The bad news. Filipinos were found in a recent survey that we are topnotchers when it comes to reliance on the social media to satisfy our need for news. We don’t care much for news outlets like newspapers or radio or TV. The effect will be the worsening of our poor performance in grammar, spelling and basic numeracy. A few years back, our students were the worst in the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) administered international tests. And just this morning, a headline in the news is the frustration of the President with the K-12 program. It has become just an added burden to parents without any benefit, so far.
It takes a village—or a whole of nation approach– to solve this problem. It is so bad the formal educational system is not the only one to blame. A big part of the blame is also on the parents. How did we reach this point where non-readers have been promoted many times in the academic hierarchy they managed to reach senior high?
The kids would not be non-readers if the parents were not also negligent in teaching their kids or in monitoring their progress. They should have been the first teachers in familiarizing their children with the ABCs and how to read phrases, if not sentences. But then again how could have the parents taught their kids if they themselves are illiterate?
Then there is the matter of the economic difficulties teachers face. Thus, as the President revealed, when he was still a congressman, he organized cooperatives for teachers, presumably to get them out of economic struggles. For indeed, how could teachers do well in their jobs if they are saddled with financial struggles even just to buy the basic necessities for their families?
Another big fault of parents is letting the social media high jack the education of their kids.**