COOL CHANGE

ROXANNE KYNA PARAS-OCAYA

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything – George Bernard Shaw

In 2011, President Benigno Aquino signed the Republic Act No. 10533 that is expected to create waves of transformation in the Philippine Education. This act enhances the Basic Education System by strengthening its curriculum and adding 3 years to the basic education. This would require all Filipino students to one year in Kindergarten and additional 2 years of Senior High School.

I was fortuitously chosen as the SHS Focal person for Angeles City Science High School last year. Admittedly, my first attendance in the usual busy schedules of the SHS Focal Person and Speaker’s Bureau was intimidating. Each implementing school was then tasked to report on the recent developments conducted and I expressed my hesitation to my former officer-in-charge because I cannot drag myself in a humiliating experience of pretending to be knowledgeable in front of the pillars of the SHS committee of the division of Angeles City. That day, I felt how it was to be a freshman who is trying to fit in afraid of rejection.

That feeling… that dreadful feeling motivated me to perform at my best. READ. Reading was the answer to all my queries. ASK. If in doubt, do not be afraid to inquire. PREPARE. Do not pretend to know or else you’ll be confronted by the familiar gaze and aghast expression that all of us SHS Focal Persons and Speakers’Bureau are familiar with. CONFIDENCE. Acting and public speaking skills became handy during the series of orientations held in and out of our respective schools. GOAL. I understood the real value of this vocabulary in SHS. The busy roster of activities required us to frequently visit the division office and to be “house arrested” for days because we had to accomplish the pertinent paper works and beat the deadline. CHARM. It is more than beauty. It is the ability to make people answer that “Yes, K12 is the key”. BELIEVE. Doubt is not included in the SHS dictionary. We are confronted with numerous issues such as exploitative conditions, displacement of teachers, and lack of funds, facilities and buildings. Let us not succumb to these concerns. Claim that K-12 is the step towards achieving the right education. COMMIT. As a SHS Focal Person, I am always reminded to never surrender to the negativities of what we are working for. If you commit yourself to a task, you are expected to know your responsibilities and you have to perform at your best. Follow instructions. Be quick in thinking.

Let us be honest that the curriculum is a work in progress. Yes, teachers need more training. We are yet to achieve the building of adequate classrooms and providing the sufficient learning materials. If we focus on the downside of this endeavour, we will never fully understand the benefits of taking this big risk. However, if we concentrate on the advantage that eventually, our Filipino graduates will possess skills and competencies comparable to our Asian and global counterparts and they will become welladjusted to meet the demands of the globally competitive world, then we’ll see a picture of a better Philippines where unemployment is no longer a problem.

Cheryl James once said that “Change is not an event. It is a process.” We cannot rush in altering the old and building the new. All great changes are confronted with adversities. The best days are yet to come… but they will come because now… now is the Time for a Cool Change.

— oOo—

The author is Teacher III at Angeles City Science High School