“Incorporating Values Education in the Curriculum”

"Values Education" or "Good Manners and Right Conduct" (GMRC) in some schools and "Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao" in public schools used to be called "Character Education" or "Good Manners and Right Conduct" (GMRC) in others. It is a subject that was added to the Department of Education's curriculum in 1989.

The necessity to improve human growth and uplift people's morality prompted the inclusion of the subject (Department of Education, 1988).

At present, President Duterte has just signed a law to strengthen the incorporation of Values Education as a subject in the K to 12 curriculum (Carlos, 2020) .

This means that GMRC will be a separate subject in Grades 1-6 and Values Education will replace the existing Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (ESP).

Why is there a need for strengthening values in schools? What will be its importance in this day and age where practicality is what people need to survive in this time of pandemic? In some countries, Values Education is incorporated in the other subjects like Math and Science, but in the Philippines, it is a separate subject.

Most teenagers now lack the so-called “social skills” or the ability to cope up with his/ her interpersonal and intrapersonal adjustments or changes. We have observed how teenagers spend the whole day on social media sites or online games.

What is lacking in them is the need to engage in activities that will help them cope up with intrapersonal challenges like acceptance and self-care. Moreover, students now need to be acclimatized with being in a community of people of the same age.

This can help a teenager focus on the need to socialize, thus, developing virtues of empathy and cooperation. Socialization helps children to be out of their comfort zone, to understand how people are feeling and how others view the world. This creates an outlet for the child to identify himself with people the same age as him/ her.

Healthy relationships start with social skills, like friendship for example. Consider a student who has average grades but is liked by everyone in the cl ass.

This is a perfect example of a person who has a high social quotient. He/ she can deal with his/ her personal issues and is ready to create lasting interpersonal relationships with others.

He/ she sees himself as a person loved by everyone and may eventually have high self-esteem. High regard for oneself eventually leads to high selfef f i cacy.

Surely the argument goes on as which is important, obtaining good grades or life skills. This question has been asked in classrooms or sometimes posted on social media.

Honestly, it should be both. A student needs to have good grades as a foundation for his/ her future but at the same time, we should also be teaching children life skills.

In a more dynamic society, educators must produce not only qualified graduates but people of integrity and compassion for others. After all, Values Education is the heart of every subject. As educators, we must ensure to include the teaching of good values in each subject, which should be done willingly and not just lip service to humanity.

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The author is Teacher III at Angeles City National Trade School