How to Change a Generation: My 3 Wishes for Philippine Education

Everything’s changing and life seems uncertain.

I get that. It’s daunting to imagine how to respond to unpredictability, but there’s only one direction we can take: forward.

Nation-building requires hoping, wishing, and doing. So that’s what I choose to do: wish for and build towards a more educated generation.

There’s so much about Philippine education I wish could change. Here are my top three:

1. Focusing on information literacy.

We need to incorporate critical thinking and thoughtful inquiry in our curriculum at all levels.

Treating symptoms of misinformation has its limits. Filters and moderation can never change hearts and minds. It’s only when we’re taught to distinguish facts from opinions, analyze intent and biases, that we can develop our instincts for the truth.

2. Building capacity for discourse and empathy.

Education needs to encourage students to think, listen, and understand that there is a reality beyond their own personal experiences.

We do not have monopoly over wisdom. Our titles and degrees don’t make us better or more righteous. So we need to work on projects and tasks that expose us to experiences and people beyond our own social circles.

Have a dialogue with people who are different.

3. Increasing transparency of outcomes.

We need to change the benchmark of success from academic grades to learning outcomes, and keep institutions accountable for delivering results.

Education is an investment that requires a clear tangible measurement of returns. Privilege and prestige, while no doubt valuable, only exacerbates inequality if not kept in check.

It’s about what you know and what you can do, not where you come from.

Education is a societal goal; not a rat race.

In all my years of teaching, I’ve never been a believer of forced rankings and grade curves. Learning should never be a competition, because there is no prize for knowing more than everyone else.

That is not the point of education.

Education is about scaling impact and enabling a generation to move forward. To help students inspire and expand the imagination and belief of what’s possible. It is a multiplier.

It is a platform to shape more empathetic, inquisitive, and hopeful people.

Read this post and more on my Typeshare Social Blog