Homeschooling is defined as a “provision of compulsory education in the home as an alternative to traditional public/private schooling – often motivated by parental desire to exclude their children form the traditional school environment” (Education Research Information Center (ERIC), 1999)

Homeschooling has been an alternative in developed countries to formal education. Even though the Philippines is still a developing country and the society is accustomed to the formal education system, homeschooling can prove to be helpful and beneficial to the Filipino child.

A number of parents have already practiced homeschooling. Here are some reasons why they did. Firstly, most parents think they can give better education to their children at home because schools have a poor learning environment. In a Philippine elementary public school setting, it is not uncommon to see a class of 50 students being handled by a single teacher. It is almost impossible for the teacher to teach and supervise her entire class; how much more to make sure that each pupil understands the lecture.

What happens when a commotion starts or when students can’t understand the lesson? Teacher shouts in anger and frustration.  The children’s spirits are crushed and their self-worth is diminished. Exams and grades, which should only be a measure of mastery in the subject matter, unknowingly create fear by being a means of categorizing children and labeling them with grades. Fear and punishment are being used in motivating students to learn.

Numerous studies have proven time and again that homeschooled children outperform their peers and score better than the national average of all students in aptitude and assessment tests in every subject. Homeschooling beats the most expensive, most exclusive private schools money can afford.

Other parents homeschool their children to provide better moral instruction. Parents are the best teachers when it comes to teaching their children the correct values on how to behave properly and accordingly in a society. Moreover, a child is kept safe from drugs, sexual harassment, bullying and negative pressure at home.

Some parents even object at what the school teaches. Some parents feel their children are not given the proper attention or not being challenged enough to learn in schools. A gifted child who is accelerated will feel difficult fitting in. The same is true for students who have special needs, those who have learning disabilities and illnesses. Even normal students who have different learning styles present a teaching difficulty if in large classes.

The final matter to be discussed is the impact of homeschooling in a child’s socialization. In the 1970s, a study published by Raymond and Dorothy Moore concluded that “where possible, children should be withheld from formal schooling until at least the ages eight to ten”. They stated that children are not mature enough for formal programs until their senses, coordination, neurological development and cognition are ready. Forcing children to enter in a formal schooling environment will only bring frustration and pressure to them because of unpreparedness and inability to think rationally yet. Early formal schooling demolishes the concept of “positive sociability”, encourage peer dependence and discourage self worth and respect for parents. Parents, of course, would not want to let their children learn character, morals and manners from their peers who are equally ignorant.

Yes, a child needs to interact and relate with kids of his own age. He needs two or three of them, cousins or neighbors maybe, but not necessarily an entire class of fifty; definitely not eight hours a day for five days a week.

Other factors such as saving time and money in homeschooling compared with sending your child in formal schools and the reinforced relationship between parent and child who studies at home may be included here.  The ability to homeschool a child is only a question of commitment and dedication to the parents. The question on how to manage time and money for homeschooling, however, merits another article.

In the words of John Holt, an American educator and advocate of homeschooling, “I want to make it clear that I don’t see homeschooling as some kind of answer to badness of schools. I think that the home is the proper base for the exploration of the world which we call learning or education. Home would be the best base no matter how good the schools were. ”

- Raymund B. Quiambao

Not Another Band-aid Solution
Sources

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=436220

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090130-186556/5-yr-college-courses-plan-not-yet-final

I have to say I was shocked when I learned that the plan to add one year to tertiary education was never based on any study when there are too many problems to look into that might have been the root cause for the incompetent education system in the Philippines. Was it a big joke? What was their basis? Based on the two articles I read (whose links are provided above), the idea to add one more year to college education was conceived by CHED in its attempt to pattern the Philippine education system after other countries. They say (and which Ma’am Ched also validated) that it’s only the Philippines and one other country that are still implementing a four-year college education program which means we have been left behind. My next question, what is their basis to say that adding one more year will better the performance of Filipino educators and students?

