Saint Paul University Surigao

Surigao City

CURRENT TRENDS IN
EDUCATION
REACTION PAPER ON THE
FOLLOWING:

 MODULE V – DEMOCRACY AS A
WAY OF LIFE AMONG FILIPINOS

 MODULE VI – CURRENT TRENDS IN

BASIC EDUCATION

Prepared by:

ABIGAIL G. MALATA
Master of Arts Major in
Educational Management
 MODULE V – DEMOCRACY AS A WAY OF LIFE AMONG FILIPINOS

The Philippine education system has evolved over hundreds of years of colonial
occupation, first by Spain and then by the US, through martial law and the people’s
power revolution that brought democracy to the sprawling archipelago. The education
sector’s development has mirrored the changes in the country’s administration. Today
the focus is on expanding access and ensuring more Filipinos receive a decent basic
education, as a means of reducing poverty and improving national competitiveness. The
K-12 reform was introduced in 2016 and funding was increased, easing concerns that
its implementation would be hindered by limited resources and winning over new
President Rodrigo Duterte, who was initially skeptical about the plan.

Democratic education infuses the learning process with these fundamental

values of our society. Democratic education sees young people not as passive
recipients of knowledge, but rather as active co-creators of their own learning. They are
not the products of an education system, but rather valued participants in a vibrant
learning community. Democratic education begins with the premise that everyone is
unique, so each of us learns in a different way. By supporting the individual
development of each young person within a caring community, democratic education
helps young people learn about themselves, engage with the world around them, and
become positive and contributing members of society.

Academic freedom is widely misunderstood. Many teachers think that, with

academic freedom, they can pretty much say anything they want to say. That is not true
at all. Academic freedom is a specifically limited right of certain persons. To get to the
real meaning of academic freedom, we have to return to the original reason for it.
According to The Idea of a University, published in 1854, serves as a good starting
point. “A University, taken in its bare idea, has this object and this mission: it
contemplates neither moral impression nor mechanical production; it professes to
exercise the mind neither in art nor in duty; its function is intellectual culture. It educates
the intellect to reason well in all matters, to reach out towards truth, and to grasp
it.” The key word in this passage is truth. Academic freedom exists in order for
humanity to discover the truth. Moreover, academic freedom makes sense only within
the larger context of a university’s search for truth. The world cannot progress unless
there is a group of human beings allowed to question conventional knowledge without
persecution. This freedom to think and to express what they think is, however, not an
absolute right of these human beings, but is limited by what the law says.

Certain institutions, grant practically absolute academic freedom to its teachers.

Other institutions, however, particularly private ones, limit the academic freedom of their
teachers. Teachers in these institutions cannot choose their textbooks, design their own
syllabi different from departmental syllabi, not wear uniforms, not observe teaching or
consultation hours, and whatever else the administrators tell them not to do.The right to
education is not denied any student, nor is freedom of speech denied any teacher by
this limited view of academic freedom. After all, nobody, student or teacher, has the
right to be in any particular institution. There is always some school somewhere (such
as UP) which will allow students or teachers more academic freedom than is allowed in
other schools. If someone will argue that he or she is not intelligent enough to be either
a student or a teacher in UP, then the answer is, tough. In fact, academic freedom is
granted only to very few, highly intelligent individuals.

My own opinion is that academic freedom for those individuals satisfying the
criteria cannot be restricted by the institution, except for non-academic matters (such as
punctuality, attendance, submission of grades on time, wearing of uniforms). Inside the
classroom, academically free professors should be able to do whatever they want, as
long as it is in the area of their expertise. Why? Because that is the whole point of
academic freedom. There should be individuals allowed to think unthinkable thoughts,
teach unteachable things, and publish unpublishable ideas. These are the individuals
that really are at the cutting edge of knowledge. Without them, the human race is
doomed. Without them, we will stagnate, unable to produce ideas that change the
world.
 MODULE VI – CURRENT TRENDS IN BASIC EDUCATION

Education should be a part of everyone's life. A high-quality education offers

opportunities for all and sundry. Therefore, education is the most outstanding resource
citizens have in order to improve and strengthen their lives and humankind as a whole. I
do deem that the overall purpose of education is to prepare people for both present and
future generations. The world is becoming more technologically advanced each day.
Notwithstanding, education is a paramount tool to understand these new conceptions
completely. Thus, education is the key to a successful and fulfilling life. Accordingly,
educational systems play a preeminent role all over the world. Educational systems
define society and the way citizens perceive reality. Nevertheless, educational systems
should provide pupils with opportunities to ascertain a sturdy sense of confidence in
them and develop a strong sense of creativity, high self-esteem, and a life-long respect
for learning. An educator is a professional who helps students learn and progress along
their way through life. Educators practice our profession eagerly to be able to give a
first-rate education to our students. As a matter of fact, educational systems doubtless
have a preeminent role in the development of society, but educators and students have
to deal with a lot of problems and there are urgent changes to be made on the way in
order to strengthen the teaching-learning process.

During the discussion I can say that the Department of Education has created a
lot of programs like the K-12 program, special education and ways to manage a school
just to enhance the basic education. As to special education as I ponder over my
personal professional development experiences as an educator the realization of how
one has developed over time is personally satisfying. Educating children especially
children with special needs is a challenge within its self. As a teacher it is important that
we make a positive influence with students. There are going to be certain ideas that one
tries to uphold and other discriminations that one will not allow. Everyone has their own
beliefs teachers should do what is necessary not to infringe on others, but show children
different way to think so that they have all the information needed to make educated
choices.
 Another is the implementation of K to 12 program where basic education timeline
would be 12 years rather than the traditional 10 years. The aim of DepEd for this newly
adopted system is to provide enough time for the students to master their skills, develop
learning’s, and prepare them for tertiary education or even employment. Maybe the
government thought that in order to improve the education here in the Philippines is that
we should consider changes to keep up with other countries. And after the
implementation of K-12 program, there were a lot of negative and positive comments as
well. Of course, there is this concern about the additional financial expenses on parents
and students who are already struggling to finish studies. For these people, education is
the answer to their hardships. Finishing education is the future of their family and they
could not wait to let their children contribute to the family expenses. Also, additional
years could also mean more drop-outs. But for some, the K-12 program is really an
answer to one of the problems of education in our country. It could help the students
examine themselves and choose the right course or field in the future. This system
would prevent graduates who are working not on their specialty and graduates who end
up unemployed for years. This program would really develop each student’s passion,
skills, and concept.

From these different programs I realized that education is forever developing,

changing, growing and alive. It is a continuous process. One should not cease finding
opportunities for learning new things; the knowledge that a person acquires for himself/
herself is his/ her treasure in life. There were changes and shifts in Philippine Education
we could see that the government is taking chances and making steps to offer the
Filipino students with a high quality of education.