1.

With global complexities and competitiveness, is the K-12 Program of

the Department of Education is believed to be the overriding solution to
the alleged declining of system?
I am in favor of the implementation of the K-12 system in our country for I firmly
believe that unlike the traditional system, the K-12 education place an equal emphasis
upon lifelong skills such as growth mindset, metacognition, learning how to learn,
problem-solving, advocacy, collaboration, creativity and the habits of success as they
do upon academic content knowledge and skills. Does it solve global complexities and
competitiveness? YES. Education reduces poverty, boosts economic growth and
increases income. It increases a person's chances of having a healthy life, reduces
maternal deaths, and combats diseases such as HIV and AIDS. Education can promote
gender equality, reduce child marriage, and promote peace. In sum, education is one
of the most important investments a country can make in its people and its future.
Great progress has been achieved in enrolling children in school around the world.
But it's not enough to get children in school, we also need to ensure that they learn
to read, count, and acquire the necessary life skills. A special focus has to be given to
the most vulnerable and marginalized groups (including children living in fragile and
conflict-affected countries, children with disabilities, and girls) who are most likely to
be affected because of a lack of well-trained teachers, inadequate learning materials,
and unsuitable education infrastructure. The theory of global education envisions
students with compassion for the cultures and hardships of others – along with the
skills and knowledge to find creative solutions to global problems – the realities and
limitations that educators experience within the classroom are genuine and often
impede the goals of global education.

2. Point out the relationships and differences of the following:

A. FORMAL VS. INFORMAL EDUCATION

 Formal Education: Learning that occurs in an organized and structured
environment (such as in an education or training institution or on the job)
and is explicitly designated as learning (in terms of objectives, time or
resources). Formal learning is intentional from the learner’s point of view.
It typically leads to certification. Earning that occurs in an organized and
structured context (in a school/training center or on the job) and is explicitly
designated as learning (in terms of objectives, time or learning support).
Formal learning is intentional from the learner’s point of view. It typically
leads to certification.

 Informal Education: Informal education is that learning which goes on

outside of a formal learning environment such as a school, a college or a
university, therefore it is learning outside of the classroom/lecture theatre;
however more can be said by way of providing a definition of the term.
Informal education can be seen as ‘learning that goes on in daily life’, and/or
‘learning projects that we undertake for ourselves

 Relationship: The two forms of education should be viewed from the

perspective of lifelong learning: education cannot be reduced to the
learning process that takes places only in school. Therefore, formal
education should function in relation with informal education. The formal
 educational system alone cannot respond to the challenges of modern
society and therefore welcomes its reinforcement by informal educational
practices. The informal educational system is an autonomous field of
learning that enriches formal learning environments through its emphasis
on social learning and learning oriented processes of critical reflection. It
represents an effective method of communication, being a powerful
instrument of social integration. Students make new friends in the non-
formal environment and become more communicative.

B. GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

 Guidance: Guidance refers to an advice or a relevant piece of information
provided by a superior, to resolve a problem or overcome from difficulty.

 Counselling: Counseling refers to a professional advice given by a

counselor to an individual to help him in overcoming from personal or
psychological problems.

 Relationship: Both duties are carried about by professionals who can be

contacted for solutions by people who need help in solving personal,
professional or emotional issues. Such assistance could help in the
formation of a harmonious personality and its maintenance throughout the
course of one’s life. People need attentive listeners to express their thoughts
and doubts to, and receive useful advice in return.

C. HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT

 Heredity: Nature refers to heredity: the genetic makeup or "genotypes"
(i.e., information encoded in DNA) an individual carry from the time of
conception to the time of death. Heredity may range from genetic
predispositions that are specific to each individual and that therefore
potentially explain differences in individual characteristics (e.g.,
temperament), to those supposedly specific to certain groups and that
therefore account for group differences in related characteristics (e.g.,
gender and height), and to those that are theorized to be shared by all
humans and are generally thought to set humans apart from other species
(e.g., the language acquisition device in humans).

 Environment: Nurture, by contrast, refers to various external or

environmental factors to which an individual is exposed from conception to
death. These environmental factors involve several dimensions. For
example, they include both physical environments (e.g., secondhand
smoking and prenatal nutrition) and social environments (e.g., the media
and peer pressure). Also, environmental factors vary in their immediacy to
the individual; they involve multiple layers of forces, ranging from most
immediate (e.g., families, friends, and neighborhoods) to larger contexts
(e.g., school systems and local governments) to macro factors (e.g.,
international politics and global warming).

 Relationship: All traits depend both on genetic and environmental factors.

Heredity and environment interact to produce their effects. This means that
 the way genes act depends on the environment in which they act. In the
same way, the effects of environment depend on the genes with which they
work. For example, people vary in height. Although height is
highly heritable, environmental variables can have a large impact. For
example, Japanese-Americans are on the average taller and heavier than
their second cousins who grew up in Japan, reflecting the effect of
environmental variables, especially dietary differences.

