... so I can change the Educational System.

We're fresh from monthly exams, where I found myself tutoring Gabriel in Hekasi (Heograpiya, Sibika at Kasaysayan) and teaching for the nth time, the story of the Spanish Conquest of the Philippines.  We talked about Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, how the once pagan Filipinos become Christians; of the Encomienda System, the Tributo, Bandala, Polo and the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade.

I have no bones to pick with History, really.  I think it is important that we teach our children where our country was and how we got to where we are now. But I think to teach it for 3 years (in the intermediate level -- Grades 4, 5 and 6) is redundant, a waste of time, tuition and money for textbooks.  Also, since it is the past, there is very little of it --  other than such abstract things as independence, equality and justice--that can be applied in real life, it becomes a thing to memorize rather than appreciate, a task rather than a tool.

There are so many, other things worth tackling in Social Studies. Things more relevant, applicable and current.  Topics that, have they  been taught in Grade School, would have built a good foundation for High School and later as helpful guides towards being responsible adult citizens.

Take for example the riotous demolitions that were in the news lately.  The squatters hurled glass bottles at the demolition team, while some made teary-eyed statements to the media.  Had Social Studies (or Sibika) in school tackled the basics of Human Rights (that while it is alright to fight for your rights, it is not alright to be violent), and Property Laws (that you cannot own anything without having to pay for it or without it being donated to you by the rightful owner), these ADULTS would have acted less like children and more of the responsible citizens they should be by this time.

Maybe it's just me, but I think there pervades a feeling of being the underdog, of being the biktima, of being the oppressed, which I think got drilled into our minds by the repeated exposure to the stories of the abuse we suffered under the hands of our colonizers. It is one thing to fall down, but to stay down is another.  I think we need to move on from the feeling of being kawawa and help ourselves, use the lessons of our experiences so that we do not become kawawa anymore.  Apart from focusing on our past, I think that it is more important, more crucial for our education to glean from what's happening in the present and use that to educate our students towards being more prepared for the future. 

These figures in History, they can be put in bulletin boards and read about; maybe asked in exams in at most five multiple-choice items.  These happening to us right now, they ought to be discussed, learned from and applied. Like I said, more tools, less tasks.