Fix first

DepEd Philippines, READ THIS COMMENT. RESPECTFULLY, PRIORITZE THIS IN YOUR REFORM AGENDA.

Buried in the comments of my previous post - about fixing the classroom first before even thinking about making the calendar trimester - is a list that says more about Philippine education than any press release.

Smaller classes. More teachers. More staff. More classrooms. Teacher assistants for Grades 1 to 3. Books and learning materials that actually exist. A student system that works. Fewer seminars. More time to teach. Parents who stay involved. Early grades focused on reading, writing, and basic math. School schedules that respect children.

This is more of a damage report than a wishlist.

Every line points to a system running on overload. Too many students in one room. Too few adults to help. Too little space. Too few tools. Too much paperwork. Too little teaching.

This is what policy keeps skipping.

While offices probably debate trimesters, classrooms deal with numbers that do not fit chairs. While memos may talk about “strategic shifts,” teachers talk about missing books, broken systems, and days eaten by reports and seminars that never reach the classroom.

That comment does not ask for slogans. All it asks is better condition for teachers and learners.

You cannot speed up a class that is already drowning. You cannot compress learning when basic reading and math are still shaky. You cannot demand better results from teachers while giving them larger loads and shorter deadlines.

A trimester system does nothing for any of the problems listed in that comment. It does not reduce class size. It does not hire teachers. It does not build rooms. It does not produce books. It does not fix broken systems. It only changes the calendar.

That is why this comment, among many other comments, matters. It stays where learning actually happens. Inside the room. At the desk. On the chair that may or may not exist.

If DepEd wants a real reform plan, it is already written. It is in that comment. And all the comments under that post.  

Fix class size. Fix staffing. Fix space. Fix materials. Fix systems. Fix time for teaching.

Do that first. Everything else is performance.

Thank you, teacher Esie Castro.