PH Edu Sec Sonny Angara Going For MATATAG Curriculum. Me, A Teacher, Going For MiTATAG Curriculum – And There Lies A Whole Whale Of A Difference! This Involves Intelligence/s

So, PH now has a Secretary of Education in former Senator Sonny Angara, and as an educator myself – BSA major in Ag Educ, UP Los Baños 1965, Civil Service Professional 1964 – keeping my interest in PH Education, I want to know Sec Sonny Angara’s Vision for PH Education. Unfortunately, I can’t find it! I’m very sorry; what I know is that without Vision, you move blindly – literally!

What follows is not Vision, just part of the Agenda – Elizabeth Marcelo says, “Angara To Strictly Implement 6-Hour Teaching Policy” (04 Aug 2024, PhilStar, onenews.ph), and ANN has “DepEd’s New Agenda To Resolve Basic Education Woes” (Author Not Named, 30 Jan 2023, DepEd, deped.gov.ph).

Here’s the MATATAG Agenda according to Ms Marcelo:

“MAke the curriculum relevant to produce competent and job-ready, active, and responsible citizens;
TAke steps to accelerate delivery of basic education facilities and services;
TAke good care of learners by promoting learner well-being, inclusive education, and a positive learning environment; and
Give support to teachers to teach better.”

Whatever the above 48 quoted words mean, MATATAG is still a severely limited “Vision” for PH Education. Whatever it is, MATATAG covers only basic education – not the whole education spectrum of the Philippines!

Not looking wider and deeper, Sec Sonny is ignoring the out/standing threat of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – and DepEd is not only silent about it but more so has no alternative curriculum to outsmart it!

This is unsolicited help, but I’m offering it anyway. I now suggest this, as it were, as DepEd’s enlarged Vision: MiTATAG Curriculum.

MiTATAG means “Multiple intelligences Taking Appropriate steps Towards Advancing Geniuses.”

MiTATAG comes from Harvard psychology professor Howard Gardner’s theory of “Multiple Intelligences” (MI) that covers nine intelligences:

1. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (“Body Smart”)
2. Creative Intelligence (“Thinking Smart”), added by FAH
3. Existential Intelligence (“Life Smart”)
4. Interpersonal Intelligence (“People Smart”)
5. Intrapersonal Intelligence (“Self Smart”)
6. Mathematical-Logical Intelligence (“Number/Reasoning Smart”)
7. Musical Intelligence (“Music Smart”)
8. Naturalist Intelligence (“Nature Smart”)
9. Spatial Intelligence (“Image Smart”)
10. Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence (“Word Smart”).

That is to say, in each and every single one of us awaits the discovery and development of our sleeping genius, whether it be in Athletics (1. Body Smart”) or in Music (7. “Music Smart”), or somewhere else.

Now then, I am recommending to Sec Sonny that DepEd prepare a nationwide curricula for from Grade School to Grad School for MiTATAG.

One relevant question I can think of right now: “How easy is multiple intelligences (MI) to teach?” My personal response is this: I taught myself all the skills I have now, that is, from typewriter-based to digital-driven, so that I have become all of these in one body:

1, Creative writer
2, Editor
3, Desktop Publisher
4, Blogger
5, Journal Editor

Please note – all those 5 intelligences are now expressed in digital terms, via the laptop and the Internet.

Now then, no matter how old you are, there’s MiTATAG hope for you!@517