Moving up from K to 12

“Moving up from K to 12”

Sun.Star Davao, June 30, 2012

My nephew Andrew graduated from Grade 6 last March 2012 but this school year, instead of proceeding to first year high school, he is in Grade 7.

From Grades 7-10 (formerly known as 1^st to 4^th year high school), Andrew will be in Junior High School. His last additional 2 years, Grades 11-12, will be called Senior High School.

On the other hand, my youngest Chelsea who started Nursery early at the age of 3.4 years old suddenly had the ‘right’ age when she entered Grade 1 this school year at 6 years old. Previously, most Grade 1 students were 7 years old.

Andrew and Chelsea are among the first batch of students to be part of the Department of Education’s K to 12 Basic Education Program which was implemented this school year.

Like most parents, I was one of those who wondered about how the DepEd will implement the K to 12. I am very thankful that during the parents’ orientation of my children’s school, the administration enlightened us about the program.

Here are some frequently asked questions regarding K to 12 (Source: Department of Education):

K to 12 Concerns

1.   When will the K to 12 program be implemented?

·    “Universal Kindergarten” started in SY 2011-2012.

·    The new curriculum for Grade 1 and Grade 7 (High School Year 1) will be implemented in SY 2012-2013 and will progress in the succeeding school years.

·    Grade 11 (HS Year 5) will be introduced in SY 2016-2017, Grade 12 (HS Year 6) in SY 2017-2018.

2.   Where will the additional two years be added?

·    The two years will be added AFTER the current four-year high school program. This will be called Senior High School.

3. Is Kindergarten a pre-requisite for entering Grade 1?

·  Yes. Republic Act No. 10157, the Kindergarten Education Act, institutionalizes Kindergarten as part of the basic education system and is compulsory for admission to Grade 1.

4. Why are we implementing 12 years of basic education and not 11 years?

·   A 12-year program is found to be the adequate period for learning substantial basic education and is a requirement for recognition of professionals abroad (i.e., Bologna and Washington Accords).

·    Other countries like Singapore have 11 years of compulsory education but have 12 to 14 years of pre-university education depending on the track that students would take.

5. Why is the K to 12 program better than the current program?

·    K to 12 offers a more balanced approach to learning that will enable children to acquire and master lifelong learning skills (as against a congested curriculum) for the 21^st century.

·   The current program crams a 12-year curriculum into 10 years making it difficult for a student to master the competencies.

·    It will help in freeing parents of the burden of having to spend for college just to make their children employable.

·   A student who completes K to 12 will be equipped with skills, competencies and recognized certificates, equivalent for a two-year college degree.

6. How will the K to 12 program help students intending to pursue higher education?

·    The K to 12 basic education curriculum will be in accordance with the college readiness standards from the Commission on Higher Education Department (CHED) which set the skills and competencies needed of K to 12 graduates who wish to pursue higher education.

·    CHED will download its general education subjects to Grades 1 to 12 ensuring mastery of core competencies for K to 12 graduates. This may lead to a reduction in the number of years of college courses resulting to a decrease in educational expenses of households.

7. How about the additional cost to parents?

·    As a result of the K to 12 program, CHED is exploring the possibility of decreasing the number of years of certain courses in college.

·    K to 12 graduates will have higher earning potential since they will be more competent and skilled.

Transition Management and Private Schools

8. Will Senior High Schools be implemented in existing high schools or will new schools be built?

·    Existing schools will be used for the additional 2-year program. DepEd is in discussion with CHED, TESDA and private schools to use their existing facilities during the transition period and beyond. Arrangements also include using their teachers for Senior High School.

9. Is K to 12 required in private schools? Will the same implementation timeline apply to private schools?

·    Since private schools follow the DepEd curriculum, they will also implement the 12-year basic education program but the implementation plan will differ.

Curriculum

10.What will happen to the curriculum?

·    There will be continuum from Kindergarten to Grade 12 (HS Year 6), and to technical and higher education.

·     The current curriculum will be decongested to allow mastery of learning.

·     In Grades 11 and 12, core subjects like Math, Science and English will be strengthened. Specializations in students’ area of interest will also be offered.

11. What specializations will be offered in Senior High School?

·   The specializations to be offered include academics, middle-level skills development, sports and arts, and entrepreneurship. In general, specializations will either be college preparatory, immediate work or career readiness, or a combination of both.

