A dangerous Gabay sa Pagpapakatao (January 2013 draft)

This is just an outline of my critical comments on the "Gabay sa Kurrikulum: Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (January 2013)." I'm posting here my thoughts on the Gabay under the assumption that it has not been revised significantly during the August 2013 workshop in Tagaytay. Such is my assumption because I still hear from its proponents the exact same things that I question about it (i.e., problematic substance and form). I hope I'm wrong.

Why is this so important? Well, because the current draft of the Gabay is untenable, yet it could be institutionalized in its current substance and form. And what does that imply? Textbooks--and they will be likewise so flawed--will be written according to the standards of a seriously problematic curriculum guide using the taxpayers' money. So? Seriously flawed textbooks will be studied by little children (i.e., your future children or younger siblings in the coming years) who, more often than not, have no mental capacity to critique what their textbooks and teachers are saying. Consider then my observations. They are raw, but I think there are good reasons to believe they are true.

1. There is a disturbing discord between the bases of the expected outcome of Philippine public schooling and the proposed contents of Edukasyong Pagpapakatao from K to 10. While the opening part of the curriculum suggests that EsP promotes the use of intellectual values in order for the youth to meet the requirements of being a good person (i.e., productive citizen and good individual), the proposed contents of the curriculum, in general, will not do to ensure the acquisition of skills that are necessary to produce moral agents who are capable of higher order thinking and effective problem solving.

The bases of the desired end result of public schooling are the following: (1) may kakayahang makipagtalastasan; (b) nag-iisip nang mapanuri at may kakayahang lumutas ng suliranin; (c) ginagamit ang mga likas na yaman nang mapanagutan para sa susunod na salinlahi at; (d) produktibo, napauunlad ang sarili at ang pakikipagkapwa, at (e) may malawak na pananaw sa daigdig (p. 2). Obviously, all of these suggest that the student of EsP shall be trained to be a good thinker and problem solver. It is thus not surprising that the Gabay requires that one must likewise be capable of (1) pagunawa, (2) pagninilay,(3) pagsangguni, (4) pagpapasya at (5) pagkilos (pp. 2-3) in order for the product of the EsP curriculum to qualify as a good person (i.e., productive citizen and good individual). Up to this point I have no significant quarrel with the Gabay.

The real culprits, I am fully convinced, could be found in the proposed contents. For instance, K to 3 students shall be taught instead the following: (1) under the theme Pagpapakatao at Pagiging Kasapi ng Pamilya, (a) konsensya (conscience), (b) kalusugan (health), (c) pangangalaga sa sarili (care for oneself), (d) pagpipigil sa sarili (self-control), and pagiging tapat (honesty) (p. 7). How should these subject matters be taught is an issue that finds no answer in the Gabay. This makes teaching and book writing in EsP a difficult, and even dangerous, task. For, again, these contents do not jibe with the intellectual values (i.e., problem solving skills) that EsP claims to promote (pp. 2-3). My comments on the said theme apply to other themes at the next higher levels of basic education.

2. The Gabay is not consistent with the principle of spiral curriculum. Though there is a claim that it is an expanding spiral curriculum, the specific contents for different levels of schooling (i.e., K to 3, 4 to 6, 7 to 10) under each theme are actually loosely connected. Worse, these contents do not necessarily ensure that the students of EsP shall be able to master the relevant skills for (1) pagunawa (comprehension), (2) pagninilay (reflective thinking) ,(3) pagsangguni (consultation), at (4) pagpapasya (decision-making--leave the pagkilos (making a move) to the students).

3. How can we teach the concept of “conscience” to K to 3 students? Gabay should be clear about this and other similar concepts if its framers would insist that these concepts should be taught as though they are universal values. (I use my reason--not my conscience--when I solve moral problems.) Also, the proposed contents of Gabay should be age appropriate.

4. The proposed EsP Gabay content should be made faithful to the intellectual values it promotes (pp. 2-3 of EsP Gabay). Note that the existing themes in the current draft are not in keeping with the principle of spiral curriculum. What need to be spiraled are the intellectual values (i.e., pagunawa, pagninilay, pagsangguni, at pagpapasya), their subjects are moral or value concepts, moral principles, moral and practical issues, moral theories, etc. This means that some of the proposed contents in the EsP Gabay may be retained for as along as they are age appropriate. The intellectual exercises from one grade level to another should become progressively more challenging, while the objects (i.e., not the means which are intellectual) of inquiry may vary as students advance with their learning.

5. The Gabay should also define clearly and precisely all the intellectual values teachers are expected to teach and textbook authors must write about.

6. I tried to examine the Gabay very carefully and imagined myself writing a book on the basis of its proposed contents. And hitherto I cannot think of any way to defend a Gabay-based book should smart parents, teachers, and administrators subject it to rigorous criticism, especially if the criticism is something like millions of taxpayers’ money shall be spent to finance the printing of a book whose questionable contents shall be delivered to little children who do not have the mental capacity to question the books they read and whose contents are being endorsed/taught by their god-like teachers.

7. I think we should not call the subject "Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao." The subject should be called Values Education.

8. I'll say more later.