BY EDISON MARTE SICAD
“The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.” (Article XIV, Section 1, The 1987 Philippine Constitution.)
THE UNITED Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) lists four (4) fundamental pillars of education: “learning to be, learning to know, learning to do, and learning to live together.”
Such pillars remind us that grades and awards do not entirely define quality education; authentic learning is also reflected on character formation and social contribution. As De Leon stated in his book Textbook on the Philippine Constitution, “Over and above imparting knowledge and developing skills, education must build character, teach values, sharpen the mind, and mold future responsible and thinking citizens. It is wrong educational policy that attaches importance to the improvement of scholastic ability but gives little attention to the sound development of human nature.”
The dismal rating of Filipino students in reading comprehension, among others, in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), has become a continuing embarrassment that speaks much not anymore of the present administration, but of our dysfunctional system of education, an unfortunate reflection of cultural malaise and lack of political will.
Of course, officials in the Department of Education are expected to explain the results and provide remedies to address the problem. Even so, what do we make of it? What can a citizen do about it? How can one student help improve the situation?
For sure the teachers, being at the receiving end of guaranteeing quality education, are responding to the call despite the ramifications brought by politics. And, as always, the students are at the mercy of such complexities.
I believe that quality education must not only be a school-oriented goal; it must also be home-oriented. Within this context, we cannot just rely on classroom instructions. Reading comprehension needs parental guidance. Specifically, parents must inculcate in their children the importance of study habits and the culture of reading books.
“If you’re the weakest one, then you can be the most improved.” — paraphrasing from the book Divergent.
If there is one skill that students need to learn the most, it is the ability to overcome disappointments; failing grades, peer pressure, and mental depression can create doubts that can lead to identity crisis and hopelessness. The harsh realities of life can turn their dreams into nightmares.
But history is replete with stories of triumph and survival. If students can learn such valiant examples from the past, hopefully, they can be more resilient in facing the challenges of the present moment, so that they are able to chart a better future. Such strength of character can be taught in schools, nourished at home, and tested in the outside world.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
The most difficult lesson to grasp or test to overcome is to know thyself. There are those whose plan of life has been consistent: a childhood dream eventually achieved. To some, their path is waylaid by career changes and dilemmas: a life of alternatives and competing interests.
Peer pressure is eventually coupled with midlife crisis. For a person to not be able to settle down when his or her circle of friends are already giving invitations for house blessings, weddings, baptisms, and birthdays, can be downright frustrating. Such predicament requires tenacity, a never-give-up attitude.
To know oneself is a lifelong learning of the wonder—and horror—of living. We can live with passion and bliss—the fulness of life. Or as Thoreau aptly observed, “lead lives of quiet desperation.”
Modern living is obviously individualistic. Ironically, it is also a social construct. Life as the overlapping breathing space of individual choices influenced by the agents of socialization.
This means that quality education can affect a person’s quality of life. For good education also means good upbringing. And both can be nurtured at home.
Although we can rightly put the blame — oftentimes poke fun — at the lack of leadership in the Department of Education, I would always point back to myself: “What have I contributed to improve the situation, no matter how small?
But the recent news requires an effort on a wider scale, a national level of response is needed. We need a leader who knows the plight of the department, nay, all the stakeholders. We need a leader who serves from the heart; one who can lead with competence and comprehend the problem holistically. For it can be rightly said that “quality leadership begets quality education.”/PN
