18/05/2026
Worth sharing.
PTP... CTTO...
Open Letter of a retiree, 64-year-old DepEd Teacher.
Blog Post #31
Title: “reform ba o legacy lang?”
Mahal kong Department of Education, mga policymakers, at mga susunod pang hahawak ng sistema ng edukasyon ng Pilipinas,
Itago nyo na lang po ako sa pangalan na ma'am Pidela.
Higit 40 years na po akong nagtuturo. Nagsimula akong magturo noong panahon na chalk lang ang puhunan namin, electric fan na maingay ang soundtrack ng klase, at attendance sheet na mano-manong sinusulatan ang una naming ginagawa to start our classes.
I have spent almost my ENTIRE LIFE inside a classroom.
Dito po ako nagsimula.
Dito ako nahubog at humubog.
Dito ako nakapag-ipon ng beautiful, memorable memories.
Dito po ako nangarap.
Dito na rin po ako tumanda kasabay ng mga pangarap.
Dito rin ako nangarap para sa pangarap ng mga bata!
At dito ko rin unti-unting nakita kung paano
nag-progress ang education system ng Pinas
hanggang sa unti-unti rin itong nag-regress.
Isa po ako sa mga naabutan ang mga lumang curriculum na simple pero malinaw ang direction at intentions.
Naabutan ko rin yung panahong mas kaunti ang paperworks pero mas marami ang pagtuturo. Mas kaunti ang seminars, ngunit mas may oras para kilalanin ang mga batang hirap bumasa, hirap umintindi, at hirap mabuhay.
Then everything started changing.
Andaming teaching pedagogies na na-introduce.
At first, na-excite po kami.
Because every reform was introduced with beautiful words.
Sobrang nakaka-engganyo po ng pagkakasulat sa papel:
“Global competitiveness.”
“21st century learning.”
“Learner-centered approach.”
“Understanding by Design.”
“Backward Learning.”
“Flip Classroom.”
“Future-ready graduates.”
“Transformative education.”
Napakaganda pakinggan. Nakaka-professional!
At bilang mga g**o, natuwa kami. Sumunod kami. Nag-adjust kami. Hanggang sa halos every 6 years may bagong bago. Hanggang sa nagpapauto na lang kami.
Noong panahon ko na lumang sistema, tinuruan kaming mag-focus sa discipline, routine, repetition, mastery.
👉🏼 Then came curriculum revisions.
👉🏼 Then competency-based learning.
👉🏼 Then decongestion.
👉🏼 Then outcomes-based education.
👉🏼 Then K-12.
👉🏼 Then spiral progression.
👉🏼 Then learning competencies.
👉🏼 Then Most Essential Learning Competencies.
👉🏼 Then MATATAG Curriculum.
At bawat pagbabago, kami po ang unang sumasalo ng impact.
❌ Hindi po ang mga politiko (na mga ningas-kugon).
❌ Hindi po ang mga consultant (kung meron man talaga).
❌ Hindi ang mga nakaupo sa air-conditioned offices (sana all).
✅ Kami pong mga G**O. Kami pong:
☑️ mga g**o sa pampublikong paaralan na may 50 students on average sa isang classroom.
☑️ mga g**ong inuuwi ang school works para maging home work.
☑️ mga g**ong bumibili ng sariling pentel pen at manila paper, visual materials, at teaching aids
☑️ mga g**ong nagpi-print gamit sariling pera.
☑️ mga g**ong pumapasok kahit may sakit dahil walang substitute teacher.
We became shock absorbers of an educational system that changes FASTER than it HEALS. An educational system that is beautifully redesigned but poorly supported.
Naabutan ko ang panahon na ang problema lang namin ay lesson plan at kung bakit absent si Juan.
Ngayon?
Problema namin magturo ng curriculum sa mga bata na kami mismong nagtuturo hindi ito maintindihan.
Anong curriculum na ba tayo? Ako mismo di ko na alam.
Old Curriculum.
RBEC.
BEC.
UBE.
K-12.
MELCs.
MATATAG.
Sa tanda ko na pong ito, napansin ko lang na every administration, sits with a new “solution,” as if education sector were a political problem or a national concern that must carry a new label every six years.
Tuwing may maluluklok na bago sa pwesto, sigurado may mababago sa sistema.
Ano po ba tingin nyo sa mga bata, projects?
at ang mga classrooms experiment laboratory?
at kaming mga g**o ay testers ng pilot programs?
Alam ba ninyo kung gaano kahirap magturo ng isang lesson pag di mo inaral ng maayos? Kumpara mo pa sa isang sistemang hindi pa nga lubos na naiintindihan ng teachers, ipapasa na agad sa mga estudyante?
Yes, we attend trainings (enough ba?)
Yes, we receive modules (sinong gumawa?)
Yes, we are told to “adapt.” (ura-urada)
We are told to “innovate.” (this takes time)
We are told to “be resilient.” (yes, we’re doing our best)
But were we ever asked if we are still doing OK?
Nobody asks us kung anong situation sa baba.
Excuse me, mas kami po yata ang dapat na pakinggan nyo kasi kami ang nakakakita ng totoong situation sa bawat classrooms at needs ng bawat bata. Pero tinanong nyo ba kami? Mas nag-uutos po kayo ng mga bagay na kayo mismo walang ka-edi-idea!
Kelan kaya darating yung time na samin manggagaling ang proposals based sa need ng mga bata, naming mga g**o, at ng schools? at kayo lang ang taga-provide? As it is supposed to be?
Noong nag-launch kayo ng K-12, sinabi sa amin na ito ang sagot para maging globally competitive ang Pilipinas. Pero yung dalawang anak ko na nasa UK at Canada, kinailangan pa mag-aral ulit para ma-align ang skills at credentials sa ibang bansa. Ano pong silbi ng EducReform kung ganito? Anong silbi ng global competitiveness at competency alignment?