The proposed program which consists of 10 years in elementary and high school, 2 years “pre-university program”, and 3 years specialization as conceptualized by CHED is not a bad idea at all, although it is merely an idea and not a solution. I think the starting point is we have to admit that there is something wrong with the current system. And once we have done that, we can move on to the next step which is to know what the problem/s is/are. These problems are very evident. We cannot deny that most public schools do not have enough rooms to accommodate everyone who wants to go to school. Students share textbooks which are either very old or substandard in terms of content. Teacher quality is not 100% standard because they don’t have access to resources to continue their own learning, and worse, they are underpaid. Many schools do not have complete laboratory equipment needed to study certain subjects. All these and more are observable in every public school I have been to – AND – private schools share almost the same issues, maybe not those that relate to resources and facilities but quality. I consider myself lucky that my parents worked really hard to send me to a very good private school in preparation for my college education. I have seen other private schools which I never dreamt of going to despite being a “private” school. Why? I could easily compare our teachers’ quality and say without a doubt that ours were far better because for one, they, themselves, had good educational background because either they paid a huge amount of money to get into good private schools, or they were one of the very few scholars who were able to get a diploma in reputable public schools. Another is the school, itself, funded the continuous teacher development programs to ensure up-to-date teaching methodologies.

After we have identified the problems, it’s time to think of the root cause for these problems. Well, what do you think? It’s obviously the wrong budget allocation for education and blatant corruption. I do not need numbers to prove this point. I think we can all agree that corruption has always been the Philippine government’s biggest problem. So does this mean we cannot fix the problems anymore because getting rid of corruption or at least minimizing it is almost impossible? I think not. That is where our roles come in as UP students who are supposed to be the “scholars ng bayan”. We, who have been gifted with critical and independent minds, are responsible for the nation’s future by taking part in solving the problems of the present. We need to make a solid and unified stand and take charge of combating the causes for the growing corruption. And I think we can do this without lobbying at the Malacanang. We just have to be aware of what’s going on around us and speak our minds so others will be aware too. And by time we choose our leaders, we are able to make the wisest decisions, because no matter what we do as a nation, we will always role up to our leaders.

Once we have determined the root cause of the problems, it’s time to test our possible solutions. This is the gamble, the experimental period. There are many possible solutions but we can only choose the best and the most efficient. We may fail, but that’s part of the process because everytime we do, we learn.

Once we have identified the best solution, we can evaluate it and see how we can sustain it in the long run. This has been one of DepEd’s, CHED’s, and TESDA’s problems – following through. No matter how great the solutions to our problems are, if they are not sustained, we’ll just end up having the same, if not, worse problems. As for the government, they must also consider the budget for this function.

If we are able to conduct this kind of study, I’m pretty sure we will have a clear sense of direction because no matter how many years we add to education if the quality remains the same, nothing will change. We cannot afford another band-aid solution especially that a lot of Filipino students are under the poverty line. One more year in college may even become another major reason they won’t go to school anymore because they would rather work and earn money than spend another year learning the same things they believe they would on a 4-year program. Let’s not make education a business for school owners, but rather, a social institution that will shape the Filipino learners to become experts in their field.

Why is it that students spend the same amount of time in different schools and yet there is a surprising variance in their success rate? Again, it’s because of quality. Schools are not calibrated in terms of quality because of a number of reasons which we have to deep dive into. There is no shortcut to something both good and lasting. And when I say shortcut, I did not mean time. I meant the amount of effort and commitment the society and the government put on education. We have been working hard for the longest time but how far have we gone? I think it’s about time we work smart.

- Maria Fe Theresa Hufana

Standardized exams… What do they mean? Well, these are the exams that show data of the learning of the students for the whole academic year. These exams show the improvement of a certain student.

It all starts from the diagnostic test. This test, from its name implies, it is used to diagnose you of your previous learning. Then, here comes your progress test to measure your learning halfway at the middle of the term and finally, the summative test, the sum of all your learning throughout your year level.

And what do these tests imply? These tests also show the performance of the teacher and thus a better result will also imply his effectiveness in teaching. What more, is that better results imply that the school is a better school than anyone else. And so on… But, isn’t it too intriguing that all these reports have positive results?

For our class, we all know that these results are being manipulated to get a high remark. The most important test is the summative test, and thus, manipulating the results of this test is a very common knowledge and act of the teachers and their superiors. But, at some point, they got stuck at a dead end. Why is that? Because the scores exceed the total number of items if they insist of doing so, if not, it will result to a 100% score.

