No more! This is our time! it's ours, or is it...

The 10-point Agenda on education.

I cannot just base this proposition with a single perspective. I will be giving it with several views, PNOY’s, Student’s, Teacher’s, Parent’s and as a whole country. After that, I will be giving a generalization of what I think about it.

PNOY’s cause about this added 2 years of education is rather very appropriate. It is possible that people would contradict to what the president has planned for the Philippines’ system regarding education but he merely wants the Philippines to be a more productive country. We are too left behind by the modern world and we are the last one of two countries who doesn’t follow this system. What is the outcome? Our country cannot fully use its resources, specifically human resources. We all know that we are very versatile when it comes to anything and everything. The problem is, we don’t have the right “tools” to manipulate to be able to be a 1st world country. The proposition of our president will actually benefit our country because, mainly, we would be able to use our people. All the Filipinos who are really good are not staying here because of the financial instability of the Philippines. We are not actually poor, but we are corrupt. That is an idea that we should all understand, now that we believe that our government is now better, we could try to back PNOY’s proposition up mainly because what he actually doing is not for his own good but it’s for our own benefit. There are only 2 choices that may be formulated, 1 is that we could contradict to our president’s 10-point agenda on education and stay here in a very slow-evolving 3rd world country or, we could agree on this agenda and probably, be a better country in aspects regarding our financial stability, we could grow into the country that we all want it to be. We could be a 1st world country like the countries that our fellow Filipinos are right now, working their asses off for the benefit of that country, as long as we set our minds to change it and make it better.

Student’s views: Now for my fellow students. Well, if you are to see the majority of the students who have heard the agenda, it would be self explanatory what these students want and don’t want. I see their point that if it is already hard for them now, how could it possibly get better if the 10 years of education will be 12 years? Not only that, there would be major changes that PNOY have in stored for us, like the agenda, “every child a reader” by Grade 1. Is it not too hard for the kid to be pushed into learning something that should be learned in time? If I was the kid, it would make me want to shout “Stop! I’m just 7 years old!” But still, I see the point of our president that he wants to manifest the ability of the child to be able to speak better in the future. It is also good because it would probably make the child ready for the outside world. Even though this is my personal perspective about these agendas, I still cannot represent the whole population of Filipino teenagers who are in school. But if I were to think like the majority, I would think that it is nonsense that our president would want us to have a Grade 7 and a 5th Year. It would be punishment if he would continue this. That is what I believe the majority of the teens would think regarding this proposition.

Teacher’s views: I believe that the teachers of the Philippines would want to implement this but as I’ve said teachers. They clearly know that when their students go abroad to study, they would be held back for 2 years and would have to repeat the 2 years. It is because all the educational system of all the countries is in the 12-year basic education cycle. As I’ve said, we are only one of two countries who still follow the 10-year basic education cycle. A teacher of mine told me that there was a story of a student of hers that graduated and took his masters here in the Philippines, after he finished taking his masters, he went to abroad to work, he applied in a very respected company and they did not take him because they told him that he was too young to be a master and that if he really wanted to work in that company, he had to retake his masters. Can you see this liability? Filipinos are being held up for in other countries just to be able to have a good career or name. It really is a good thing if the Philippines will make the 12-years of education available. One more thing is that teachers view this as strength for the Filipinos because it will help them achieve all their goals in life mainly because they can say that they really graduated with no doubts.

Parent’s views: As we all know, the Philippines isn’t the typical country that would always think of the positive effects of something. In this case, The 10- point agenda on education. The Parent’s views are clearly seen in the news. They are clearly pointing out that it is hard to fund the education of their children because earning money is just too hard for them. It also said that if they cannot give their children the full education that they need, how could it be possibly better if they would still add 2 more years? That is what PNOY is pointing out in the 10- point agenda. People should read that because it contains all the information that they would need. The president is making major changes in the system by really making it possible for children, even without money, to have the education that they would need.

As for my view, I believe that the president’s cause is truly amazing. He really wants to make the Philippines rise again. As a student, I see the liabilities of it but I would not mind it if the assets are far better. If I can freely state what I want, it would be to continue this because, mainly, it is really productive if it would be implemented. But, here’s the catch, I would really want it to be put into action but is the Philippines ready? Are we ready? That is the question that is contradicting everything that I want and believe would happen. Our country isn’t put up for this. It is not ready to step up in the next world yet mainly because it has other problems that need to be attended to before this could be “active.” I feel that our president should first put this aside and fix the other problem of the Philippines, corruption. If we would be able to fix this, there is no doubt that it would be easier for all of us to implement the 12-year system of education. Another thing that we should fix is unity, we should all work together to make this happen, we should all stand and fight for what we believe in. If all the people are united and the country isn’t corrupted, surely there would be great outcomes so let’s start now for a better future.