Output 5 and 6

Science and Technology and Nation Building

It is indeed a fact that science education and its application has imparted the necessary
knowledge and principles to understand, analyze and apply the broad scope of science in ongoing
research and advancement to create solutions for present global circumstances, such as creating
vaccines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, innovating devices to provide clean water and sanitation to
combat the increase spread of illness in the most impoverished communities in the globe and
reinventing vehicles and appliances that are more environmental friendly wherein they require less
release of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The very innovation we are using in our daily lives such as
the vehicles we drive, the detergents we use to sanitize, the appliances we use for daily life and our
occupations, the gadgets we use for communication and even the medications we use to treat illnesses
have once been part of study which required scientific research and testing. These had all one common
goal which is to test if they are non-toxic and durable for public use. Because of this, the field of science
and scientific research have been deeply integrated in all aspects of our lives in terms of our safety.
Thus, in order to sustain the quality of the innovations we use and to improve the environmental
conditions we live in, science education should be of the highest standard.
In the generation we are living in, science education is even more necessary as it does not only
impart us knowledge but it also provides us the necessary skills, such as becoming an independent and
confident thinker and a wise listener, that we truly need in this present day to face the crucial situations
we are dealing with today. In the article, it said that science education was not only a field of study but a
continuing motion whose goal is to sculpt the young generation not only to become a thinker and lister
but to become people of action who would collaborate in creating solutions for the circumstances that
our nation is facing.
Personally, I think this article is relatable even to this day because learning the necessary skills to
evolve for the betterment of humanity starts with the proper education and the necessary approach
towards studying. When one is determined to succeed in school, it molds the proper mindset towards
becoming a leader, may it be in the community, in the family, or in the workplace. From then, one can
exercise the skills she/he honed in school, such as becoming an unbiased thinker and being an open-
minded listener, which will help him/her gear towards becoming an active member of society that will
bring forward practical interventions towards the current problems that the country is facing, such as
the battle against poverty, lack of education or miseducation and the lack of health care services and
knowledge.

Output 6: Science Education in the Philippines in the past 10 years

a. Article: Science and K+12 by Dr. Giovanni Tapang
https://opinion.inquirer.net/22527/science-and-k12
 The fluency and proficiency of the Filipinos with the English language was one of the main goals
of K+12 education system that was implemented in 2012, wherein it had modified the introduction of
learning Science to students from the initial grade which was in the first grade towards the third grade.
The bold alteration was met with mixed opinions due to the fact that science has been one the pioneer
subjects taught in the first grade since 1980. This change was due to the government's goal to produce
Filipino professions who had excellent proficiency and comprehension in the English language in order
to qualify for outsourcing jobs which were provided by the Obama administration.
The question that pondered on my mind was, Was this a necessary reason for the shift in
educational priorities? Based on readings and interviewing professionals in the outsourcing industry, I
think that this shift did not help uplift the Philippine economy to become independent, particularly, in
being self-sustaining and free of debt. The outsourcing business is still an ongoing boon or bane
situation here in the country due to the fact that yes there are more job opportunities given to Filipinos
thus increased income is earned yet, its system allows other countries take control of the entire
manpower and employment protocols wherein when employees meet a certain quota they will be fired,
which is done in order to halt their wages from increasing. I think that this is vicious cycle wherein
Filipinos are left underpaid for the quality of work they do. Yet, Filipinos still succumb to these
outsourcing jobs since amidst this situation, there is a harsher reality to face, and that is, to feed and
provide for others who depend on them.