3. Give your own definition of multi-grade teaching.

Teaching more than one grade at the same time in a class room by a teacher is
called multi grade teaching. The achievement level of the students differs in each
standard and in each section in a primary school. For example, in a school all the
fourth standard students do not attain the same level of skills in the contents.
Some may be in the third standard level and very few may possess the second
standard level. Some other students may be in the higher level like fifth standard.
These skill variations pose a great problem for the teacher in a new classroom
situation. In this context, the multi grade teaching need not be considered as a
burden, hindrance or difficulty to the teachers. On the other hand, it is the
overcrowded class causes a serious concern. Therefore, it is clear that most of the
classes are to be treated as Multi graded teaching classes.

4. Discuss briefly the importance teaching ESL English as Second Language

in the Philippine educational system.

ESL is about communicative competence. If you went to elementary and high

school in the Philippines, you know that the goal of your English classes is mainly
on grammar competence, not really on communicative competence. In short, you
can speak the language well because you wanted to learn it, and so you trained
yourself. Your learning process went past the classroom. Your classmates who did
not think it necessary to hone their English skills or just relied on what your English
teacher taught probably know a thing or two about grammar but may stutter a lot
when asked to speak English. So, if we adopt or add the ESL curriculum, we can
achieve both grammar and communicative competence. It is also worth
mentioning that the ESL curriculum is different from your ordinary English classes.
ESL is about language functions and survival. It is about learning how to speak
enough language to function in a country where English is the predominant
language. It is about practical English. It is about using English outside the
classroom. Those wishing to go abroad will find ESL useful. In ESL, English is not
mandatory. English is taught at the learners' pace while still being able to get the
best education possible, and thus it does not hurt learning as some people fear
once English becomes the mandatory medium of instruction in all schools in the
country. Of course, teacher quality and other things should also be considered. I
said this before, and I'll say it again. Before one can become an English teacher,
he should possess three things: excellent English skills, good teaching skills, and
extensive knowledge of English. Some private schools and colleges in the
Philippines already started adopting the ESL curriculum and hiring native speakers
for their ESL programs. I say this is a good start. At least the private sector isbrave
enough to admit and do something about the problem on English proficiency. We
all want a knowledgeable civil engineer with excellent communication skills who
 can easily direct construction engineers in the building of a new bridge, so why
don't we invest in English, Science, Math, and education.

5. With the recent clamour that the Philippines is under the dilemma of
losing the identity as Filipinos and the continuous declining of our ability
in the command and use of English Language. Formulate your own
verdict, the mother tongue as medium of instruction and as subject
effective in our present curriculum.

Some detractors of the English Bill argue that it is not dwindling or low English
proficiency that makes the Philippines "globally uncompetitive." They are correct.
The Koreans admit that they are poor in English, but Korea is one of the fastest
growing economies in the world. How did they manage to develop and grow so
rich after the Civil War with just mountains for resources? There are many factors,
of course, but perhaps their one strategy that greatly paid off was when they
emphasized the industrial sector. They capitalized on science and technology
teaching Math and Science in their native tongue. But the Koreans didn't stop
there. They also understand that communication and language are important and
that to attain full competitiveness, they must speak the world language. And now
they are learning English - as a second language. I understand what Rep. Eduardo
Gullas is trying to say. Not much is done by our government to acknowledge our
people's skills and persuade them to stay, so they seek greener pastures. There is
a pressing demand to fill in the hospitality, medical, education, and outsourcing
industries of rich countries, and most of our countrymen want to earn more money
by getting hired in these industries. The problem is, Filipinos are not the only ones
wanting to supply America's and other opulent countries' demands. We face
competition from our Chinese and Indian brothers, and English proficiency
definitely plays a role in the competition. With poor English skills, we cannot be
"globally competitive" in these fields. But I also see and understand the anti-
English Bill's arguments. Language or English is not the (only) key to global
competitiveness, and when English is made the mandatory medium of instruction,
it may "hurt learning" especially in Science and Math. On a side note, a UNESCO
study finds that teaching Science and Math in the mother tongue is more effective
than when taught in a second or foreign language like English. The anti-English
Bill say that if the Philippines want to be competitive, we should invest in science
and technology and produce brilliant scientists and mathematicians so that we can
create sophisticated technologies that can compete with those manufactured by
Samsung, Microsoft, and Apple. But as I said, global competitiveness has many
requirements. To appease both sides, I say Rep. Gullas should re-draft his bill and
consider this: We should introduce ESL programs in Philippine schools and teach
Science and Mathematics in the native tongue. There are many English programs
that can be taught depending on some factors such as the needs and purpose of
the student and the country or location he wants to study, live, or use English in.
ESL is English taught in a country where the primary language is English. On the
other hand, English taught in countries where English is not the main language is
EFL or English as a Foreign Language. If we stick to definitions -- and I suggest
we should at least for now to avoid confusion -- EFL is the English taught in the
Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and all countries where English is not the
main language.