16 January 2012

Shorter hours for Grade 1


Education Secretary Armin Luistro announced Monday that incoming Grade 1 pupils for the school year 2012 to 2013 will be spending shorter hours in school—from six contact hours to only four hours—to make education “less stressful” and “more enjoyable” for the young learners.
The new class schedule was based on the implementation of the new curriculum for Grade 1 pupils as part of the launch of DepEd’s Enhanced K- to-12 Basic education program this coming school year.
Luistro said that the new curriculum will only “require pupils to go to school for half a day.” Currently, students in public schools that practice double shifts spend six hours in school.
The DepEd chief explained that cutting school hours for Grade 1 pupils will make schooling more enjoyable.
“It is important that our learners develop that natural love for learning and not feel that it is something imposed on them,” Luistro said. Apart from shorter school hours, the new curriculum to be implemented ensures “easily understood lessons using the language spoken at home.”
Luistro said that the new curriculum is centered more on the pupils rather than on the traditional way of teaching which is focused on the teacher. “We are making it a real learning experience for the pupils, meaning, it will be less on memorization, but more encouraging of critical thinking,” Luistro said.
Luistro added that the new K- to-12 curriculum will also implement the mother tongue-based multi-lingual education (MTB-MLE) in studying lessons from Kindergarten up to Grade 3.
“Studies have shown that students learn better when the language used at home is the same language used in discussing class lessons,” said Luistro. He added that the DepEd is already piloting MTB-MLE in various schools nationwide, using eight major regional dialects.
Luistro said that the introduction of the new curriculum is part of the education reform program under the Aquino administration which seeks to produce high school graduates who are equipped with skills for the world of work, have better needed competencies for college education, and ready for global opportunities.
Under the K-to-12 program, the public school system will have kindergarten — which started in school year 2011 — six years in elementary, four years in junior high school, and two more years for senior high school, where students will have more time to sharpen their employable skills.
By INA HERNANDO-MALIPOT
MB.COM

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