·   Specializations will also be guided by local needs and conditions. For example, schools serving farming or fishing communities will offer agriculture- or fishery-related specializations. Schools located in manufacturing zones will have technical courses relevant to the sector, and so will schools in the vicinity of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. Science high schools will continue to provide higher degrees of science competencies, as well as the arts.

12. What would be the assurance that K to 12 graduates will be employed?

· DepEd has entered into an agreement with business organizations and local and foreign chambers of commerce and industries that graduates of K to 12 will be considered for employment.

· There will be a matching of competency requirements and standards so that 12-year basic education graduates will have the necessary skills needed by the labor market.

· The curriculum will enable students to acquire Certificates of Competency (COCs) and National Certifications (NCs). This will be in accordance to TESDA training regulations. This will allow graduates to have middle-level skills and will offer them better opportunities to be gainfully employed or become entrepreneurs.

For more information about K to 12, check out www.gov.ph/k-12/.

Photos courtesy of Google Images.

E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit www.momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com.

Back to Baguio

Pardon the 'unrotated' photos. The vertical photos were automatically changed to horizontal orientation by Blogger when I uploaded them. I'm still figuring out how to fix this problem :-)

“Back to Baguio”

Sun.Star Davao, June 16, 2012

As I zipped my pants on the last day of our one-week break, I did not realize that I was in for a shock. They were so tight that I had to inhale deeply so that the buttons could be closed. Blame it on all the glorious food we enjoyed in the City of Pines (and maybe the slower metabolism that comes with age?). No regrets though, as the unforgettable memories we made far outweighed the excess pounds.

Indeed, Baguio will always have a special place in my heart as this was where many childhood summer vacations were spent. Twenty-two years after my last visit, I went back again; this time, with my two daughters and other family members revisiting old favorites and discovering new spots as well.

Braving the almost 6-hour road trip, we were relieved after seeing the iconic Lion’s Head along Kennon Road which meant that we were just a few minutes away from our final destination.

The kids shrieked in delight as they saw our family friend’s impressive rest house at Camp John Hay, which would serve as our home for the next few days. It was not just a log cabin but a well-appointed mansion with its own helipad!

On our first night, we celebrated my mom’s 70^th birthday at the famed Le Chef at The Manor Hotel, also located at Camp John Hay. The fine dining restaurant was truly the ideal venue for the significant milestone. As we ate our sumptuous dinner, Le Chef’s musicians serenaded my mom and sang a birthday song as the staff presented a complimentary personalized mini birthday cake.

The following day, we didn’t have difficulty in waking up the little ones as they eagerly prepared for their most awaited horse ride at Wright Park.

Hundreds of horses and ponies were ours for the choosing with hair colored in different hues---black, brown, blonde, white, hot pink and even the combined colors of the rainbow. As expected, the kids did not settle for anything else than the most vibrant ones. Seeing the kids, each with their individual horses and ponies all lined up was a sight to behold. It reminded me of an old cartoon show during my childhood days, Rainbow Brite.

We opted for the one-hour horse ride (P300 for one hour; P200 for half hour) with tour guide (P150 per hour). It was a terrific choice as we were able to tour around the side roads of Baguio and observed its surroundings more intimately, including the summer home of tycoon Lucio Tan.

Afterwards, we met up with my mom’s Baguio-based first cousin, Aunt Agnes, at Good Shepherd Convent where we stocked up on our pasalubong shopping of peanut brittle, strawberry jam and ube jam. What’s heartening to know is that every time you buy Good Shepherd’s products, you are also supporting the convent’s scholarship fund for the Cordillera Youth.

Lunch was at the Baguio Country Club followed by a private tour of Brent International School, the alma mater of my Aunt Agnes’ kids. Established in 1909, the sprawling campus is spread across thirty hectares of forested land. It was given the status of National Historical Site by the Philippine Historical Commission. My kids and teen niece were awed as we visited the art room where the life-sized masterpieces of the high school students were showcased.

Of course, a visit to Baguio will not be complete without dropping by Burnham Park for its famous boat ride. For P150 an hour, you get to choose from a plethora of boat designs and paddle your own boat around the man-made lake.

We capped off the day with a visit to SM Baguio where we comforted our tummies with traditional Korean food in an al fresco setting.

Another adventure awaited us the next day as we woke up early to pick strawberries at La Trinidad’s Strawberry Farm which is just 30 minutes away from Baguio City.

Because it rained heavily the night before, the farm was muddy and slippery but this did not deter the kids who were extremely excited for their strawberry harvest.

