December 19, 2016
I hate to make a comment on this because we shouldn't take seriously every word that's spoken by candidates. Right now, politicians say and act in the manner that helps their branding. Whatever they say now is too far from becoming the agenda of public education in the country, it is pointless to fight tooth and nails about them. Duterte's words on Algebra is spoken to fish-out sympathies from people who had or are having hard time in school.
However, if this suggestion came straight from Bro. Armin Luistro, or from the House Speaker or from the Senate President, then it is a different matter. I wish to be silent about Duterte's words about Algebra but since two of my friends wished me to speak on this, so I will.
WHAT IS USEFUL?
If we should remove subjects from our curriculum because their connection to practical usefulness is vague, then we may have to take out a lot of subjects. It is not just Algebra we may have to take out. Filipino, History, Physical Education, Humanities, etc, all of them, may have to go away as well. We compel students to take so many subjects both in high school and college whose contribution to practical usefulness is vague. Why on earth, for example, do we require college students to take PE? What purpose does PE serve in practical usefulness if "usefulness" is our reason for studying.
Take the case of many of our professional engineers. They took a lot of math in college but frankly, what math do they do after college? The truth of the matter is the the first and last time they would ever need so much math after graduation is with their professional board examination.
Duterte might find a sympathetic audience from my father, if my father is still alive today. On more than a dozen occasions, my father spoke to me about the disconnect between the subjects he studied in MAPUA and what he was compelled to do in workplaces as soon as became a construction engineer. "There is no connection at all", that's what he said.
So why on earth do we still study Algebra?
I cannot answer this question right on the mark because to answer it will require me to speak a lot about education, philosophy, psychology, the formation of character, the purpose of education in society, etc. So let me be short. Schooling is not just about what is useful. If you wish to study only what is useful, what you need is not a school. What you need is a hardware.
I hate to make a comment on this because we shouldn't take seriously every word that's spoken by candidates. Right now, politicians say and act in the manner that helps their branding. Whatever they say now is too far from becoming the agenda of public education in the country, it is pointless to fight tooth and nails about them. Duterte's words on Algebra is spoken to fish-out sympathies from people who had or are having hard time in school.
However, if this suggestion came straight from Bro. Armin Luistro, or from the House Speaker or from the Senate President, then it is a different matter. I wish to be silent about Duterte's words about Algebra but since two of my friends wished me to speak on this, so I will.
WHAT IS USEFUL?
If we should remove subjects from our curriculum because their connection to practical usefulness is vague, then we may have to take out a lot of subjects. It is not just Algebra we may have to take out. Filipino, History, Physical Education, Humanities, etc, all of them, may have to go away as well. We compel students to take so many subjects both in high school and college whose contribution to practical usefulness is vague. Why on earth, for example, do we require college students to take PE? What purpose does PE serve in practical usefulness if "usefulness" is our reason for studying.
Take the case of many of our professional engineers. They took a lot of math in college but frankly, what math do they do after college? The truth of the matter is the the first and last time they would ever need so much math after graduation is with their professional board examination.
Duterte might find a sympathetic audience from my father, if my father is still alive today. On more than a dozen occasions, my father spoke to me about the disconnect between the subjects he studied in MAPUA and what he was compelled to do in workplaces as soon as became a construction engineer. "There is no connection at all", that's what he said.
So why on earth do we still study Algebra?
I cannot answer this question right on the mark because to answer it will require me to speak a lot about education, philosophy, psychology, the formation of character, the purpose of education in society, etc. So let me be short. Schooling is not just about what is useful. If you wish to study only what is useful, what you need is not a school. What you need is a hardware.