Escudero Loves Education

I’ve had some run-ins with Senator Francis Escudero’s supporters in the past and in one of those instances I promised one of the senator’s most avid fans that I will publish his platform here as soon as it is available. It’s been a while since then and I have yet to receive a copy of Escudero’s platform. Last I heard the platform is ready but that the senator will make it public only after he announces his candidacy.

Well Escudero’s plans remain a mystery even though he said he will reveal it after he reaches his 40th birthday, which he did just recently. So what’s causing the hold up? Apparently, unlike Senator Noynoy Aquino who even saw it fit to meet with former president Joseph Estrada while Ondoy was battering the country, Escudero would like to defer any talk of politics at this time. Here’s an excerpt from an Inquirer.net report:

Sen. Francis Escudero has decided to withhold any announcement about his political plans for the 2010 elections in deference to the crisis brought about by the damage wrought by two killer storms.“It’s not right to talk about politics while many of our people are still missing, have no houses to return to and have no food to eat,’’ Escudero said in a news conference on Monday.

I’m sure many people other than those belonging to his many fan clubs are eagerly awaiting his plans. I, for one, am interested in his ideas concerning education. My curiosity stems mainly from his past statements about this issue one of which is his supposed proposal to scrap certain math subjects from the school curriculum, which led many people to conclude that the senator is for a dumber Philippines. Escudero has since claimed that his ‘scrap math’ statement was taken out of context. Here’s an article from his own website:

Escudero reiterates need to review school curriculum, adopt multi-intelligence approach in education
July 3, 2009

“I believe our students will be better served by a broader vision of education, wherein teachers use different methodologies, exercises and activities to reach all students, not just those who excel at linguistic and logical intelligence, or mathematics. At the same time, developing a multiple-intelligence approach will justify a 10-year basic education since a 12-year transition seems difficult to do at this time,” he said.

This, as he clarified his proposal for the review of the basic education curriculum, saying he was misquoted in articles circulating in the Internet lambasting the proposal he raised in 2006.

Escudero said the articles quote “only part of our proposal, and not the whole picture,” particularly on the removal of certain advanced subjects such as Algebra and Trigonometry from the existing basic education curriculum.

“What we actually want is for advanced subjects like Algebra, Trigonometry, etc. to be removed from the basic curriculum, which means these subjects will still be retained in the curriculum not as core subjects but as electives which interested students can opt to take,” Escudero said.

“Why not let those with interest in mathematics or engineering take those advance courses as electives and not burden others students interested in other fields or disciplines to study these difficult subjects?” he added.

The senator said the proposal, which he filed as a bill at the House of Representatives in 2006, was intended to support the development of the multi-intelligence approach in education.

“I don’t think our graduates will lose their competitive edge if we remove these subjects from our basic curriculum. On the contrary, if we are able to focus on subjects and skills needed to be employable (while retaining core subjects such as English, Science, Mathematics, Philippine History and Active Citizenship, and the Arts), we will provide our graduates a good grasp of language, numeracy and other skills that are needed to be competitive in the global market,” he added.

Escudero said his track record in pursuing reforms in the education sector will speak for itself and prove his critics wrong.

As Sorsogon representative, Escudero authored Republic Act 9155, or the Governance of Basic Education Act, which transformed the name of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) to the Department of Education (DepEd) and provided the overall framework for school head empowerment by strengthening their leadership roles and school-based management within the context of transparency and local accountability.

He also filed bills seeking to raise teachers’ salaries and benefits.

I think Escudero’s proposal will do more harm than good. Mathematics is a bane to many students but it is a field of study they ought to learn and appreciate. Making it an optional subject would only ensure that no student, except for the truly mathematically gifted and so inclined, will take it. In my opinion, high school students shouldn’t be given that choice. Instead of making mathematics an elective subject why not just make it more interesting much like how mathematician/columnist/author Qeena Lee-Chua does it.

Another one of Escudero’s education related statement is this

‘Across-the-board’ passing mark urged for typhoon-hit students
By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 10:10:00 10/12/2009

Filed Under: Pepeng, Ondoy, Disasters (general), Education, Politics, Eleksyon 2010, Elections

MANILA, Philippines – An “across-the-board” passing grade for all students affected by recent typhoons has been proposed by a senator on Monday.

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero said this should be given to affected students in elementary, high school, and college levels since their schools were no longer “usable” and they could no longer catch up with their lessons.

“Ideklara nang pasado or across-the board-ipasa na lahat ng estudyante mula elementary, high school at college sa mga naapektuhang lugar [Students in the elementary, high school, and college levels in affected areas should be given a passing grade across-the-board],” Escudero said in an interview over “Umagang kay Ganda,” a morning show over ABS-CBN television network.

“If you notice, even in reliefe effortsof ABS-CBN, a lot of the youth helped when there were no classes. When classes resumed, only you were left,” Escudero told his hosts.

“What the youth will learn when they help, what the youth will learn in areas ravaged by the typhoons, these cannot be taught inside the classroom in one semester or even in a year,” he said in Filipino.

In a text message, Escudero explained that a passing grade for these students was the least that the government could do for them, “especially given the fact that they already learned a lot from this experience and the semester is almost over.”

He said the Department of Education can issue a directive on this, citing a similar incident during Edsa I.

“If I remember, this was done during Edsa I when there was no grade given to the students except “P” so that their average or grade won’t be affected,” Escudero said.

Instead of returning to school, the students should be tapped to help the victims of the calamity.

“We should tap youth power to help us get through this,” said the senator.

I seriously hope the Senator was just misquoted here. This proposal is just (I’m vocabulary-challenged so pardon my choice of word) idiotic. Oh well.

Anyway, BongV of Sanamagan gave this reaction.

OMG. He ought to be suggesting remedial classes. Deliver content online. He could have suggested that the Phil government seriously consider e-learning as an alternative measure. That way, students don’t have to be in the classrooms in Manila to be able to catch up. And the cost of deploying an online course is substantially less than constructing a new building and equipping it with chairs, blackboard, etc.

You see there are other options reason why I find it hard to understand why the good senator would pick the dumbest one. Oh wait! I almost forgot he does have a tendency to pander. Let’s double check.

Well, it is evident here:

“If you notice, even in relief effortsof ABS-CBN, a lot of the youth helped when there were no classes. When classes resumed, only you were left,” Escudero told his hosts.

And here:

In a text message, Escudero explained that a passing grade for these students was the least that the government could do for them, “especially given the fact that they already learned a lot from this experience and the semester is almost over.”

From the looks of it, Senator Escudero is just being his pandering self. And, this time he’s going after really very young kids. It’s either that or he’s really pushing for a dumber Philippines.