The new shs curriculum, A doorway to better tommorow or a key to another setback?
Education plays a major role in shaping how individuals think, adapt, and function in society. Knowledge serves as a bridge that connects learning inside the classroom to real-life experiences, helping students understand the world beyond academics. Because of this, changes in the education system greatly affect how prepared students are for the future.
The enhanced Senior High School curriculum is an updated program that focuses on skills development, technology, and real-life preparation. The ideal outcome of this curriculum is to make Senior High School students more “job-ready,” since some students plan to work immediately after finishing high school and enter the real world as early as possible.
From my perspective, this newly updated curriculum can help prepare students for life after high school. With more time allotted for practical application and the proposed 420–640 hours of work immersion, students may gain more knowledge, experience, and independence when working in real-life settings. However, this does not yet guarantee that it will be better than the previous curriculum. According to posts from the Department of Education (DepEd), pilot testing will be conducted in 70 schools, both public and private, to determine whether the new version is more effective than the old one. Despite its promising goals, this shows that the curriculum is still in its testing phase and remains more of a concept than a proven solution.
There are also deeper issues beyond the curriculum itself, particularly concerning the people responsible for implementing and managing it. In the past, the promised outcomes of the K–12 curriculum did not fully meet expectations due to various factors, such as the lack of properly trained educators and insufficient teaching resources. In addition, social problems within schools, such as bias and nepotism, continue to exist despite promises of improvement.
In addition, there is a greater need to understand the people within the education system itself, especially from a psychological perspective. The system is often filled with promises, yet many issues remain unresolved because individuals have different ideas, motivations, and interests. Studying these human factors may help in developing more realistic and effective solutions.
Overall, while the enhanced Senior High School curriculum has potential, there are still many concerns that need to be addressed. Proper implementation, qualified educators, fair management, and a deeper understanding of people within the system are necessary for this new curriculum to truly succeed.