Things I dislike about the Filipino trad school system

(Disclaimer: This post is in no way intended to demean the Filipino traditional education system altogether. I myself am a product of this system, and I am eternally grateful to all my school teachers who have exceeded such noble calling. The things written in this post are meant to reassess certain aspects of the Filipino trad school system, which we have openly accepted.)

The Filipino traditional education system was largely patterned after the American's. During the latter's colonial era, mass education was institutionalized to form the bedrock of 'democracy' [1]. This was a sharp contrast from the informal and religion-centric instruction given by the Spanish missionaries to a few elite many years prior to the US colonial rule.

But what has become of us many decades since local education was formalized? What has been produced from this deeply embedded system, which we have openly accepted from the West without much thought and questioning? My thoughts below:

1. Students immerse in the system with too much grade-consciousness. Education is widely known as a tool for upward social and economic mobility. Being in a poverty-stricken country, Filipino students (especially those from middle class households) may see academic marks as the most important predictive variable for future success.

Sadly, many parents widely support this without recognizing that they may be subjecting young minds to unnecessary pressure and stress. Until today, not much research and policy-level sanctions have been done to address this often unspoken social and psychological concern. It is now high time to undesrcore that grades are just numerical values of what students know and learn about a certain subject for a given time, but no way will it be the definitive measure of one's potential value.

2. Students study for self-gratification. Sadly, this holds true for many students I know. The natural love for learning and self-equipping has been overtaken by the need for self-gratification and affirmation. While it is all too natural to send congratulatory remarks to high-performing students, they remain vulnerable to the lures of fleeting academic success.

3. Students study to compete. Filipinos are by nature competitive as partly driven by the country's high poverty rate. And the Filipino school system fosters this competitiveness among the young through pitting Student A versus Student B, with school marks as the lone and final arbiter to decide who is better. This may lead some students to compare their outputs versus others', and belittle themselves when they get lower marks based on school and teachers' standards.

Students need to be totally aware that post-graduation and prior to employment, they should be masters of collaboration over competition. This is what the workplace calls for. And this is where they should naturally progress after long years of toiling over school. Work is mainly where you contribute, and school is mainly where you equip yourself.

Further, the 'real' world welcomes a student's skill set with open arms. And collectively, these skill sets are heterogeneous to complement one another. There is no need to compare nor compete, for each is bestowed with both strengths and weaknesses.

4. Students get out of the system with too much title-consciousness. I know of students who could not attend their graduation ceremonies if they were not given the highest honors and the chance to deliver the valedictory, while some others with 'lower' honors would openly attack in formal functions school officials who have allegedly 'relegated' them to second best.

When these students eventually get their degree, they feel entitled to hear professional labels (i.e. Atty., Engr. and so forth) before their names. And this is a sick psyche we have unwittingly tolerated and propagated until today.

So Dear Filipino Student,

I hope you don't fall to any of the categories I have above. There is so much more to learning than just grades, self-glorification, competition, and fleeting titles. Enjoy it as much as you can.

Reference:

[1] Florido, A. M. (2012). Educational profile of the Philippines and best practices in Filipino schools and classrooms. Retrieved from http://www.unc.edu/world/2006_K12Symp/Pres&HOs/Florido_Handout1.pdf