AH! What a glorious sunny-cool day again today! You can’t beat the weather in the Philippines at this time of the year. Despite climate change, there is still an excellent window of the old “dry and cool” Jan-Feb. Month. Occasional rain cannot dampen the generative power of a warm climate to an aging “infrastructure,” anatomy now stiff, crumbly, heading into the decrepit territory.
Curiously, traffic gridlock, wall-to-wall people, and the air thick with particulates add to the indulgence of being here; as my friend would remind me, if you don’t want the smell, the noise and the pollution, why don’t you stay in Canada, eh!
I wish it was all fun and games, but there is bad news, and I hate to say it, recurring bad news.
You are looking at an old Phil. Daily Inquirer headline of the aftermath of 2018 results of PISA ( Programme for International Student Assessment), in which our students placed dead last in Reading ( 79/79 ) and second from the bottom ( 78/79 ) in Math and Science. It was our first participation with this prestigious body and the first time we saw our educational performance in about 78 other countries. It was an unexpected, flukish misadventure, many said at the time. Oh really?
Fast forward to Dec. 2023, the much-awaited publication of the 2022 PISA results. First, our overall ranking is 77th out of 81 participating countries. Reading: 76th, Math: 75th, Science: 79th. The top five are Singapore, China, Taiwan, Japan and (S)Korea. ( Canada is #8, and the U.S. is # 18 ). Our students scored 355 in math, 347 in Reading and 373 in Science, all 120 points below average. There was a slight uptick in Math, up 2.2 %, up 6.9% in Reading, but a 0.8% lower in Science. We still landed in the bottom 10 of participating countries.
PISA ranks 15- year olds ( grade 10’s) in the language of instruction from a random selection of students from schools determined jointly by the Dept. of Education and the OECD ( Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the sponsoring body) as representative of the country’s public and private schools. 7,193 (representing 1.7 M 15-year olds) from 188 schools wrote the 2-hour test. Some 690,000 students took the assessments from 81 countries. The students are tested in Reading, Math and Science every three years ( the 2022 year was extended due to COVID)
DEP. ED. : THE PHILIPPINES IS BEHIND BY 5 TO 6 YEARS.
Alexander Sucalit, Dep. Ed’s Bureau of Education Assessment conclusion, based on the OECD assessment, translates into 5 to 6 years of learning level deficit. Twenty points represent a one-year pace of learning, so the shortfall of 120 points below average scores lends to that outcome. Taken only mathematically, it is saying that a grade 10 student has a learning level equivalent to a grade 5. Considering all other factors, a senior high school graduate would be scraping to match a junior high graduate in the top 5 countries of PISA. We can further juxtapose these figures by saying that senior high graduates (grade 12 ) would require a further 3 to 4 years to match a similar graduate from the top 10 PISA countries.
How did we end up so poorly? Just read the quote below: some sentences in a Social Studies book for grade 3, published by our Department of Education and used since 2015.
“The government, which wants to hasten the production of people, is responsible for erecting streets and piers for airplanes and ships.”
“Those places that have the biggest population have the most number of people.”
No, the above are not student-generated sentences. They are in a Filipino textbook written by four public school teachers and contributed, reviewed and supervised by as many as 32 people. It had 1308 errors and was reprinted despite the mistakes. “a veritable joke book that is so funny simply because of its sheer stupidity,” according to an academic supervisor. You have to ask yourself: If this is the work public school teachers are generating, is it a wonder that the resulting products are of dubious quality?
“I strongly believe that the production of defective textbooks is a crime against our children. The publication, propagation, and distribution of grossly defective textbooks is, altogether, nothing less than a crime against our people. Substandard textbooks contribute in great measure to the steady decline and deterioration of Philippine Education because the harm that they do is protracted, profound, and permanent. As a result, our weak and sick educational system in general produces students and graduates of inferior quality, and they in turn, produce adults, teachers, professionals and parents of likewise inferior quality. In time, they collectively produce progressively weaker and weaker spawn in a continuing and unbreakable downward spiral.”
A quote from Antonio Calipjo Go
Academic Supervisor, Marian School of Quezon City
RECURRING PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES
In 2020, my article (“The Unexplored Causes of the PISA Debacle ) about the 2018 PISA detailed why we have done so poorly. The lack of quality teachers and language problems dominated that piece. The exodus of teachers and would-be teachers to other careers due to poor pay was also highlighted. In addition, as it is now, lack of funding continues to hurt the cause of Education, despite the current budget of 710.6 B Pesos ( 176 M C$, 3.58% of GDP ), half of what UNESCO is proposing ( Canada spends 11.4% of GDP ). Infrastructure problems and a shortage of classrooms ( short by 165,000) continue to plague the system. A substantial portion of the educational budget that should be directly allotted for students ( curriculum matters, books, labs. etc) ends up in capital spending.
In this article, I will not dwell on those continuing issues; instead, I will look at deeper analyses of the malaise and some historical perspectives that may have led to our seemingly intractable education woes.
Much has been said about the qualifications of our teachers. There have been many studies and comparisons of teaching competencies from Korea ( #5 )and Finland ( #13) to show that quality teachers are the most significant component of successful student performance.
The teaching environment today requires a teacher who, to put it mildly, will put the older generation of teachers in the “unsuitable” category. I have talked to some of them and concluded that I would not want them teaching my grandchildren. We should look beyond the 3 R competencies to be an effective teacher today. I want a dynamic, enthusiastic, empathetic teacher who can challenge a student’s creative and critical thoughts. A leader who has strong interpersonal skills, is motivational and is an initiator of independent learning.