Nag-introduce kayo ng bagong system. Nag-adjust kami. Nag-aral ulit kami. Gumawa ng bagong learning materials na para bang Educ PhD kami lahat. Tinanggap namin kahit dagdag trabaho, dagdag oras, dagdag pagod.
Then after a few years, another revision again.
Panibagong competencies.
Panibagong frameworks.
Panibagong reports.
Panibagong terminologies.
Sometimes I ask myself:
“May sapat bang panahon para sukatin kung effective ba talaga ang isang curriculum bago ninyo ito palitan?”
Or are we merely changing systems so every administration can leave a legacy behind?”
I witnessed students becoming TRANSITION BATCHES over and over and over and over and over and over and oooooover again.
Isang batch ang guinea pig ng spiral progression.
Sunod na batch guinea pig ng K-12.
Sunod na batch guinea pig ng MELCs.
Ngayon another batch for MATATAG.
Na kapag nag-apply na ng trabaho hindi tatanggapin ng employer kasi magulo descriptions ng entire educational record. Hindi na nga standardized across public and private schools sa buong bansa, hindi pa relevant yung credential sa standard ng ibang bansa.
Realtalk!
At ang masakit?
These children carry the consequences long after the politicians and so-called policy makers leave their "ginatasang" offices.
Alam nyo ba tunay na epekto nito sa mga bata?
✅ High school students who cannot even comprehend basic reading passages.
✅ Grade school students struggling with foundational math.
✅ Children overloaded with outputs but lacking deep understanding (ampaw)
✅ Students trained to comply but not necessarily to think critically.
For compliance na lang lahat para masabi lang na may nagawa!
And yet every year, more paperwork arrives than actual support.
And we always end up letting kids go kahit hindi naman pasado.
Kasi kung i-implement man namin ang QUALITY PRACTICE, maraming di papasa. Tapos kami din naman ang sasabihin ng:
"Oh, bagsak si ganito, anong ginawa mo bilang g**o?"
And truth be told:
💯 Mas marami pa kaming forms kaysa learning tools.
💯 Mas marami pang reports kaysa remediation programs.
💯 Mas marami pang tarpaulin at slogans na nagkalat sa kalsada basura kaysa support and interventions.
💯 Mas marami pang requirements para ma-promote kami para man lang sana tumaas sweldo, kaysa sa compensation/bonuses para samin na selfless at tireless para sa ganitong sistema.
AND,
Do you know what truly breaks an old teacher’s heart?
Hindi ang mababang sahod.
Hindi ang overtime.
Hindi ang pagod.
Hindi ang undervalue.
Ang tunay na masakit ay makita na ang batang Pilipino ay unti-unting nawawalan ng pagkakataong magkaroon ng stable at maayos na edukasyon dahil ang sistema tapikin lang ng bahagya, mauuga na bigla. 🥹
And Oh, God!
I have seen brilliant students lose confidence and interest in learning because the system kept changing around them! 🥹
I have seen teachers cry quietly in faculty rooms cursing that they chose this career. 🥹
I have seen young teachers burn out before reaching their 3rd year in service. 🥹
And now, as I approach retirement, I ask myself a painful question:
“Ito na ba yung sistema at propesyon na sobra kong pinaglaanan ng buong buhay ko?”
A system where teachers spend more time encoding than teaching?
Where curriculum reforms arrive faster than preparation?
Where classrooms remain overcrowded while expectations multiply endlessly?
Where every new DepEd secretary must introduce a new educational slogan to prove relevance?
Quick check lang sa ibang bansa ha.
✅ Japan improves gradually. If may binabago sila, informed lahat. Teachers, families, pati children, and community para sabay-sabay nagsusuportahan. And til now, Old curriculum pa rin sila. Dahil ang thinking nila, bakit papalitan kung nagwowork naman?
✅ Canada studies implementation carefully. Hindi sila naka-focus sa methods, they combine old proven frameworks and theories and put them into practice kung kailan need ng bata yung ganung approach. Hindi sila slaves ng kung anu-anong teaching methods.
✅ Finland and Denmark focused sila sa nature/outdoor learning. So, di need ng fancy budgeting.
✅ Napag-iiwanan na nga rin tayo ng Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
✅ Kulelat po tayo sa Science and Math, academics globally!
Pero patuloy pa rin tayong excited sa kung anu-anong educ frameworks and concepts, methods, and policies that arrive big, sudden, untested, and politically timed.
That what? Bring confusion.
Hindi naman masama ang pagbabago.
Education must evolve.
But meaningful reform requires stability, preparation, consultation, evaluation, and time.
Time for teachers to master the curriculum.
Time for students to absorb concepts deeply.
Time for schools to prepare facilities.
Time for evidence before replacement.
And time for parents and families to get informed.
Hindi puwedeng bawat administration may bagong eksperimento.
Because children are not statistics.
They are lives.
They are futures.
They are the nation itself.
At kaming mga g**o?
Napapagod din po kami.
Pagod na kaming maghabol.
Pagod na kaming mag-adjust nang walang sapat na suporta.
Pagod na kaming magpanggap na okay lang kahit hindi na namin alam kung saan ba talaga papunta ang sistema.
Pasalamat po kayo at sobrang bait at utu-uto namin na despite everything…
Pumapasok pa rin kami.
Nagtuturo pa rin kami.
Umaasa pa rin kami.
Because we still believe education can save this country.
Kaya bago ako tuluyang magretiro bilang isang g**ong buong buhay na nagsilbi sa Department of Education, ito na lamang ang huling pakiusap ko:
[ please read the sentiments of my Fellow teachers down below ]
- CTTO
