MTB-MLE: WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE PROBLEM WITH IT?

The mere presence of  which in the Philippine school system is not enough. The teacher must also have what it takes to turn out well-schooled and educated individuals and citizens. The ability to (1) think, write, and speak clearly; (2) reason effectively; and (3) solve problems using logic and critical thinking are some of the most important things that every teacher must be able to demonstrate to students, who are looking for a model of a learned, well-schooled, and well-educated person.

It is somewhat unfortunate that our country has many regions where it's just difficult to decide which language is the mother tongue of the students. But it's also a bit puzzling to know that many highly intelligent Filipinos, since before World War II down to the 90's, had managed to avail themselves of high-quality education, with English as the medium of instruction and learning in the Philippine schools they had attended.

There are good reasons to suspect that the real solution to the problem in view is not necessarily the regional language that the teacher is using when teaching. It's actually the teacher, his/her mental capacities to get his/her students to cross the gulf between the shores of ignorance and wisdom, that matters most in this issue. MTB-MLE? Think about it one more time. If it's just a simple bundle of languages, then the teacher may not go that far with her teaching.  Any one teacher may have a good command of any dominant regional language, but if he/she cannot think logically, then he/she cannot teach effectively.

We should be concerned, too, with the QUALITY of language that the teacher is using. MTB-MLE is too narrow in scope in that it does not, in any way, entail that the language of the teacher, whether it's MTB or not, is logical or intelligent. We should go beyond the narrow limits of the concept of MTB-MLE by replacing it with the broader idea of "EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION BASED EDUCATION", which implies the intelligent use of of the mother tongue and other languages.

This, to my mind, means that teacher education institutions should revitalize their focus on the pre-service education students' ability to THINK (independently, critically, creatively, imaginatively) and TEACH (i.e., teacher training and education) effectively before sending them down there to educate the so-called future of the motherland.