Progressivism and Parenting

Background

A couple of weekends ago, there was the ACET (Ateneo College Entrance Test).  I remember that particular weekend because my groupmates and I were preparing for our report in Perennialism inside the campus, while making sure that we would not be part of the traffic jam in certain hours along Katipunan. 

The following Monday, right before our report, we were discussing in class about the "changes" in curriculum as compared to the past.  Many examples of "changes" were given in class, but in the end, a classmate mentioned (wherein Ma'am strongly agreed) that there is really not much of a difference between education in the past and at present time, which would be a great dismay to Pragmatists (a philosophical viewpoint that we just finished discussing the week before that time).

For a fleeting moment, while I was thinking of an ideal educational setting wherein our students undergo authentic assessments, utilize real Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), and maximize student learning time through the use of current technology, I found myself thinking about the ACET again, the other college entrance tests, and all other standardized tests that students need to take. What do our learners need to know and what do they need to undergo in order for them to enter the universities of their choice?  Are our college entrance tests and other standardized tests measuring HOTS or the rest of what traditional schooling teaches us? 

IS THIS THE (unofficial) PHILIPPINE EDUCATIONAL GOAL?

Standardized tests and college entrance tests somehow negate other non-traditional approaches to education because these tests are the immediate concern of our students, their families, and in turn the schools too.  We want our students to receive higher education, of course, and they need to pass the college tests, so having that as a goal (without necessarily saying that it is a goal of education), we then give our students the typical traditional type of schooling that would allow them to pass the entrance tests they need to pass.  Are these the unofficial and unwritten Philippine educational goal? -- to have high scores in the NAT (which used to be NEAT) and the NSAT, and to pass the college entrance tests?

If we try to aim for an education that is truly authentic, relevant, and aiming for HOTS, wouldn't that mean we need to have a complete overhaul of the system we are used to -- from preschool, primary school, high school, college, and graduate school and so on. How would students be chosen to enter a university for instance? Definitely the ACET and all the other standardized tests should be changed too, right?

As I explained earlier, it was only for a fleeting moment that I thought of this... It remained unspoken and unwritten. Our group continued to report on Perennialism, and life went on. I went back to work the following day, and I did not think about it consciously again, until the following class meeting when the group of Progressivism reported.

They ignited the question in me. Actually, two questions were ignited in me.

That was one. And the second was – in which school would you put your children?

I personally was a product of a traditional school in grade school and high school, but I somehow encountered more progressive professors in the university or at least those who were attempting to be more progressive with their approach (which I can only identify now that I am aware of what being progressive truly means). 

Okay, I would have to correct myself here. I am not just a "product" of those schools I attended and neither are the rest of the people who attended their own schools, progressive or otherwise. I was born with a certain disposition as a child and so did everyone else. It would be a matter of both "nature" and "nurture" how a person becomes who he/she is. Because I am not in the position to speak about other people's experiences, I would now just refer to mine.

Prior to going to school, I was more observant and quiet, a stark contrast to my two older siblings who were very outspoken. People would not even know that I was around, because I'd sit quietly in a corner and watch others. If I were suited to attend an all-girls Catholic school rather than a progressive one, I wouldn't know. I don't think my parents were aware of that when they made their choice in the late 1980s.  I just remember that we were to receive Catholic education because my parents did not. They were students of the state university and the preparatory school of the university, and so they needed to rely on our chosen schools to make us more Catholic. 

We were sent to traditional Catholic schools -- an all-girls school for the females and an all-boys school for the male. We grew up going to Sunday mass as a family every week, and yet not all five of us children became truly practicing Catholics if given a choice. One point that could be taken here is that one could not rely on the school alone to mold children. There are so many factors involved such as disposition of the human person, family life, school experiences, other human interaction, and what a person makes out of all these.

Now that I am studying Education and this question is directed at me, I am stumped. Where would you put your child? 

GOALS OF A PROGRESSIVIST EDUCATION

From what I have understood in the report about Progressivism, a growing child and his/her needs are of utmost importance.  Education would be directed at social reform, and education should provide freedom that would allow a child’s natural development. Again, the goals sound very ideal and appealing. Who would not want an education like this? Even with this option/approach present to us today, majority of our schools still utilize the traditional approach to education.

I guess the other important question now is how possible is it for the progressivist goals to be attained in our context?  How much of these goals are truly attained in progressive schools in the Philippines?  And what are the beliefs of the stakeholders?

PARENTING and MAKING CHOICES

I began to think of the school where I could put my son in the future.  Should it be a progressive or a traditional one? If I put my son in a progressive school, how would he eventually fare in the universities with very traditional approaches to Education? How would he enter the universities in the first place?  If I put him in a traditional school, would I be depriving him of what he could actually learn and become? How would my son fit in these kinds of schools?

Then there is the concept of home schooling. I have heard rave reviews about home schooled children, and how the issue of socialization is being addressed by sending these children to activities with other home schooled children such as soccer, capoeira, violin lessons, etc. It reminds me somehow of American colonists’ farmhouses in the 1600s where plenty of children used to be schooled at home or the royal European bloods who had their teachers/tutors at home.  With the various schools we can choose from now, is this a stand made by particular parents that the schools we have are not good enough?  Or are more parents afraid for their children who could possibly be exposed to bullying and possible gun pointing within campus walls at a young age?

I am currently teaching in a school that holds the position of practicing the best elements of progressive and traditional approaches.  We have a small class size with a maximum of 25 students. I teach a class of 11 girls who seem to be the recipient of all the new methods and insights I am gaining from graduate school.  I see the school bloom and grow with one year being added each year.  Because I am within that system, I see our strengths as much as I see our mistakes. I am a part of it, growing as an educator myself, making my own mistakes and learning from them as well.

Having a traditional and Catholic education myself and being immersed in a Catholic international school that practices some progressive approach to education, I still cannot answer the question on which school to put my child in.  I have not decided on where to put my son in the future. 

I do have my inclinations and inkling, but I cannot fully decide on it for now. Perhaps it’s because I have not met my son yet. He is still currently kicking inside my womb as I type this.  And without knowing him, I cannot make a full decision for him.  After all, I believe that he comes to this world not as tabula rasa. He comes to this world as the person he is, with a disposition that he has, and then once I know those, we can decide where it is best that he becomes who he wants to be.