By: Mae Gladys Merquita
K + 12 means kindergarten and the twelve years of elementary and secondary education. Kindergarten attributes to the five year old learner that takes a standardized kinder curriculum while elementary education refers to the early schooling that implicates six years of education and four plus two years of secondary education. The rationale for the additional two years is to decongest and enhance basic education curricula, provide quality learning, and be part with the other countries in Asia which provide more years for basic education. K + 12 education is significant to the Filipino learners for their language skill development and content mastery.
Language development is a big portion into the language domains of listening, speaking, reading and writing. They are maintained as separate constructs as one way of thinking about curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Listening is an active skill. By highlighting an assortment of listening tasks, the need to involve students in active listening and purposeful listening skills development becomes clear. Speaking induces English language learners to be engage in oral communication in a medley of situations for a medley of purposes and in a wide spectrum of settings. Reading, in here, English language learners process, interpret, and evaluate written language, symbols, and text with discernment and fluency. Learning to read in a second language may be enhanced by student’s level of literacy in their native language. Moreover, language domain of writing, English language learners uses written communication for a medley of purposes and audiences. Writing can be used to express meaning through drawing, symbols, or text. English language learners may come with writing styles influenced by their home cultures.
Many education reform movements have come out of this environment, and unfortunately most of them seem rooted in negative sentiments like blame the teachers, blame the administration, blame the parents and etc. One reform movement that is based on a positive premise is content mastery as a part of deeper learning. At its root, content mastery as a constituent of deeper learning gives reaction against the current memorization and rote processes. The current approach results in students who can perhaps recite some facts for a short period of time and might be able to solve problems through practiced sequences applied to manage problems, but who do not have a real discernment of the content and cannot readily apply it to real life situations. The focus of deeper learning is for the student to have knowledge on how to find, evaluate, and use information effectively. It is also critical that they find joy in learning, have success in their learning, and become self- directed learners.
Studies have shown that every additional years of schooling improves the income potential of learners as he/she enters the world of work. It is therefore a milestone for all of us. It is a big step for us, Filipinos, because in the end, education will always stay as one of the best ways to rise above poverty and reach for the top.
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