Our teacher training institutions have not modernized enough to adapt to a new generation of learners. The people who succeed at teaching have the temperament to adapt and have a natural ability to motivate children. Unfortunately, supply and demand are also at play in the educational process.
Ideally, there is a steady supply of would-be teachers. Institutions can initiate a qualifying process for pre-selected applicants, but the reality needs to lend to a pre-qualifying process.
So, it is more realistic to have rigorous training programs to prepare a would-be teacher. Even the best and the brightest potential candidates can be enticed to the profession if there is a monetary incentive equivalent to other professions.
But it takes a divergent mindset different from the long-established way the public views the teaching profession. We reserve titles for doctors, lawyers, engineers and ( church ) ministers but not for teachers. It’s instructive to know that the Japanese word “Sensei” does not simply mean a teacher but also a term of endearment. And guess what? They apply it to doctors, lawyers, politicians and others. It’s a cultural reflection and a societal view of the distinction accorded to a teacher.
Filipinos see teaching as something other than a prestigious profession, unlike the Japanese or the Finns. The spectre of Filipino teachers heading to Singapore as domestic workers and to Hong Kong as caregivers is adding to its professional marginalization. (In Canada, many are serving coffee at Tim Horton’s) The recent increases in teacher salary could be the beginning of a turnaround (doing away with a teacher uniform is a step in de-stereotyping the impoverishness of this profession ) in rehabilitating the image of this long-marginalized career.
When a Master’s Degree becomes the norm in a teacher’s certification ( as in Finland ) and additional university credits/degree requirements for administration and curriculum specialists, matched by salaries in a managerial category, the profession will attract quality people. Men will look at a teaching career more favourably if they can make a decent living. ( In the Phil., 72% of High School teachers are women) Filipinos are much more interested in occupational titles than an altruistic view of the importance of Education to the future of the country. When the public puts more value and prestige into teaching, parents will see it as a viable career path for their children. Eventually, society will notice; a different mindset will emerge, and the profession will rise to a respectful level. Its clientele ( the students ) will only benefit from these transformations.
It hurts to think that the top five in the most recent PISA are all Asian, just as the 2018 results were. Isn’t it fair to ask why we have done so poorly compared to our Asian counterparts? ( Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia have ranked higher; only Cambodia ranked lower than us ). You don’t have to have a degree in Cultural Studies to realize that Filipinos do not share those Asian attributes that put them ahead of ours.
Ah, but my generic friend Jimmy says: That’s ok, bro. We’re number one at “Karaoke.” Yes, bro, unfortunately, you can’t sing algebra and physics, you fool, that’s why we’re in deep shit! You continue to be a moronic piece of crap!
A “wise guy” might say, the one thing that we are not is Chinese ( our Chinese DNA is only 1 to 2% ); all of the above are of more significant Chinese ancestry. Our “Austronesian” (predominantly Malay, Taiwan- Fujian with pre-neolithic origin identified from East Asian and Southeast Asian populations) extraction has no claim to a civilization replete with glorious struggles and a noble past like the Chinese. Ours was a semi-slave social system, a feudal faith in the Islamic South. It was an archipelago of thousands of islands inhabited by diverse cultures with their language, governance, culture and religion.
Then Magellan came, and all hell broke loose! Armed with the Vatican’s “Doctrine of Discovery,” they pushed aside local traditions, subjugated the people and replaced indigenous religion. Today, we carry the scars of 3.3 centuries of (Spanish ) colonialism. An oligarch-run economy, an inbred, dynastical political elite, a permanent underclass and a populace deep into a subservient culture and, worse of all, a religion whose motherland is permanently at war, a bloody intolerant history and a leadership bent on making us live like people of the 4th century! The Filipino DNA has evolved independently from our Asian brothers.
Does ancestry have any adverse effect on our educational capacity? Ethnicity, per se, does not determine success or failure in Education. Every ethnic group has shown a continuum of high and low achievers. However, specific ethical values common in some societies are thought to forge better discipline among their adherents. The so-called “Confucian Ethic” is one such virtue. “Tiger Parenting” is an example of a Confucian approach to child rearing exemplified by strict discipline.
Indeed, if you look at the Korean or Japanese models, there is no doubt that theirs produces better results than ours. It’s a high-stakes engagement by parents to see that their children get access to the best schools (and best teachers). However, the enormous pressure parents put on themselves, and their children’s Education has a detrimental downside effect on their mental health. It is the extreme side of parental involvement, for which I am not advocating. The emotional toll on parents and children cannot be overlooked and is not an acceptable offshoot of public engagements on educational matters.
800 BOOKS READY FOR TWO PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN PARANAQUE CITY, ED AND CONNIE DE LEON’S BOOK ADVOCACY PROGRAM IS IN ITS 10TH YEAR. ONE WAY OF HELPING OUR TEACHERS DO A GOOD JOB.
A successful educational outcome is a delicate balance between government, schools, teachers and parents. Feedback from regular assessments such as PISA, NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress), and TIMSS ( Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study ) ( the Philippines came in last in 2019 TIMSS out of 58 countries ) gives an unbiased picture of our educational direction. So far, our report card shows: “Unsatisfactory “and “Needs Improvement.” Here’s our grade that everybody understands: F
“I weep for all the children who have been failed by our educational system, one whose chronic failures we have been desensitized to. One whose good people, all those dedicated teachers and talented educators, have been undermined by corruption and inaction. Will we ever acknowledge and act on the extent of our education crisis before it’s too late? Will our leaders step up to address this emergency that is compromising our nation’s future?”
Excerpt: “I Weep for Our Children,” from “Second Opinion”
By: Gideon Lasco, Philippine Daily Inquirer
Jan. 14, 2024
edwingdeleon@gmail.com