Teaching innovations
EDUCATION Secretery Leonor Briones during a press conference of the “DepEd Cyber Expo”, a three-day conference at the Philippine International Convention Center, underscored the greater need to balance technology with humanities by strengthening the teaching of good manners and right conduct (GMRC) among the learners.
Sadly, GMRC was removed from the K to 12 basic education plan. Good manners deal with being polite by strengthening the character of the learner.
Teaching, my career for 65 years, convinced me that good manners and right conduct are caught, not taught. The teacher should be the role model of this principle. By being an example to a pupil will produce better results than just reprimanding and insisting that students must behave.
One official of DepEd emphasized that “technology without good manners is a disaster.” Empathy, compassion, and humanity are important because we cannot pick this up online or through technology. Teachers should always interact with their students.
The Cyber Expo brought learners, educators, stakeholders, and government officials together to “revolutionize’ the digital learning curve of the Filipino learners towards academic excellence with the theme, DRIVE 2019: The Digital Rise of Philippine Education.”
It can be noted that DepEd is now in the process of transforming its information and public financial systems. The Cyber Expo also aims to “demonstrate the latest methods and approaches in education technology; facilitate learners exploration of technological solutions to problems affecting local communities; and discuss these innovations and strategies that will help improve the teaching- learning process.”
Policies for children
There are other innovations on the creation of laws on the welfare and safety of children or minors. It is prohibited to let children sit on the front when riding in a car. It Is not allowed to have kids riding in front of the driver of a motorcycle or worse in tamdem at the back holding on to the driver.
There are also laws concerning minors caught doing crimes like sniffing solvents; stealing from passengers of jeeps; those acting as couriers of drugs under an adult; and throwing stones at passing cars, among others. These children are usually apprehended but they are not brought to jails but handed to the DSWD or CSSDO to be brought to the rehabilitation houses where they are treated by trained personnel to reform themselves.