Education is the acquisition of knowledge, skills and information through training and studying. Filipino parents, especially those belonging to the lower socio- economic status, consider education as the only thing they could give as legacy to their children. Education is regarded as wealth, the most important and priceless wealth.
So, if it’s wealth, are we getting the standard quality?
Some of us think that we are receiving enough education as long as our teachers meet us every meeting and discuss the lesson for that day. Many students and teachers alike believe that when the entire content of the whole competency is covered, there is sufficient learning. These beliefs may be true to some extent, but we have to consider a lot of other things.
Quality education does not only mean finishing all the chapters of a book; it does not only mean using different textbooks and reference books and discussing their contents in front of the class. There are all regular parts of teaching- but education is much more than these.
Quality education means teaching a topic or a subject in such a way that it will be understood by majority of the pupils. It means developing their skills and talents. It could also mean making the pupils interested in the subject the teacher is teaching.
More importantly, quality education means teaching pupil how to think critically, how to make decisions, how to discipline themselves, how to love others.
Now, let us ask ourselves: Why does a pupil get low grade or fail in a certain learning area? What could be the reason why pupils fail to learn anything about a subject area?
Maybe, the pupil has low intellectual ability, Or maybe, he just too lazy to listen to the teacher or to study his lesson. These things are true. However, we have to accept the fact that there are other reasons aside from those already mentioned. One very important aspect we have to look into is the instruction himself or herself.
Some teachers teach word from the book, without bothering to explain the concepts in their own words. Some speak with voice that could hardly be heard. There are also some teachers who always require pupils to make a lot of copying lectures without helping the pupil to understand the essence of what they are doing.
This article does not wish to offend teachers. It only aims to express some realities that exist in our classroom. Most of the teachers teach very well most particularly those we called “seasoned teachers”. But if we really want to upgrade further the quality of education in our classroom, teachers and school administrator should work hand and hand towards the attainment of the school’s vision and mission to maximize learning.
Anyway quality education is quality instruction!
By: Ms. Dahlia B. Bautista | Kaparangan Elementary School | Orani, Bataan
