The Unseen Road

By Marie Gabrielle Bernabe

In truth, when we look at life, the problem is not selecting what to do from good and evil; rather, it is the difficult decision between two good things that both have different effects. The decision of two good things that might lead to two unknown paths. The same applies to the newest and the biggest change in Philippine education and that is the implementation of the K-12 cirriculum to take the place of the former curriculum of BEC. And knowing thus, enters the critical discernment of, not only the government for leading us, but also the people themselves. Is K-12 the answer to the national problems we have today?

          To the sides of any debate, there is always the defence and the opposition: the pros and the cons of this matter. One point goes to the pro K-12 as avoiding "half-baked graduates." With the additional two years of senior highschool, students can concentrate more on their chosen expertise without worrying about the higher necessary subjects like Biology, Chemistry and Physics since these advanced subjects will be integrated with the earlier years of high school--junior highshool. With this sort of method, graduates would be having a better chance at employment because they would be more equipped with the knowledge and skills needed for any job. We could meet the expected standards of the other countries that have the same number of years for their graduates.

           For the cons of the K-12 there is always the obstacle of the opposite effects: would this sudden change of atmosphere overwhelm the students? If we are to provide the necessary education our youth needs, are we not supposed to address the immediate and basic concerns for education first? Logically, we need to deal with the problems at hand before venturing on to other ideas. There is a terrible shortage of learning materials, classrooms and even educators in our country and yet there is the idea of adding another two years in high school? The effects don't seem so satisfactory if the first step in the flight of the stair of success wouldn't be tended and given the right foundation. True, it would be best to equip our learners with the skills and knowledge, but have we really considered the majority of our country's population? If in the course of the old curriculum, we couldn't address the proper needs of the students, what more an additional two years?

          Still, there is a saying that if we make mistakes, it means we're out there doing something. In every risk we take, we must prepare ourselves for whatever the outcome fate has planned out for us. During the two year gap wherein the first batch would be experiencing the new two years of senior highschool instead of the first two years of college, there is a possibility that the college educators might be teaching at the lower levels to still make use of their expertise. A chance at better teachers perhaps? A plus side to this project is that we could have graduates with firmer educational backgrounds and a better chance at survival for their families as well for the less fortunate. This crucial step might be the one right move that we just needed to take to begin anew for the brighter futures of the next generations. Here we hope and we try; if we fail, we learn and if we succeed, we must strive on. Right now, it is hard to determine if this K-12 implementation would be effective; the first graduates of the new curriculum will prove that to us in three year's time.