1.

With global complexities and competitiveness, is the K-12 Program of

the Department of Education is believed to be the overriding solution
to the alleged declining of system?
I am in favor of the implementation of the K-12 system in our country for I firmly
believe that unlike the traditional system, the K-12 education place an equal
emphasis upon lifelong skills such as growth mindset, metacognition, learning how
to learn, problem-solving, advocacy, collaboration, creativity and the habits of
success as they do upon academic content knowledge and skills. Does it solve global
complexities and competitiveness? YES. Education reduces poverty, boosts economic
growth and increases income. It increases a person's chances of having a healthy
life, reduces maternal deaths, and combats diseases such as HIV and AIDS.
Education can promote gender equality, reduce child marriage, and promote peace.
In sum, education is one of the most important investments a country can make in
its people and its future. Great progress has been achieved in enrolling children in
school around the world. But it's not enough to get children in school, we also need
to ensure that they learn to read, count, and acquire the necessary life skills. A
special focus has to be given to the most vulnerable and marginalized groups
(including children living in fragile and conflict-affected countries, children with
disabilities, and girls) who are most likely to be affected because of a lack of well-
trained teachers, inadequate learning materials, and unsuitable education
infrastructure. The theory of global education envisions students with compassion
for the cultures and hardships of others – along with the skills and knowledge to
find creative solutions to global problems – the realities and limitations that
educators experience within the classroom are genuine and often impede the goals
of global education.

2. Point out the relationships and differences of the following:

A. FORMAL VS. INFORMAL EDUCATION

 Formal Education: Learning that occurs in an organized and structured
environment (such as in an education or training institution or on the job)
and is explicitly designated as learning (in terms of objectives, time or
resources). Formal learning is intentional from the learner’s point of view.
It typically leads to certification. Earning that occurs in an organized and
structured context (in a school/training center or on the job) and is
explicitly designated as learning (in terms of objectives, time or learning
support). Formal learning is intentional from the learner’s point of view. It
typically leads to certification.

 Informal Education: Informal education is that learning which goes on

outside of a formal learning environment such as a school, a college or a
university, therefore it is learning outside of the classroom/lecture theatre;
however more can be said by way of providing a definition of the term.
Informal education can be seen as ‘learning that goes on in daily life’,
and/or ‘learning projects that we undertake for ourselves

 Relationship: The two forms of education should be viewed from the

perspective of lifelong learning: education cannot be reduced to the
learning process that takes places only in school. Therefore, formal
 education should function in relation with informal education. The formal
educational system alone cannot respond to the challenges of modern
society and therefore welcomes its reinforcement by informal educational
practices. The informal educational system is an autonomous field of
learning that enriches formal learning environments through its emphasis
on social learning and learning oriented processes of critical reflection. It
represents an effective method of communication, being a powerful
instrument of social integration. Students make new friends in the non-
formal environment and become more communicative.

B. GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

 Guidance: Guidance refers to an advice or a relevant piece of
information provided by a superior, to resolve a problem or overcome
from difficulty.

 Counselling: Counseling refers to a professional advice given by a

counselor to an individual to help him in overcoming from personal or
psychological problems.

 Relationship: Both duties are carried about by professionals who can be

contacted for solutions by people who need help in solving personal,
professional or emotional issues. Such assistance could help in the
formation of a harmonious personality and its maintenance throughout
the course of one’s life. People need attentive listeners to express their
thoughts and doubts to, and receive useful advice in return.

C. HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT

 Heredity: Nature refers to heredity: the genetic makeup or "genotypes"
(i.e., information encoded in DNA) an individual carry from the time of
conception to the time of death. Heredity may range from genetic
predispositions that are specific to each individual and that therefore
potentially explain differences in individual characteristics (e.g.,
temperament), to those supposedly specific to certain groups and that
therefore account for group differences in related characteristics (e.g.,
gender and height), and to those that are theorized to be shared by all
humans and are generally thought to set humans apart from other species
(e.g., the language acquisition device in humans).

 Environment: Nurture, by contrast, refers to various external or

environmental factors to which an individual is exposed from conception
to death. These environmental factors involve several dimensions. For
example, they include both physical environments (e.g., secondhand
smoking and prenatal nutrition) and social environments (e.g., the media
and peer pressure). Also, environmental factors vary in their immediacy to
the individual; they involve multiple layers of forces, ranging from most
immediate (e.g., families, friends, and neighborhoods) to larger contexts
(e.g., school systems and local governments) to macro factors (e.g.,
international politics and global warming).
  Relationship: All traits depend both on genetic and environmental
factors. Heredity and environment interact to produce their effects. This
means that the way genes act depends on the environment in which they
act. In the same way, the effects of environment depend on the genes
with which they work. For example, people vary in height. Although height
is highly heritable, environmental variables can have a large impact. For
example, Japanese-Americans are on the average taller and heavier than
their second cousins who grew up in Japan, reflecting the effect of
environmental variables, especially dietary differences.

