Labuac, Renzil Roxce BEED III FLCT
REFLECTION PAPER ABOUT THE MATATAG CURRICULUM
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
To address persistent issues in the Philippine education system, the
Department of Education implemented the matatag curriculum. Basic proficiency in
science, arithmetic, and reading is a challenge for many Filipino students. By
emphasising critical core skills and preparing students for contemporary challenges
like using technology and tackling complicated problems, the new curriculum seeks
to address these shortcomings. Even though this plan has a lot of nice ideas, there
are certain issues that must be resolved for it to be successful.
The goal of the Matatag curriculum is to assist children become more
proficient in fundamental areas including science, arithmetic, and reading. Because
they are the building blocks for other learning, these are referred to as foundational
skills. According to recent surveys, many Filipino students have suffered in these
areas, hence developing these skills is a crucial objective. The curriculum places a
strong emphasis on 21st century abilities including digital literacy, teamwork, and
critical thinking in addition to fundamental skills. These are the kinds of abilities that
are valued in today's culture and job.
For instance, a lot of industries today demand workers to be computer literate
and have the ability to handle problems creatively. The matatag curriculum aims to
increase filipino students competitiveness in the Philippine labour market as well as
the global labour market by emphasising these skills. The curriculum's goal of
developing pupils who are ready for difficulties and changes in the future is reflected
in the word matatag, which means strong or resilient. In order to create competent
and self assured people, the curriculum promotes a balance between academic
achievement and personal growth.
The matatag curriculum has a number of issues despite its noble goals. Its
practical effectiveness may be impacted by these problems. Teachers have too much
work under the new system, they must deal with a lot more work, despite being
essential to the success of the matatag curriculum. Teachers find it more difficult to
perform their duties efficiently as a result of this rise in workload. Adding more work
without providing adequate support might cause burnout in educators who are
already under a lot of stress. For example, teachers need training to learn how to
use the new curriculum. They also need time and resources to prepare lessons and
manage larger classes. Without these, they may feel overwhelmed, and this could
affect the quality of their teaching.
And also based on the curriculum long school hours for students the extension of
school hours is another issue. According to this, some classes go until eight o'clock
or perhaps later. Younger kids find this particularly challenging because they may
become fatigued and lose concentration throughout extended school days. Long
hours might also take away from students time for other vital pursuits, like relaxing,
participating in extracurricular activities, or spending time with their family. Another
concern is safety. Night classes might put students at risk for danger on the journey
home, particularly in places with bad public transit or high crime rates. DepEd must
take these issues into account and figure out how to reduce school hours or provide
alternative schedules. It also focused on examing the curriculum detailed before
extending the curriculum further, DepEd should collect data and run pilot tests to see
how it functions in actual classrooms. Finding out what needs to be changed can be
aided by input from parents, instructors, and students. Then, help struggling students
who require additional support should be incorporated into the curriculum. Remedial
courses or individualised teaching methods, for instance, can increase learning
accessibility for all students. Additionally, teachers must to receive training on how to
identify and meet various learning requirements. Lastly, Stress filipino identity,
curriculum should emphasise filipino culture, values, and history in addition to global
competencies. In addition to educating them for the global arena, this can assist
pupils in strengthening their sense of patriotism. In conclusion, the matatag
curriculum is a daring attempt to raise the standard of education in the Philippines. It
can build resilient learners, improve fundamental abilities, and get pupils ready for
today's problems. But how successfully DepEd handles the issues of teacher
workload, long school days, inadequate preparation, and learning loss risk will
determine how successful it is.
In summarization, DepEd can improve the efficacy of the matatag
curriculum by assisting instructors, modifying schedules, conducting extensive
curriculum testing, and guaranteeing inclusion. Students will be both globally
competitive and proud of their Filipino heritage if global objectives and local
demands are balanced. The matatag curriculum has the potential to be a significant
step in enhancing Philippine education with careful design and cooperation from all
parties involved.