Name: Gilbert B.

Guita
Course: 1PhD MathEd
School: University of Southern Mindanao
Subject: Philosophy of Mathematics
Date: October 28, 2020
Professor: Dr. Bill Atweh

Reflection on Reading 4b (Mathematics)

“Good Education in an Age of Measurement: on the need to reconnect on the purpose of

education”
-Gert Biesta
Educational measurement and evaluation put in the highlight in today’s generation of
teaching and learning and how we perceive and conceive education in general. One may look
into how performing its learners and schools because of its attained measure or value from its
performance from different local, regional, national or international achievement tests such as
mentioned in the article that I read for quite a number of times. When reading the article, I
come to realize that there is indeed basis on the matter of telling what counts as “Good
Education”, I believe firmly long ago that the standard to be called as Good Education was
based solely on numbers and quantities. That one school or students are to said to be very
performing when they got an excellent score and standing academically. Now, I realized that
when it comes to “Good Education” it should be coupled with the question of what its purposes
which speaks of “for what education is all about?”, “for what this one be of great benefits?”,
“why learning?”, “what education is for?”, and “what essence of education which one should
absorb?”.
In the article of Biesta, I read about “learnification of Education” which is something
interesting to note and can definitely alter the course of how we used to be about conceiving
education and going away from its classical sense. I think it is a shift towards putting into more
actions and realizing that it is something active and dynamic concept of education. In the new
matter of education, it is somewhat embracing the true identity and nature of education that it
should be into the aspect of “learner and learning”. That is why some of the famous concepts
that we are used to know now being translated to a more I think realistic in the world of
education. Student and Pupil towards becoming “learner”, teacher towards becoming
“facilitator”, adult education into “adult learning” and lifelong education towards “lifelong
learning”.
I have also read about in the article three equally important concepts discussed such as
qualification, socialization and subjectification in relation to the concept of “Good Education”,
which Biesta believed that these three concepts are somewhat become the standards of rating
how good and effective education is. Furthermore, according to him based on what I have
understood that you can tell that the education is good when it is paralleled to these three. But
deeply in my mind, are these concepts just the basis to note about how good and effective
education we have now? I think there might be other things which could be other factors to
affect on one who may rate or perceive about quality of this thought on education. Another
thing is, this might also depend on the locale of the schools and the students when it comes to
dealing this matter.
It is striking when I read the line about “the danger of measuring what we value rather
valuing what we are measuring”, this thought would mean we only measure and consider those
things which are in our level can be measured or measurable. I agree with him about this one
because it can definitely bring about bias when perceiving about measurement. Thus, it is
something to look into by schools and teachers ensuring that measurement measures to its
intended purposes and goals.