Editorials:

Math and Ma’am

THE Department of Education (DepEd) and Intel Technology Philippines unveiled on Wednesday an interesting, timely joint project: an educational web site to help teachers and students learn key concepts of mathematics and science.

According to Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, the Philippine version of the appropriately named skoool educational web site (www.skoool.ph) can be accessed on the Internet for free.

It is described as the first online resource of its kind, designed specifically for students and teachers of mathematics and science subjects, and which provides resources to enhance their understanding of these subjects. The Philippine version contains locally relevant educational content.

The content of the skoool Philippines web site includes algebra, geometry, trigonometry, statistics, biology, chemistry and physics, with each topic in any of the subjects provided with lessons and exercises for students to test their comprehension.

They are presented in the form of interactive animated graphics, video and voice-over to make complex subjects like math and science interesting and easier to understand.

“Intel’s goal,” according to the company’s country manager Ricky Banaag, “is to provide technology and relevant content to increase knowledge development in the Philippines. Intel is optimistic that skoool.ph will stimulate the use of IT in education and pave the way for a new generation of technology-savvy Filipinos.”

We sincerely hope that will be the result, for, as of now, the feedback coming out from public schools where the DepEd has been installing computers for learning (not for the skoool project, though) is that in a typical class of 50 to 60, only five or six have a serious working knowledge of computers. All the rest know is how to access Friendster and do games. Worse, the ratio of students to computers is still very huge.

This is not to say the DepEd should simply go on a computer-buying spree, as the cyber-ed mantra proposes. The point is that connectivity, to be relevant, must still remain a guided initiative, or else the slide in students’ skills and competence will continue, especially in math. That, then, would be a real disaster, because right now, one anchor of the economy is its army of qualified, good workers who can get hired online in any part of the globe, for all possible sorts of jobs, blue-collar and white-collar. It’s often said that Filipinos are preferred because of their relatively good English-language proficiency, but that is not enough. Every possible job in the global market requires a good grasp of math, and the sooner our education policy and budget planners realize that, the better.

The vision of tech-savvy youngsters requiring little teacher supervision sounds cool, but the reality is this: Teacher competence—and availability—will remain a big factor in upgrading, and maintaining, the quality of math and science education in this country. Which means the government must redouble efforts to keep the good teachers here, or see our people’s competitive edge eroded further.

That the teachers/mentors’ role is crucial in math, notwithstanding the fortuitous availability of projects like Intel’s skoool, is perhaps best illustrated by the case of the Mathematics Trainers’ Guild (MTG-Philippines), which just for this week alone shepherded four different teams of Filipino “mathletes” to four different arenas abroad.

In at least two, they have performed excellently: “MTG Kid” Sarah Jane Cua, 14, was declared the Asia-Pacific sudoku champion in Singapore; and the Philippine team brought home golds, emerging as one of seven overall champions both in individual and team competitions, in the Po Leung Kuk 12th Primary Math World Contest in Hong Kong. The outcome of the two others is still unknown: At press time, another team of young “mathletes” was slugging it out in another world contest in China, while Sarah Jane Cua returns to Singapore this weekend along with other Filipino students for the prestigious International Mathematics Competition.

The “MTG kids” are good because they work under the close supervision of competent, dedicated teachers and parents. MTG’s president Simon L. Chua refuses to treat poverty as an excuse for a child’s being deprived access to quality math education. In the end, technology will be a factor but not the main tool. It’s the human factor—in this case, dedicated teachers, who will save the day.

Editorial: Math and Ma’am

THE Department of Education (DepEd) and Intel Technology Philippines unveiled on Wednesday an interesting, timely joint project: an educational web site to help teachers and students learn key concepts of mathematics and science.

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