Philippine Basic Education

When I was a child, our family had a small artificial Christmas tree. It was about two feet tall. But I was always mesmerized by a nativity scene that my mother placed underneath the tree. In a way, it was nice that the tree was small, the manger looked bigger. In your palace wall mighty king Do you know what I know A child, a child Shivers in the cold Let us bring him silver and gold Let us bring him silver and gold The scene had the three wise men (or three kings) bearing gifts to a child born inside a stable. And I have always wondered why with all our wisdom, we bring a shivering child silver and gold. The spirit of Christmas as my parents had taught me is opening one's house and one's heart to the needs of others. I am taking this opportunity to share with readers of this blog an inspiring story from the island of Palawan in the Philippines. The story is shown here with photos and captions kindly shared by  Cynthia Sumagaysay- DelRosario and Sharon S. Salazar . It is...

Here is a video from Learning Forward, an international nonprofit association of learning educators. Their list of standards for professional learning can be found on this site .

It is anticipated that with climate change, unusual weather disturbances will occur more often. Flor Lacanilao recently wrote an article, " Adapting to a Warmer and Harsher World, How Resilient is Our Country ". Broadly examining the current situation sometimes hides what may be really wrong. Lacanilao talks about "resilience". It is about preparedness. The main problem is that governments usually act after the fact. The public is also more willing to contribute after disaster has already struck. [By the way, donations are still very much needed for victims of the typhoon Bopha (locally named "Pablo").] Photo downloaded from Typhoon Bopha/Pablo Donations Facebook page It is far more difficult to entice the public to do its part in making communities more resilient to changing climate and severe weather disturbances. With regard to disasters, we are oftentimes "reactive" and not "proactive". Seeing this news item in the HuffingtonP...

This post is a follow up to " Why the best stay on top in the latest math and science tests ". The TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center at Boston College not only provides standard tests but also data that allow to pinpoint factors that affect student outcomes. With the exams, contextual data are collected from students, teachers and schools, which then provide an avenue for understanding how school factors influence learning outcomes. From the 2011 results, the following factors are shown to be important: adequate school resources for teaching the subjects a school climate for academic success teacher preparation in both content and pedagogy engaging classroom instruction Having sufficient classrooms (space) and teaching staff characterize students who have higher achievements. Schools whose students do well are those with teachers who have hardly reported any resource storage like overcrowding, inadequate work space, and supplies required to conduct classro...

Following is a press release from the office of the Senate's Minority Leader Alan Peter S. Cayetano Press Release December 19, 201 Cayetano introduces amendments to the K-12 programto address possible obstacles in its implementation Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter S. Cayetano introduced three amendments to Senate Bill 3286 or the K-12 program to ensure that students and parents are assured of the quality of education that the proposed program promises. "We are for the program, but we also believe that still not enough resources have been put into this to ensure its success which is why I proposed three major amendments," he told the media after the period of amendments for the bill seeking to make the K-12 program a law in yesterday's Senate session. Cayetano expressed concerns regarding the funding requirement of the program and the added financial burden to poor families which could result in higher drop-out rates owing to the additional two years in senior...

This is the title of an opinion article published in Science Insider . It is a reaction to the newly released results of the  Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) . The opinion focuses primarily on the following impression:  "The scientists who manage this quadrennial exercise say that a big reason why East Asian countries continue to lead the rest of the world is their ability to implement necessary improvements in their school systems." The ability to implement necessary reforms is equated by the author to a centralized education system. Citing the wide variation in standards and policies across the states then becomes as the main explanation on why the United States is not among the top in these exams. To read this article, please visit Science Insider It is very important to read what the International Study Center (ISC) at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College (the group that administers TIMSS) actually had to say with regard to th...

MANILA, Philippines - Punto por Punto host Anthony Taberna discusses the Teachers Dignity Coalition's request to the Department of Budget and Management to maintain the P10,000 productivity enhancement incentive bonus to public school teachers.