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COMMENTARY

Martial law and the

miseducation of our
youth
By: Ricardo Ma. Duran Nolasco - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 11:15 PM September 21, 2012

When declared martial law, Ferdinand Marcos ushered in the bilingual

setup of using two second languages (mostly English) in education.
Marcos saw the education system as his primary vehicle to
perpetuate the warped values of his so-called New Society, with
disastrous historical consequences. Rather than promote genuine
literacy, the bilingual policy only contributed to the miseducation of
generations of Filipinos. The damage done to our national psyche is
immeasurable. As it is, we are still a nation in search of our soul.
It took us 40 years before realizing the folly of this policy. We have
replaced it with a new one called mother tongue-based multilingual
education (MTBMLE).

Despite the change, functional illiteracy and low quality instruction

continue to victimize us like the plague. The Philippines is missing
targets for net enrollment ratio in primary education by 17.2 years,
for primary grade completion rate by 10.2 years and for the literacy
rate of 15-24-year-olds by 9.1 years.
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I celebrated International Literacy Day 2012 with education

stakeholders in Mindanao on two occasions, one at the University of
Southern Mindanao (USM) in Kabacan, Cotabato, on Sept. 6-8 and the
other at Ateneo de Davao University on September 15.

In Kabacan, where Ilocano, Binisaya, Ilonggo and Maguindanaon

communities dominate, I delivered three talks. The biggest audience
close to 2,000came on Sept. 8, International Literacy Day, which
was also the 51st anniversary of USMs College of Education, where I
was guest of honor.

On that occasion, I encouraged the tertiary education institutions to

help overcome the serious shortage of teachers for MTBMLE by
designing at least four types of teacher training programs:

The incorporation of MTBMLE into existing professional teaching

programs, where education majors learn how to apply second
language acquisition theories.

One-year fast track certificate programs for graduates with

nonteaching baccalaureate degrees that would equip them with the
required pedagogical skills and knowledge for the MTBMLE
classroom.
Three- to four-week intensive workshops for experienced certified
teachers to become effective in an MTBMLE environment.

Training programs for teaching assistants who are fluent in the local
language (L1) but do not have the educational background to qualify
for the regular teaching profession.

These parateachers have proven to be effective in situations where

the regular teacher is fluent in the official language but does not
know the L1 of the learners.
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On September 6 and 7, there was an assembly for students and a

one-day seminar for teachers. Numerous queries on the whys and
wherefores of L1-based instruction and doubts on the programs
effectiveness and sustainability were aired. I sought to dispel these
doubts by citing the local and international evidence. I assured the
teachers that there are available resources that they can access
online, and referred them to education institutions that they can rely
on for training. But I could not hide my disappointment over the
Department of Educations early exit policy as well as the
haphazard implementation of this policy.

Other speakers at the one-day seminar for teachers were: Bonna

Duron of Save the Children who talked about their pilot programs in
South Cotabato that included Blaan and Maguindanaon
communities; Mhawi Rosero of University of the Philippines Layap
who spoke on language documentation and research; Cito Casquite
who gave a lecture on the characteristics of stage 1, 2, 3 and 4
stories for learners as they progress from beginning literacy to
fluency; and Noemi Dumalaog who gave a teaching demonstration
using Ilonggo on the story about the big-mouthed frog.

I met with USM officials led by Jesus Antonio Dirije, president; Tony
Tacardon, academic affairs vice president; and Leorence Tandog,
dean of the College of Education. They liked the idea of USM hosting
a 3-day national MTBMLE seminar-workshop in February 2013 in time
for International Mother Language Day.

The Davao forum was a collaborative project of USM, Ateneo de

Davao University, Translators Association of the Philippines and SIL
Philippines. Pam Castrillo and Cecile Van Zante led the activities.

The following issues were discussed at the Davao forum:

Pilot programs in Cotabato City and South Cotabato by SIL and Save
the Children show children in MTBMLE schools outperforming those in
bilingual settings, becoming confident speakers in school, and
beginning to write in their native language outside of the school
setting.

Parents now participate more in the education of their children

because they can understand the language used in school.

The question of Filipino identity is dependent on how Filipinos value

their own ethnic identities.

The tertiary education institutions have their work cut out for them
because on their shoulders rest the primary responsibility of training
our existing and future teachers under the new mother-tongue-based
paradigm.

Finally, I wish to invite the public to another forum-workshop titled

Math-talino sa Unang Wika: Teaching the Early Grades Math
Curriculum in the First Language. This will be held on Oct. 6, 8 a.m.-
5 p.m. at Palma Hall 400, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy,
UP Diliman, Quezon City.

Dr. Ricardo Ma. Duran Nolasco (rnolasco_upmin@yahoo.com) is an

associate professor in linguistics at UP Diliman.
Read more: http://opinion.inquirer.net/37222/martial-law-and-the-
miseducation-of-our-youth#ixzz4oLE97EyY
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