Improve human rights education in K to 12
There is importance in having a collaborative effort in improving human rights education under the new K to 12 basic education curriculum.
The Department of Education has the responsibility to “extend the net of sources” and lend additional substantive content to different learning materials, especially in writing textbooks – and it needs the help of other colleagues and stakeholders in the higher academics.
Curriculum and Instruction Undersecretary Dina Ocampo said the inclusion of martial law in the new basic education curriculum is not confined to the subject Araling Panlipunan or Social Sciences. She said the lessons, which echo the K to 12 curriculum’s emphasis on “karapatan, pananagutan at pagkabansa,” are also learned by students through other subjects like Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao.
She also emphasized that DepEd works with competent people in various disciplines to provide evidence-based and age-appropriate content and context.
Ocampo said older kids might be more able to handle narratives, but as for the younger children, the department has to be very careful. Balancing authenticity of sources and making it age-appropriate are the challenges, she added.
While lessons on human rights and democracy, and chapters on martial law are already integrated in the curriculum, capturing and teaching a bigger picture of the era remain to be a challenge because the figures at hand cannot be deemed conclusive.
The Department underlines the crucial role of teachers and information technology in reviewing and augmenting lessons on martial law, especially while still in the transition period of the basic education system.
Commendable are teachers who take the initiative to research, either from the internet or DepEd’s learning portal, and conduct school activities to ensure that the young learners are attuned to the history of their nation.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR), in coordination with DepEd, participates in teaching the value of human rights across the subject areas through its core project of developing lesson plans suitable for Grades 1 to 10. The Commission also undertakes capacity building programs to empower participating teachers to use these additional learning resources.