I am reading Mr Battad’s Inquirer column as a college teacher – Civil Service eligible 1964, graduate 1965 – yes,
the exam came first and it quite indicated that I would graduate with dignity!
And since I never stopped learning as an indefatigable blogger – the Internet is
quite a school – I feel I am qualified to comment on Mr Battad’s Inquirer’s 22 February 2025 column, “Equip The Filipino
Youth For The Future” (Inquirer.net).
Our Philippine “education is in crisis,” Mr Battad states
categorically. How does he know? “Filipino students have been scoring lower
than their overseas peers in standardized tests on math, reading, and
comprehension.” Sad to hear that!
Original: “PH Government Spending For Education”? Improved by me: “Government
Spending For Quality Education.” Quality is Most Important.
UE President Zosimo M Battad states categorically (“Equip The
Filipino Youth For The Future,” 22 Feb 2025, Philippine
Daily Inquirer, inquirer.net):
“Education in the country is in crisis: Filipino students have been
scoring lower than their overseas peers in standardized tests on math, reading,
and comprehension.”
“The Constitution explicitly states that education must be given the
highest allocation. This year, budgets for military and police academies and
nontraditional schools were counted in the overall education budget, making it
appear that the bare minimum requirement has been met.”
“Per the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, government
spending per student has decreased to P19,943 in 2021 from P22,979 in 2017,
making ours one of the lowest spending rates per student globally.”
“The crisis is multifaceted and far-reaching.” I would think so. “Funding
is key.”
I say, “Also, type of education is important – are they teaching the
students to think or not?” In fact, I teacher think this is the most important
of all: Are schools teaching the students to think or not? My answer: Probably
not!
I explain: There are 2 types of thinking: Creative thinking and critical
thinking. In creative thinking, the teacher tries to teach students how to
come up with ideas that may be new or untried. In critical thinking, the
students are taught only to consider what is already there and judge it
according to the best of their thinking, or what they know.
I say: “To equip students for the future, we must teach them both
creative thinking and critical thinking – that is quality education!” (sg.images.search.yahoo.com)
Let me put it this way:
Critical thinking is jumping to conclusion.
Creative thinking is jumping to confusion!
We need both kinds of thinking; we need to teach both kinds of
thinking.
I think we should begin to teach creative thinking to our newspaper
columnists – all they know is critical thinking! Same is true with the
opponents of BBM. Same is true with BBM and his cohorts.
To build our future
together, everyone needs creative thinking!@517
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