A better pedagogy

“All work and no play makes John a dull boy,” said Education Secretary Armin Luistro defending his decision to implement a no homework weekend for public elementary students.
Last September 16 the Department of Education issued Memorandum No. 392 that orders teachers to avoid giving assignments to students over the weekend so they could spend their time with their families.
“It is advised that the teachers limit the giving of homework/assignments to a reasonable quantity to give their pupils ample time to rest and relax at home for the rest of the day,” the memorandum said that was addressed to bureau directors, regional directors, school division and city superintendents and heads of public elementary schools nationwide.
Private schools across the country are not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education but were advised to follow and do the same.
For most people this would be a chance to say “Thank God It’s Friday! (TGIF),” but the memorandum has ignited debates over the country’s education system. This move by the Department of Education is being confused if it is indeed essential to the present administration’s plan to improve Philippine education.
The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition said that assignments were meant to “develop self-learning, self-discipline and time management” skills even without the supervision of teachers.
The group also said that doing weekend homework was a useful way for parents and their children to spend quality time together.
Luistro explained that assignments should only be given from Monday to Thursday. He said that parents and teaches must recognize the balance between studies and play especially in grade school.
The Philippines is trying to come up with a remedy for the nation’s oversupply of unemployable graduates. To draw a solution to this, the present administration is now realizing the disputes concerning the Philippines’ education system.
Today there are 37, 600 public elementary schools in the Philippines, these schools house more or less 13 million students. In a classroom setting the ratio is one teacher is to 60 to 70 students against the ideal 1:25 ratio. With 60 children in a classroom, it is a struggle for educators to stay sane every school day. Not to mention that today’s classrooms are cramped, if there are any at all.
The concern regarding the plan to advance the quality of education in the country is still an impending issue that Filipinos have yet to determine. The entire Filipino populace is in need of academic excellence on knowledge relevant to the real world.
The government, educators, parents and students must all recognize that the memorandum was not drawn to impinge against anyone or any institution. This is part of the improvement the education system in the Philippine needs.
President Benigno Aquino III also ensured Filipinos that students will be guaranteed a better education by building well-structured facilities and updated textbooks and manuals. This will help schools reach and maintain higher standards of basic education and increase the younger generations’ access to education.
The memorandum was intended to enhance the basic education because basic education is the foundation for vocational and higher learning. It is about time Filipinos stop enduring a weak system and wasting time and money invested in ineffective education reforms. (AJPress)
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( Published September 23, 2010 in Asian Journal Las Vegas p. A8 )