Philippine Basic Education

With another mass shooting in an elementary school, again and again, thoughts and prayers are sent. Again and again, however, we hear the same excuses that only obfuscate our discussions. Mental health is a favorite red herring although studies are clear on this issue: Mental health does not correlate with the number of mass shootings. Every country in the world has its share of problems with mental health but only the United States is exceptional when it comes to the killing of children in their schools with assault rifles. Some argue that more guns in the hands of good people make a society safer. With 400 million guns and a population of about 330 million, there is more than enough firepower for everyone. And it is utterly wishful thinking to suggest that everyone in the United States is good. These tragic incidents require not just our thoughts and prayers, but more importantly, well-informed changes in our policies. Research shows that there is one factor that correlates well with

Rene Luis Tadle Repost from Facebook This came out of my memory feed today. I remember how the Aquino government together with the so-called education experts and well-experienced education managers cajoled, rammed, and made false promises to convince students, teachers, and parents to accept the wisdom of additional two years of basic education despite the objections from various sectors. Thus, in 2015, together with other groups and individuals, CoTeSCUP questioned the constitutionality of the K-12 Law in the Supreme Court. SC declared that the law was constitutional and thus dismissed our petition, noting that it is within the police power of the state to enact educational laws including the K-12 Law. However, it noted as well that “It is not for the Court to look into the wisdom or propriety of legislative determination.” (CoTeSCUP et. al, vs. DOLE et al. G.R. No. 216930). Since then, studies have shown that K-12 Law failed to live up to its promise (Orbeta et al., 2019 Manansan, 2

Filipinos recently elected the son of Marcos to be their next president. They also voted for the daughter of the current president to be their next vice president. Some may think that how people vote is influenced by their education. Unfortunately, in politics, beliefs are more important. What basic education can do is so little compared to what frustration and disenchantment can. Filipinos have been experimenting with liberal politics for more than three decades. There seems to be not much difference for most Filipinos who have lived in both periods, before and after the EDSA "people power" in 1986. Education cannot miraculously change how people vote, but how people deal with politics shows the current state of education. Unfortunately, even the opposition to authoritarianism demonstrates the current predicament of Philippine education. The results of the elections have been made public quickly this time. At past 8 in the evening, nearly half of the votes have been transmit