A VERY long time ago, in 2004, a family member, just completing high school, took the University of the Philippines entrance examination. We did not expect him to pass, though we were pleased when he returned home in good spirits after taking the exam. At least he felt he had done himself justice.
Much later, when the examination results were announced, he found that he had in fact passed and was offered a place at UP-Visayas where he studied Computer Science.
The first year was demanding and he found Math, in particular, to be difficult. The first-year course at the time, Math 17 was billed as a reinforcement course. I believe UP was being kind and that, in reality, the course was a remedial course. This is because many students had not covered the ground that UP could have reasonably expected.
After taking the Math 17 exam, a classmate kindly showed us his exam script. Prior to attending UPV, he had graduated from Philippine Science High School. This proved what we had thought, that his high school course brought him to a level of achievement which was not matched by our family member’s course taken at a private high school in Bacolod City.
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As is well-known, our students are not successful in international comparisons in English, Math, Science. This is regrettable and, I believe, avoidable.
In Math, however, there are annual competitions for students who have achieved proficiency in the subject. This year, 107 countries took part in the 62nd International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). Due to the pandemic, the competition was held on-line. The Philippines ranked a highly-creditable 23rd (out of 107 countries). Furthermore, we beat normally stronger countries in Math such as Japan and Romania.
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Does this show that we can do better? I think it does. There could be emphasis on understanding mathematical concepts, rather than rote learning which seems to occupy too much time in our ordinary math classes.
I wonder if the Department of Education (DepEd) would be amenable to a substantial shift in math teaching. This shift could emphasize the importance of helping students achieve real success in understanding math. The present curriculum tends to skip quickly from the one topic to another. This can mean that students never experience the success and enjoyment that is obtained from achievable accomplishment.
We can do much better./PN
