K+12 No child left behind! (Ophel Lumogda)

K+12: No child left behind!

Fellow toastmasters and guests ,ladies and gentlemen

No child left behind is a legislation proposed by President Bush
in 2003 that holds certain expectations for school performance and the ability
to meet key objectives in the areas of accountability,average yearly progress
and the recruitment and selection of qualified classroom teachers. He believed
that quality academic performance produces quality graduates and it follows
quality citizen.This act No Child Left Behind is adopted by the Deped in the
Philippines.However. despite of it, statistics show that the International test
results consistently show Filipino students lagging way behind practically
everybody else in the world . In 2008 mathematics exam for example,embarrassing
to say we came in dead last.The education in the Philippines is critical and
needs urgent reformation.This key issue in Philippine education needs to be
looked closely and should be resolved .

The Philippines currently offers ten year public school system to
provide basic education ,namely six years of tuition free grade school and four
years of high school .Since most children begin entering school at six years old
however, those who do finish the entire program end up graduating from high
school around 16 years old. Many critics and educators point out that at this
age the high school graduate is not old enough .

On this date, Last October 10.2010 the Department of Education proposed
a K + 12 model and said in detail that the k+12 educational plan a way to
achieve quality education in the Philippines and global competitiveness .
Critics, however, counteract that the education crisis needs to be addressed
more fundamentally and adding more school years would only exacerbate the
situation.

What is k+12? K + 12 means kindergarten and the 12 years in basic education. Six
years in elementary ,4 years in junior high school and 2 years in senior high
school.

The K-12 model is an educational system for basic and secondary education
patterned after the United States, Canada, and some parts of Australia. The
current basic education system is also an archetype of American schooling but
with a 10-year cycle.

The DepEd reasons that it is high time to adopt a K-12 system, attributing the
low achievement scores and poor quality of basic education to the present school
setup

What are the features of k+12/

Kindergarten and 12 years of quality basic education is a right of every
Filipino, therefore they must be and will be provided by government.

Those who go through the 12 years cycle will get an elementary diploma(6
years),a junior high school diploma (4 years) and a senior high school diploma (
2 years).
A full 12 years of basic education will eventually be required for
entry into tertiary level education .

The program is proposed to start in school year 2012-2013 for Grade 1
and first year high school students with the target of full implementation by SY
2018-2019.Which means those grade 5 pupils this year will be the first graduate
of K+12

This is part of President Benigno "NoyNoy" Aquino III's Educational Reform
Program. The P-Noy Administration believes that adding more years to basic
education in the Philippines could help so much.

. K-12 has been met with criticism from youth and student groups, teachers,
parents and the academic community. The DepEd, for its part, appears determined
to enact the program with its proposed budget catering mostly to preparing the
grounds for its eventual implementation
Furthermore, The DepEd argues that the K-12 program will be the solution to
yearly basic education woes and the deteriorating quality of education .Research
shows that ….

“1.Enhancing the quality of basic education in the Philippinesis urgent and
critical.”

2“The poor quality of basic education is reflected in the low achievement
scores of Filipino students. One reason is that students do not get adequate
instructional time or time on task.”

3.International test results consistently show Filipino students lagging way
behind practically everybody else in the world.

4.The congested curriculum partly explains the present state of education.”
Twelve years of content are crammed into ten years.

5.“This quality of education is reflected in the inadequate preparation of high
school graduates for the world of work or entrepreneurship or higher education.”
If ten years were adequate, how come employers do not hire fresh high school
graduates? How come most high school graduates flunk the UPCAT?

6.The current system also reinforces the misperception that basic education
is just a preparatory step for higher education.”

7.“The short basic education program affects the human development of the
Filipino children.” If we believe that 17-year-old high school graduates are
emotionally, psychologically, and intellectually mature, why do we require them
to get parental consent before they get married?Those are the curret conditions
in our ducational system that K+12 model will be implemented in the Philippines
What will happen to additional two years?
* 2 years of in-depth specialization for students depending on the
occupation/career track they wish to pursue
* Skills and competencies relevant to the job market
* The 2 years of senior HS intend to provide time for students to
consolidate acquired academic skills and competencies.

*The curriculum will allow specializations in Science and Technology, Music
and Arts, Agriculture and Fisheries, Sports, Business and Entrepreneurship

Ladies and Gentlemen

K+12 Education Plan becomes Philippine education more competitive among other
countries around the world. Though there are still some problems that the
government needs to solve before they can successfully implement the plan. But
still I believe that the program is good.

Yesterday,after my talk on k+12, a parent of one of my students in grade V
followed me in my office and said sarcastically in a high pitch. Teacher Ophel,
base on the report card my son Jericho he is academically superior, do you think
it is possible that he will be promoted from grade V to First year next school
year so that he cannot be included in that K+12? I only smiled to her and in a
low pitch I said, Maam Can you see that Molave tree outside the window?Yes
maam,Between the two which do you think is stronger?The molave tree which had been
planted for many years ago or that tomato which the janitor had planted three
months ago?Naturally she said, the molave teacher.How about the roots?Which do
you think is deeply rooted in the soil?The molave tree or the tomato tree?the
molave tree.I topped her shoulder gently and said the same in education Mrs
Santos the more years in school, the more knowledge you can acquire, and the
more stronger your foundation in education.and when the foundation will be
deeply rooted not only in your head but as well as in your heart that will make
you who you are. She stepped backward and said nothing but leave a beautiful
smile in the doorsteps.I smiled then not because I was able to convince her,but
because of her pitch. I was told once that the higher the pitch is the lower is
the salary ,thus the househelper when it answers the phone,si ate wala dito, but
the lower the pitch is the higher the salary is, hence, the people in the
corporate world will answer the phone this way,Yes,Sir this is Ayala Busines
Firm in Makakati may I help you ?Ladies and gentlemen,what is your pitch?Lets
have the same pitch of our voice.The k+12.