Donning the farm’s rubber boots, the wannabe ‘fruit ninjas’ bended and maneuvered themselves in the narrow rows of the strawberry field picking the juiciest and biggest strawberries they could find.

A few times, they slipped in the leg-deep canals. There was a lot of laughing and teasing in between. But, overall it was one memorable morning as the young ‘farmers’ learned a valuable lesson, “Never take your food for granted”. This message rang true for them as they experienced the hard life of an Ibaloi farmer even only for a brief moment.

Before we headed back to Baguio, we tried the strawberry ice cream being sold in the streets. It was one of the best I’ve tried---creamy with just the right sweetness; and full of fresh fruit bits. It was such a pleasant culinary surprise!

Our next destination was The Mansion, the official summer residence of the President of the Philippines, for some photo ops with the historical structure including its Buckingham Palace-inspired gate.  Outside, there was even an adorable Igorot boy who gamely posed with us for wacky shots.

Mines View Park offered a marvelous view of Benguet’s gold and copper mines as well as the Cordillera mountains. A host of souvenir shops in the area were teeming with keychains, knit products, jewelry, silverworks, food, home décor and a lot more. Fancy wearing a full Igorot costume? Bahag or tapis; vests and headdresses can be rented for a very minimal fee for that perfect “It’s more fun in Baguio” picture.

During the late afternoon, we trooped to one of Baguio’s latest attractions, Tree Top Adventure at Camp John Hay.

My daughters, niece and I tried the Canopy Ride Adventure (P350) which took us from one tower to another via a cable chair with our feet dangling in the air. Changing towers several times, we felt safe as the very efficient Tree Top Adventure staff secured our gear to the cable chair. From 20 feet to 100 feet up, it was an awesome feeling sailing over towering pine trees with the cool mountain breeze gently touching our faces.

Jasper and Arnold, the thrill seekers in the group, tried almost all of Tree Top’s attractions: Superman (P300/zipline), Silver Surfer (P200) and Tree Drop (P150/free fall).

We ended the day with a wonderful meal at Forest House which was awarded as one of the Philippines’ Best Restaurants in 2011.

The 3 Dip Forest House Special Salad (P375) was highly recommended by the friendly staff. It had a generous serving of fresh lettuce, crispy cucumber, carrots, turnips, nuts, raisins and cherry tomatoes. We hand-wrapped the veggies and dipped them in strawberry dressing, blue cheese and honey vinaigrette.

The Forest House Bagnet Family Meal (P1,475) was good for four persons. Bagnet is a must-try Ilocano deep fried pork dish, similar to lechon kawali. The family meal came with garlic rice, Vegetable and Tofu Farmer’s Salad, two kinds of dessert (we chose the heavenly Double Decker Chocolate ala mode and Black and White Torte) and two orders of Goren Pisang, a banana  flambé artistically arranged in fried wanton sheets topped with ice cream.

The group also enjoyed the Baby Back Ribs (P405), T-Bone Steak (P595) and Fettuccine Carbonara (P270).

It was raining hard on our last night so we decided to order hot chocolate from the quaint cottage-style Starbucks at Camp John Hay. At the rest house, we paired this soothing drink with the fresh strawberries harvested earlier in the morning.

Nostalgia sets in and I feel like I am five, falling in love with Baguio all over again.

E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit www.momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com.

Game on!

“Game on!”

Sun.Star Davao, June 2, 2012

By: Atty. John Gary U. Teves

(Columnist’s note: My hubby Gary is the guest writer for this issue. So proud of Gary. His "Game On!" article was recognized by Gabe Zichermann and Joselin Linder on Twitter. They are the authors of  the bestselling book, "Game-Based Marketing".)

For almost two years now, I have been actively following gamification and have been convinced that this is the next revolution that will change our attitude towards work, business marketing and possibly overall lifestyle as well.  Nonetheless, after learning the basic concept, I put in on the after-burner intending to use in some future time.

Never did I imagine that a day will come when gamification will come in handy in dealing with our kids at home.  Our kids are 10 and 6 years old and like most precocious kids, are a bit handful at times when it comes to finishing meals; waking up early; answering Kumon worksheets on time; eating vegetables; packing away things; drinking enough water; doing homework; among others.

Enter gamification

We noticed that if we challenge them to a contest with time limitations, most often than not, they take it not just for the reward but for the thrill of finishing first.  After some polishing, these contests become more creative while the rewards can be as simple and intimate as a hug and a kiss from us, proof that it is the challenge that piques their interests than the reward.