3. Give your own definition of multi-grade teaching.

Teaching more than one grade at the same time in a class room by a teacher is
called multi grade teaching. The achievement level of the students differs in each
standard and in each section in a primary school. For example, in a school all the
fourth standard students do not attain the same level of skills in the contents.
Some may be in the third standard level and very few may possess the second
standard level. Some other students may be in the higher level like fifth
standard. These skill variations pose a great problem for the teacher in a new
classroom situation. In this context, the multi grade teaching need not be
considered as a burden, hindrance or difficulty to the teachers. On the other
hand, it is the overcrowded class causes a serious concern. Therefore, it is clear
that most of the classes are to be treated as Multi graded teaching classes.

4. Discuss briefly the importance teaching ESL English as Second

Language in the Philippine educational system.

ESL is about communicative competence. If you went to elementary and high

school in the Philippines, you know that the goal of your English classes is mainly
on grammar competence, not really on communicative competence. In short,
you can speak the language well because you wanted to learn it, and so you
trained yourself. Your learning process went past the classroom. Your classmates
who did not think it necessary to hone their English skills or just relied on what
your English teacher taught probably know a thing or two about grammar but
may stutter a lot when asked to speak English. So, if we adopt or add the ESL
curriculum, we can achieve both grammar and communicative competence. It is
also worth mentioning that the ESL curriculum is different from your ordinary
English classes. ESL is about language functions and survival. It is about learning
how to speak enough language to function in a country where English is the
predominant language. It is about practical English. It is about using English
outside the classroom. Those wishing to go abroad will find ESL useful. In ESL,
English is not mandatory. English is taught at the learners' pace while still being
able to get the best education possible, and thus it does not hurt learning as
some people fear once English becomes the mandatory medium of instruction in
all schools in the country. Of course, teacher quality and other things should also
be considered. I said this before, and I'll say it again. Before one can become an
English teacher, he should possess three things: excellent English skills, good
teaching skills, and extensive knowledge of English. Some private schools and
colleges in the Philippines already started adopting the ESL curriculum and hiring
native speakers for their ESL programs. I say this is a good start. At least the
 private sector isbrave enough to admit and do something about the problem on
English proficiency. We all want a knowledgeable civil engineer with excellent
communication skills who can easily direct construction engineers in the building
of a new bridge, so why don't we invest in English, Science, Math, and
education.

5. With the recent clamour that the Philippines is under the dilemma of
losing the identity as Filipinos and the continuous declining of our
ability in the command and use of English Language. Formulate your
own verdict, the mother tongue as medium of instruction and as
subject effective in our present curriculum.

Some detractors of the English Bill argue that it is not dwindling or low English
proficiency that makes the Philippines "globally uncompetitive." They are correct.
The Koreans admit that they are poor in English, but Korea is one of the fastest
growing economies in the world. How did they manage to develop and grow so
rich after the Civil War with just mountains for resources? There are many
factors, of course, but perhaps their one strategy that greatly paid off was when
they emphasized the industrial sector. They capitalized on science and
technology teaching Math and Science in their native tongue. But the Koreans
didn't stop there. They also understand that communication and language are
important and that to attain full competitiveness, they must speak the world
language. And now they are learning English - as a second language. I
understand what Rep. Eduardo Gullas is trying to say. Not much is done by our
government to acknowledge our people's skills and persuade them to stay, so
they seek greener pastures. There is a pressing demand to fill in the hospitality,
medical, education, and outsourcing industries of rich countries, and most of our
countrymen want to earn more money by getting hired in these industries. The
problem is, Filipinos are not the only ones wanting to supply America's and other
opulent countries' demands. We face competition from our Chinese and Indian
brothers, and English proficiency definitely plays a role in the competition. With
poor English skills, we cannot be "globally competitive" in these fields. But I also
see and understand the anti-English Bill's arguments. Language or English is not
the (only) key to global competitiveness, and when English is made the
mandatory medium of instruction, it may "hurt learning" especially in Science
and Math. On a side note, a UNESCO study finds that teaching Science and Math
in the mother tongue is more effective than when taught in a second or foreign
language like English. The anti-English Bill say that if the Philippines want to be
competitive, we should invest in science and technology and produce brilliant
scientists and mathematicians so that we can create sophisticated technologies
that can compete with those manufactured by Samsung, Microsoft, and Apple.
But as I said, global competitiveness has many requirements. To appease both
sides, I say Rep. Gullas should re-draft his bill and consider this: We should
introduce ESL programs in Philippine schools and teach Science and Mathematics
in the native tongue. There are many English programs that can be taught
depending on some factors such as the needs and purpose of the student and
the country or location he wants to study, live, or use English in. ESL is English
taught in a country where the primary language is English. On the other hand,
English taught in countries where English is not the main language is EFL or
English as a Foreign Language. If we stick to definitions -- and I suggest we
should at least for now to avoid confusion -- EFL is the English taught in the
Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and all countries where English is not
the main language.