Do we have non-readers in our schools?

LAST week, I was able to meet a group of teachers. It was just a coincidence because we attended the same forum and during the group sharing, the majority of the members wanted to talk about their concern on non-readers. I was a good listener during the discussion but when the exchange of ideas became hot, I was requested to share my side.

I told them that the Department of Education (DepEd) has a very good program. The kids have to be trained in Kindergarten classes. It is a must before entering Grade I. Let us not blame the program. Let us evaluate the quality of teachers handling the program in these preparatory classes. The kids can only learn quality things from quality teachers. Teachers handling these classes should be provided with the best training to have quality outputs.

The supervisors should closely monitor the teachers and assess the performance of the pupils. We do not neglect also the role of parents in their children’s education. The first and most important educators are the parents. There is always a partnership or sharing of responsibilities between home and school. I hope that the superintendents and the regional offices will give focus also on the parent education program. It is very hard for non-reader parents to help their non-reader children.

We would like to be convinced that all teachers in all subject areas are giving their best efforts to non-readers. There is a big problem if a Grade I non-reader will be promoted to Grade II... so on and on. Non-readers from the elementary grades will become a big problem for the First Year High School teachers.

We would like to give a wake-up call to all elementary teachers to give their best. We also believe that the school principal is an important character. The teachers can only give their best if the principal mandates all these in his school. Every pupil should be a reader. The contact time between the pupils and the teachers should be maximized.

There are teachers assigned in upland barangay schools that arrive at their station Monday afternoon and go home Friday after lunch. This situation should be given a solution. Do we have enough books? In small schools, teachers attending seminars have no substitute teachers. The pupils are just told not to report to schools.

Our junior and high school teachers need to be experts. They are preparing their students to go to college. Do they have enough time for their classrooms and varied activities? In public schools, there are more co-curricular activities wherein students stay out of the classrooms...intramural meet, division meet, district meet, provincial meet, fiestas, campings, club activities, etc.

Teachers are also utilized to be coaches, train- ers, recorders, tabulators, escorts, resource persons, etc. How do we expect to have children who are good readers? Reading is not just speech and the recognition of letters and words. Reading is understanding what is being read, reacting to it, followed by writing what is understood. My sharing was not a sermon but reality and it is hard to stomach reality. global employers are looking for new generation graduates.

The challenge among teachers is how to make Economics learning accessible, relevant and appealing among new generation learners. Economics is more than just graphs and models. The discussion in economics is not just demand and supply.

Economics is more than that –it’s about making a society more equitable and just. It is also about honoring individual freedom of choice and enterprise without discrediting the role of the government as enabler, facilitator and regulator. Economics remains to be an important and relevant discipline in the 21st century.

Jhon Louie B. Sabal is the OIC-Chairperson of the Department of Economics of Xavier UniversityAteneo de Cagayan. Mr Sabal is a graduate of MA in Economics at Ateneo de Manila University.