But what is uncommon to us is that, is that these cheatings start from the diagnostic results. Teachers and/or their superiors, lower the result of the exam to make a great margin of score to accommodate the score for the progress test. And if the progress test results may seem too high then, they again lower this result of the progress test for the same reason as the diagnostic test.

But then again, why are they doing this? Cheating in order to make their image look good? What about the welfare of the students? Are we just going to put that information to them that they are doing well because the school is having positive results on these tests?

Yes, bitter is the taste of the truth if the students know that their results are being altered. But they have all the rights to know what their standing is. Well, if they are doing fairly, then it is good. But, if they are worse that needed some cheating to make their score look good; at least tell them that their score is just this much. And maybe, it will enlighten them that they need to study and work more in order to be better.

Education is not something about the scores; it is about what is learn. No matter how long or hard it may take, it what matters most.

Aries

Anim na taon sa elementarya. Apat sa hayskul. Apat sa kolehiyo. At sana makapasok sa law school. Ilan lahat? Higit kumulang sa dalawampung taon. Di pa man ako buhay nakatakda nang mamulat ako sa lipunang dinidiktahan na mapasailalim sa edukasyong magsisilbing sandata sa pagharap ng realidad. Sa pagmulat ng aking mga mata; sinundan ng pagbukas ng aking isipan, ang edukasyon ang naging pangunahing pokus. Hindi ko man agad naisip sa unang pagtapak sa eskwelahan, ang edukasyon ayon sa lipunang kinabibilangan, bagamat tila isa o dalawang dekada ka sa loob ng rehas, ay tunay na mahalaga lalo na sa komunidad na matagal nakulong sa ideyang ito bilang tanging daan sa pagkatuto. Naisip ko nga, sapat na ba ito para ako’y masabing edukado? Kung sa pagiging edukado, walang dudang oo. Subalit sa pagkatuto, bahagi lamang nito ang edukasyon na madalas para sa marami ay eskwelahan.

Naguguluhan ka ba sa kung ano ang nais kong tumbukin sa mga salitang inilapat ko sa paunang talata? Di ba’t kayhirap tukuyin sa dami ng aspetong dapat talakayin ang mensaheng nais kong iparating? Malinaw na maraming kailangang pagtibayin, linawin, baguhin, at solusyunan sa sistema ng edukasyon sa Pilipinas. At kung konteksto ko man ang tatanungin, ang hangad kong diploma pa rin ang nais mabigyang pansin.

Nakatuntong man ako sa kolehiyo. Iska man kung ako ay tawagin, masakit pa ring aminin na wala pa ring kasiguraduhan ang paglapat ng diplomang matagal ko ng pinagtatrabahuhan dahil na rin sa sabi ng lipunan. Ang makapasok sa national university ay isang karangalan para sa marami. Higit itong kapuri-puri dahil sa pagtustos ng mga kapwa mo Pinoy sa edukasyong ating tinatamasa. Ang pamahalaan at ang unibersidad na nagsisilbing instrumento para sa katuparan ng libreng edukasyong pinagpapapawisan ng ating mga kababayan para sa mga kabataang tulad ko. Aminin natin, marami sa atin ang tila hindi na maramdaman ang pagpasan sa ating mga iskolar ng bayan. Galing ka man sa UP o iba pang state college/university, iisa ang hinaing natin.

Ako mula sa UP at ang aking mga kapatid mula sa state college; tatlong kaming pinapag-aral ng sambayanang Pilipino. Subalit sa patuloy na pagtaas ng mga bayarin sa eskwelahan, na inaasahan sana naming hindi magiging problema ng pamilya, ay isa na rin sa pinakamabibigat na pasanin naming ngayon. Sa patuloy na pagtaas ng matrikula, pagdagdag sa mga iba pang bayarin tulad ng lab fees at miscellaneous fees, ang inaasahang pampublikong institusyon na siyang magsisilbing tahanan ng karunungan para sa mga higit na nangangailangang kabataang papasok sa kolehiyo ay higit na pumapabor sa mga ‘ika nila ay ‘afford’ ang edukasyong may kalidad.

