DarvyP.

Ong
SarahSerquea
LemuelPaoloSuico
Prof.FrancesAbao
English10THU1
26March2013
ResearchPaper
ToAddorNottoAdd:
AChangeinthePresentEducationalCurriculum

On a daily basis, thousands upon thousandsof students gotoschool

for an education. They spend years of their lives and millions worth of
money in academic institutions in order to get it. At the same time, they
depend on these academic institutions and their systems of teaching, in
other words their educational curriculum, to achieve the goal of having a
good and proper education.But what isaneducationalcurriculum?Andare
these so called educational systems existent today enough to provide a
lastingeducationthatmeetsupwithtodaysstandardsandexpectations?
By definition, education is the act or process of imparting general
knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgement, and
generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life. It is
what is acquired by students throughout their entire stay in academic and

instructional institutions. Curriculum, on the other hand, comes from the

Latin word Currere which means
to run
or
to proceed
, referring to the
course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become
mature adults. As Smith, Stanley, and Shores stated in
Fundamentals of
Curriculum Development,
Curriculum is a cultural reproduction in a
structuredway.Itisevenmore:Itshouldalsovalueindependentthinkingin
the context of the widest sense of social responsibility. From these an
educational curriculum can be defined as an organized learning program,
usually segregated into subject areas, implemented in schools that aim to
impartuponstudentsnotonlyskillsandknowledgebutalsothecapabilityto
think independently while conforming to proper reasoning and judgement
and harbouring astrong sense of responsibilityneeded to growinto mature
adults.
An educational curriculum is made up of four important elements,
namely its objectives, content, methods, and evaluative measures.
Objectives are the primary building blocks of good curriculumdesign.They
support the learning outcome in that each objective is a step towards
arriving at what the learner is supposed to know or be able to do. For
example,a highschoolscience teachermightdevelop achronologicallist of
topics to be covered in a high school biological sciencecourse:functionsof
human organisms, use of plant and animal resources, evolution and
development, and the like (Williams, 2011). Content, on theother hand, is

the medium through which the objectives are accomplished. It is the

knowledge that will be conveyed and taught. Also, it conforms to the
informational, cultural, historical, social and other such needs of the
students. If the content is the whatof aneducational curriculum,then the
method is the how. Here, instructional strategiesareimplemented,may it
be through social, mental, or physical activities. It is where the objectives
will be put into action through the use of the contents of the curriculum.
Lastly, the most important element of a curriculum is the evaluation or
assessment. It is what will measure the performance of students based on
themethods used inconveyingknowledgetothem. Assessmentsoftentake
the form of exams, oral presentations, research projects, or writing
assignments.
Asearlyas1925,the inadequacyofthebasiceducationcurriculumhas
been observed bymanystudies. Being oneofthemostwellstudiedreforms,
recommendationsofeitheraddingor restoring 7thgradeor addinganextra
year to basic education were put forward, andtheK12 educationalreform
plan was formed. The K12 educational reform is an education system
comprised of thirteen grades: one year of kindergarten, six years of
elementary school, fouryears ofjunior highschool, and two yearsof senior
high school. With two more years than the present curriculum, the K12
education program aims to developboth the students mental, physical,and
emotional stability as well as their social, industrial, and organizational

capabilities upon completing the said curriculum. Also, the two additional
years of education,where students gettochoosewhichsubjects orcourses
they would take in lieu of their abilities and talents, will result in
bettereducated, competitive, and employable graduates. Finally, students
who graduate under this educational program are deemed qualified to
establish their own business, or be employed by companies and
establishments. And due to these characteristics, the K12 education
program has become one of the most implemented educational curriculum
formats,beingimplementedincountriessuchasAmerica,Canada,Australia,
andmorerecently,thePhilippines.
The K12 education program, although just one of many other such
programs, has shed light upon the importance of having an effective
educational curriculum. It is evident that havingagoodeducational system
isnecessaryin order to instillupon students a solideducationalbackground
where they will have knowledge on how to be successful, confident, and
responsible.As Ed Markey, a USCongressman,said:Ournationssecurity,
economy, and place on the world stage depends on the success of our
educationalsystem.

OnOctober5,2010, theDepartmentofEducationunveileditsplansto
adopt the K12 educational program. With this program, twoyearswillbe
added to the basic education curriculum where students will be able to
choose their own subject areas to study, thus preparing them for their
respective college courses or for their working careers. But is adding more
years to theeducationalcurriculumthebestway to ensuregoodness inthe
qualityofeducationthatthestudentswillbereceiving?
It is an unspoken rule that quality mustalways take precedenceover
the quantity of a product, whether tangible or intangible. In this case, the
socalledproduct iseducation,andit isofutmostimportancetomakesure
that the quality of the education given to students meet today's standards.
The amount of knowledge taught is not the most important aspect of
education. It is the studentsunderstandingonthepresent subjectmatters,
though it may be small or large in quantity, that is of utmost importance.
Following this train of thought, it must be taken into considerationthefact
that while the K12 education program does add a couple more years of
education to the curriculum, there is no way of ensuring that it is of good
quality. Therefore, instead of adding a couple more years to the basic
educational curriculum, it would be better if focus will be given to the

