What should be the direction of basic education in this country?
We don’t have to go further than the Constitution to tell us what that should be: “The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and shall promote their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being. It shall inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism, and encourage their involvement in public and civic affairs.”
So the two questions posed by a lawmaker are relevant: Are young Filipinos so glued to social media that they lack critical thinking? Why not make current events part of the K-to-12 curriculum?
These are valid questions to ask in the era of social media dominated by Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Tiktok, and Instagram, among other platforms.
Pangasinan Rep. Christopher de Venecia seeks to counteract the apparent propensity of today’s youth to rely mainly on social media to appreciate what’s really happening around them.
In filing House Bill No. 6418, or the Current Events Education Act, the lawmaker wants to include current events in the K-12 curriculum, such as in social studies, civics or media studies and other subjects “as may be determined by the Department of Education (DepEd).”
The proposed measure, which has been referred to the House committee on basic education and culture, aims to “strengthen the civic consciousness of Filipino learners” and encourage them to be active in political discourse.
The legislator cited two studies to support his measure.
One is a 2018 Far Eastern University Public Policy Center research showing that 86 percent of Gen Z students age 17 to 24 “never take a stand as far as their political views or opinions are concerned” and concluded that “Filipino youth are generally apathetic toward political discussions.”
Moreover, 2021 Social Weather Stations survey showed that 51 percent of Filipinos have difficulty distinguishing fake news from real ones was an “alarming reality of the lack of an informed and politically engaged citizenry.”
The bill defines “current events” as “any factual political, economic or social occurrences of interest, relevance or importance in the locality, country or the world happening in the present time.”
The measure, according to the lawmaker, would strengthen students’ understanding of national and global events and “train teachers in media literacy and innovations in their pedagogy.”
The bill wants DepEd to ensure that current events materials will remain as factual as possible and to train teachers in handling current events discussions and provide them with relevant instructional materials.
Schools must subscribe to such materials as newspapers, magazines, and books.
But the bill’s most important provision, from where we sit, is this: “Students in class activities discussing current events shall be afforded their constitutional freedom of expression.”
That’s comforting to know.
But won’t that make students critical of corruption and malfeasance in government unwilling recipients of unwanted attention from those who will be able to benefit from the DepEd’s confidential and intelligence funds in next year’s budget?