Nanatiling tikom ang bibig ko sa mga bagay na tulad nito dahil na rin sa pagpabor sa akin ng STFAP, na nagbibigay ng financial assistance sa mga talagang nangangailanagan, ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas. Pero paano naman ang mga mag-aaral na hindi napagbibigyan ng mga sangay na tulad nito? Nang tignan ko ang pinakahuling listahan para sa resulta ng STFAP, mabibilang mo sa iyong mga kamay ang mga taong hindi pagbabayarin ng kahit ano para sa kanilang pag-aaral. At kung titingin ka naman sa paligid, naglipana ang mga magagarang kotse at mag-aaral na talaga naming masasabi mong nakakaangat sa buhay. Tila unti-unti na ngang naisasapribado ang dapat sana’y pampublikong unibersidad ng bansa.

Hindi ko nais iparating na walang karapatan ang mga mayayaman at ‘middle class’ sa mga state universities. Iyon ay isang kapalaluan. Higit kong binibigyan ng pansin ang dapat sana’y libreng edukasyon at ang karapatan natin sa kalidad ng edukasyon.

Isang kaibigan ang ngayon ay tinatamasa ang scholarship sa Ateneo de Manila University — ang paaralang pinili niya sa kabila ng kanyang pagpasa sa UP, kanyang dahilan? Kalidad ng edukasyon at pampinasyal na kaluwagan. Sa kasalukuyang halaga ng edukasyon sa UP at ilan bang pampublikong paaralan, ang bigla at labas na pagtaas ng matrikula ang nagtutulak para sa mga potensyal na dekalibreng guro, doktor, inhinyero, abogado upang ipagpaliban muna ang pagpasok sa kolehiyo, o kaya’y pumasok sa mas maliliit na eskwelahan, o tuluyan ng ‘wag mag-aral.

Akin at ating nauunawaan na kailangan din naman gawin ang dagdag na bayad kapalit ng dekalidad na edukasyon subalit kailangan nating masusing pag-aralan kung paano ito maisasagawa. Upang lalo pang palakasin ang isang institusyon kinakailangan ito ng ‘funding’ upang maipagawa ang mga pasilidad, mapaghusay ang mga guro sa pamamagitan ng muling pagbabalik-eskwela, at marami pang iba. Gayunpaman, nananatili ang katotohanan na ang edukasyon ay isang karapatang dapat sana ay walang katapat na halaga.

Kay UP President Erlinda Roman at sa UP Board of Regents, hindi ko maunawaan kung bakit kailangan ang biglaan pagtaas ng matrikula sa unibersidad na umabot pa sa 300%. Una, bakit kailangang ganito kalaki ang itataas? Marahil ay hindi nga sapat ang suportang nakukuha natin mula sa gobyerno upang ipatupad nila ito. Subalit, bakit kailangang isang bagsakan ng pagpapahirap sa mga mag-aaral at aming mga pamilya? Sa aking personal na pananaw, tamang itaas ang mga bayarin ngunit hindi sa paraang labis na mabibigatan ang bawat isa. Kung ang mga puntong ito ay hindi sapat upang mapagbago ang desisyong ito, isang konsultasyon man lang sana sa mag-aaral ang isinagawa. Inisip ba nila na hindi lamang ang magprodyus ng mga dekalidad na ‘workforce’ ang kanilang layunin, higit dito sa kanila nakaatang ang responsibilidad na matulungan ang mas higit na nangangailangang populasyon ng mga Pilipino? Sa maaling salita, insip ba nila kung sinong populasyon ang dapat sana’y naging sabdyek ng kanilang pagdedesisyon? Nawa’y wag mabahiran ng komersalisayon ang edukasyon dahil muli ito ay karapatang hindi kailanman dapat alisin sa bawat isa.

Naisip sana ng mga taong nagtulak at nagpasinaya ng TOFI na tulad ko, tulad natin, pinangarap din nilang makamit ang diplomang matagal nilang pinaghirapan. Wag sanang ipagkait sa ating lahat lalo na sa mga maliliit na tao ang pagkakataong umunlad. Wag sanang ipagkait ang diplomang sinasabi ng lipunang mahalagang kamtan ng bawat isa. Wag sanang ipagkait ang pangarap kong makatapos ng pag-aaral at magpaaral ng katulad kong nangangailangan. Pakinggan ang tinig namin na minsa’y naging tinig niyo rin.

2007-41881

BA Psychology