present curriculum and to those who are having difficulties on the different
subject matters already present in the current educational curriculum. And
the bestway to dothis isby allocating additionaltime forthe instructors to
makesurethatthestudentsunderstandthelessonscompletely.
As withanything,therearemanyprinciplesthatsupportthisidea. One
of thembeingthefactthattheeffectivityofschoolswithcurriculumslikethe
one described are higher than those of schools who do not support it.
Another being that the different methods used inteaching will beimproved
because ofthedemand forpracticalwaysofteachingthathelpsthestudents
to fully understand the lessons taught. And last, the fact that this kind of
curriculum system benefits in terms of time, resources and information
relayedforbothstudentswhoneedanddonotneedadditionalassistance.
T
he effectivity of schools with such educational curriculum systems
are higher than those of schools who do not support it. By implementing
additional classes, an edge is given to thestudents underit becauseof the
factthat those followingsuchacurriculumwould begivenmoretimetofully
comprehend and master the topics discussed. An example to this is the
higher effectivity of schools that follow an extendedscientific curriculum as
opposed to those thatfollowthestandardeducationalcurriculum.Insupport
of this is the factthat the Makati Science HighSchool,aschool that follows
such a curriculum, is noted as a consistent top placer in the National
Achievement Test resultsofitsregion. Likewise,ifthestandardeducational

curriculum is expanded to accommodate additional classes for those who

needit,theacademicsuccessratesofstudentswillalsoincrease.
Withthese additionalclasses,themethodusedin teachingwouldalso
be improved.Keeping inmindthat theseclassessolepurpose is toincrease
theefficiency ofeducationofstudentswhoarehavingahardtimecopingup
withlessons. Andinordertoachievethisgoal,themethodsofteachingused
must be competent in the sense that it will give focus on areas of study
where the students are having difficulty. Like tutorials, these additional
classes would focus on the weak points of each of the students, thus
bringingthem up to parwiththerestofthestudentsinthe regularclasses.
Andthis,inturnwillresultinamasteryofthelessonstaught.
Students who are having difficulties in copingupwiththelessons are
not the only ones who benefit from this setup. As stated above, students
whotaketheseadditional classesarebroughtup to parwith the rest ofthe
students in the regular classes, therefore it minimizes time wasted by the
instructors to discuss again to these select few what the rest of the class
already know. This results in a steady flow of knowledge to and from the
instructorandthestudents,wheremorethanampletimewillbegiventothe
discussionofthecurrentsubjectmatter.
Itisinevitable thatdespitetheabovementionedfactorsthatmakethe
implementation ofadditional classes for those who havedifficultiesinschool
a solid argument, there are still some factors that have to be considered

before doing so. One ofthemostimportant factors thatconstrainsthisidea

is money. With the implementation of such a system, affected students
families, many of whom are living off the minimal wages of one or both
parents, will be forced to spend more of their money on the additional
expenses of schooling, such as the cost on school supplies, transportation
fees,andalso, pocketmoney for food andother needsinschool.Asidefrom
this, the school and its administration will also face issues concerningtheir
budget. Not only will they havetomaintaintheschool facilitiesand payfor
additional expenses in terms of electricity consumption and other such
things, they also have to ensure that all the instructors will be given their
due salaries for the additional time they spent in teaching these additional
classes. This leads to another factorthat isof importancewhenconsidering
this idea, time. Additional classes mean additional work time, and it is not
suffice to say that the instructors will always be available to do it,afterall
its not really
a partoftheirresponsibilitiestoteachtheseadditionalclasses.
Lastly, the most important factor is the quality of education. Even with a
curriculum like this, there is no complete assurance that the quality of
educationwill beenhanced sincein order to achieve this goal,studentsand
teachersalikemust beable to work with eachother intheprocessofgiving
and taking of knowledge. These are the major concerns when it comes to
the idea of implementing additional curriculum to the educational system.
Andthough theymay seem dauntingandimpossible to resolve,withproper

planningand organization, the administrationisboundtobeabletoachieve

the goal amending these problems. For example,
Theschooladministration
could facilitate events that will generate incomethat willserve as abudget
for the money needed in implementing additional classes. Also, the
administration could also set up scholarship programs and studentloansto
help students who are financially unstable. In regards to the problem of
time, the administration could resolve this by hiring more instructors to
meet with the demands of the additional curriculum. And about the quality
of education, this has always been a problem in schools, and the only real
solution to this is to try and motivate students to study through different
methods, such as changing the method of teaching in such a way that the
studentswillbeinterestedinthelessonstaught.
Nowadays, it is a mustthat every individualmust beable to meet up
with the standards of society. In order to do this, every person must be
given a good and proper education. And in turn, a good and proper
education relies on an educational curriculum where students are
encouragedtolearn andunderstand,and where astudents capabilitiesand
competence are accounted for. Educational curriculums such as the K12
educational program have the right idea where additional curriculum must
be added, but its method of doing so is not ample in the sense that while
adding two years to the present curriculum might seem likea goodwayto
make sure that students will get a proper education, there is really no

assurance that it will be so. The only way of ensuring the quality of
education is by focusingontheaspectsof the curriculum thatstudentsfind
difficult to understand and taking action on them. Therefore,
it is
recommendedthatadditional curriculum beimplementedforthosestudents
whoareexperiencingdifficultiesinthesefieldsofstudy.
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