Kimchizia Philippine Educational System

MADRASAH
(Reaction Paper)

It is new to me that Muslims also have different learning systems. When Christian
education is available to Christians, it makes sense to me that Muslims, in order to preserve their
Islamic values, developed their own curriculum, learning materials, and other methods of
learning that fit their values.Though Muslims are citizens of the Republic of the Philippines, they
are also included in the DepEd curriculum.When I watched the news about the private Muslim
schools, I noticed that they have similarities that most Christian private schools also experience,
namely, a lack of financial aid for the learning materials and other school expenses. However,
that is not the focus of the study. I’ll focus on the purpose of this type of education.

As per Ma’am Josefina Lacuna, she mentioned "lasting peace." The opposite of peace,
which is war, is one of the problems that occur worldwide. Among the Islamic or Muslim views,
they are also divided in their views; some Muslims seek peace, but the majority of them seek
power and war to be able to dominate the world. Furthermore, the majority of people associate
Muslims with suicide bombers or a violent race, and as a result, they are feared across
borders.And this is in fact true. Now I see that it helps if an education curriculum such as
madrasah is built to educate young learners to grow and seek lasting peace rather than war. It is
true that through education, there is hope that learners may weigh the right principles about the
different cultures in this world and their role in them.

I see that while Madrasah teaches its Muslim learners to embrace their core values, their
minds are also being altered and introduced to other cultures so that they may build a thinking
for friendship and not war.

I appreciate that the Philippine educational system is inclusive, even including the honing
and nurturing of their Muslim learners in preparation for future professions that require global
competency.To my knowledge, Muslims are also one of the communities that are being left out
and have received little emphasis in our country.In my experience, I had Muslim classmates who
moved to Baguio to work.They also have other ways of making a living, most especially selling
dry goods throughout the country. They have a different learning method, and I understand that
some committed Muslim students would find it difficult to compromise their beliefs in order to
accommodate the beliefs of Roman Catholics or Christians in the north.So, in terms of their
beliefs, educational organizations created learning materials for them to have their own learning,
which is known as madrasah.

To keep the quality education and see if the standard given by the DepEd is being
implemented, they do evaluations to better serve their learners. I see their example in evaluating
is something that every teacher must always apply in their teaching profession. In this way,
improvements and new guiding principles created from the evaluation would pave a way for the
educators and implementors to have more advanced education. It was mentioned that in
Madrasah, they are also encouraged to show case their skills and talents. I see it as one way of
the Madrasa education into honing their children, which is also done by other elementary
schools.

This video gives me information in education I am not familiar with. It is something new
to me, but I learned as much. And that even though I am a Christian, I see this information
essential for my growth in a way of being familiarized about the description, details, and the
information about Madrasah education. There are new sets of terms and acronyms I’ve learned,
especially the ALIVE organization of Muslim teachers. This information would encourage
aspiring teachers like me that Muslims from Mindanao are also a child of the Philippines that
they also deserve education fir for their them and that respects their core values. They are
learners who need to be sharpened for global competencies.