Just so you may know, the rewards we give out can be as mundane and simple as a 15-minute use of the iPad with games restricted to educational math apps, to the chance to sleep beside mommy, the most favored parent (of course) during sleeping time.

This style of parenting can be credited when I chanced upon the book Game-Based Marketing by Gabe Zichermann and Joselin Linder.  Challenges, clear objectives and, more importantly, rewards, all under a rigid time frame are the game principles discussed in the book.

Games allowed our kids to channel their energies to “friendly” games, even developing virtues of “doing your best”, focus and resilience.

It all started when US psychologists and scientists searched for what motivates kids.

Whiz-bang video games

Clear challenge, visible leaderboard, superficial rewards...these are the key gaming principles in every successful game.  With the advent of social media, some game developers have taken these principles for a spin on Facebook and web browsers to boost visibility, access, excitement and marketing.

Despite the general public reaction to video games as a time-waster and a “bad” influence for kids and teens, research is beginning to unravel the beneficial effects of these games.  Studies are now underway to fully uncover why most kids enjoy their video games and how best to adopt these game principles and truly unleash their potential to improve lives.

Researchers observed that kids who play these games usually:

1.  Have their “game face” on, showing signs of focus;

2.  Employ repetitive trial and error techniques;

3.  Engage in multiplayer social games with teams of other different players;

4.  Reach rewards and achieve “epic win”.

Game face

Game designer and advocate of gamification Jane McGonigal presented her observations at the influential TED Talks event discussing her observations on the actual faces of gamers engrossed in playing games.  As the game progresses, McGonigal observed that the gamer adapts to the intensity level with increasing focus.

These facial expressions show the ability to adjust focus as the level of difficulty increases, developing mental toughness similar to athletes getting “into the zone” in a competitive environment.

Trial and error technique

Gamers advance to the next game level after they get more familiar with game employing more and more techniques as the level of difficulty increases

This trait is easily identified as the age-old technique of trial and error.  Gamers become more ‘challenged’ as they learn how to adapt to each level of difficulty.  These levels become individually unique platforms to even further increase their skill level.

Despite the increasing risk of failure or defeat, kids realize that it is only a video game and it would be okay to lose, to get back and do better the next time.  This can develop the ability to learn from mistakes, being resilient, persistent and patient, all critical to meet life’s challenges. 

Let’s face it, as adults, we mostly learn our lessons after experiencing defeat or loss.  As they say, hindsight is always 20/20 vision.

Games have become ‘social’

The newest craze, Angry Birds, has recently been updated to play on Facebook.  All social games have the function to involve teams of different players playing on the same level while simultaneously share comments and scores through social media.

Young gamers have also become team players, sometimes taking leadership roles enhancing social skills and the ability to effectively plan, communicate and execute.

Reaching reward and on the verge of an epic win

These days, kids and teens use internet terms “epic win” or an “epic fail” to stress how they feel for something.

For McGonigal, in the context of gaming, an “epic win” is best described in a gamer’s facial expression on the verge of an epic win, showing pure and powerful sense of excitement, expectation and complete focus.  This emotional state is what makes great games stick and is the objective of the gamification principle. 

Another way of putting it, winning against thieving pigs, ghoulish zombies, fire-breathing dragons, enemy armies, etc. and reaching the top spot on the best scores leaderboard can make any gamer want to engaged in the same task over and over again.

Every parent wants their kids to be strongly motivated and truly passionate about their dreams and ambitions.  An epic win after every milestone in life can pretty much reveal how kids enjoy the journey, as well as allow parents invaluable “metrics” to further improve the experience.

Gamify parenting

We were once kids and most of us grew up playing Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Pong, Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers and, had a heck of a good time playing them, mostly until dinner time.  The game mechanics for these hit games are still around, this time with better graphics, sounds and algorithmic codes.

Let’s gamify parenting, become gamers ourselves the way we have always been.  This way, our kids can focus their attention at us allowing us to use our precious family time with them as they grow up. 

Once we tune in with our kids and allow the game mechanics to run its course, we can proceed to gamify the entire household as well, including house chores and our relationship with household helpers.  It may not pan out for us parents every time but at least it is a challenge and is going to be rewarding and fun!  Reaching this point, we can then afford the much coveted “me time”.

Who knows, in time, our government can also adopt gaming principles, increasing health care, tax collection, law enforcement and overall governance.

Game on!

Photos courtesy of Google Images.

E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit www.momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com.