it said’” (“DepEd reports early steps to revise ‘congested’ K-12,” News, 4/21/23).

The proposed 2023 Basic Education curriculum now aims to reduce the number of desirable learning competencies each quarter in order to give more time for the teachers to teach, by focusing on the big ideas to prevent information overload.

The new Araling Panlipunan curriculum for Grade 8 lumps together two erstwhile dedicated and independent subjects—Asian history and world history—into one.

Asian history and world history each requires a minimum of one school year of 10 months for all the learning competencies, concepts, ideas, and content to be fully discussed, processed, and taught. If the DepEd teachers themselves are saying that in the old curriculum, they did not have sufficient time to teach even half the number of learning competencies, how much more difficult would it be for them to now teach integrated Asian history and world history in just 10 months?

Grade 8 high school students will be swamped, laden, and loaded with so much data and information that they will finish the academic year not having retained a single clear and coherent lesson, concept, or idea. What they’ll end up being is jack of all trades but master of none! Mastery of subject matter is proof that you have learned something.

The problem with the DepEd is its habit and propensity to not really and actually do what it loudly and publicly says it will do. The DepEd should stop treating the dead serious business and undertaking that is education as if it were just child’s play or merely something they can toy around with. The Araling Panlipunan curricula for both Grade 7 and Grade 8 are definitely not a change for the better but rather a regression, a two-step back, and a devolution for the worse.

Antonio Calipjo Go,

sickbookstogo@gmail.com