TOWARDS A BALANCED GENERAL EDUCATION

PROGRAM

Pacita G. Fernandez

2 ASSUMPTIONS RELATED TO THE TOPIC

1. That there is such a program of studies called or labelled G.E- General Education

2. That if indeed such a program does exist, it is not balanced-that is lopsided, in favor of either the natural and physical sciences or the social sciences and the humanities, and if again, curricular lopsidedness is not the cause, then the imbalance must be due to some other cause or causes outside the curricula.

The program General Education is only applicable to the following schools:

-UP-Ateneo de Manila-De La Salle University-Central Philippine University-Silliman University-Philippine Christian University

GENERAL EDUCATION (descriptive title)-education for becoming and realizing what is to be more fully and truly human in the widest, broadest, deepest sense of the word human; education for realizing or fulfilling the highest potential in being truly human, through the pursuit, discovery,and possession of past and new knowledges; through the training, acquisition,and honing, sharpening of skills in thinking, speaking, writing and acting through the inculcation and imbibing of important values.

- the opposite of the term General Education is specialized or professional education.- specialized education is vertical and professional education pyramid.

-the broad base is general education. It is the anchorage, the firm foundation upon which any educational structure is built. If the proportions of the base are correct, then the educational pyramid stands erect, stable and secure.

Assumption Number 2.

THE MEANING OF GENERAL EDUCATION

- Is not a set of courses, not a string of various syllabi, not a series of curricular blueprints for students’ earning precious academic units- all these are tools, as it were, items, materials, ingredients. But- the philosophical framework surrounding these materials the over-all philosophy of education governing the teaching-learning process and therefore the definition of aims and direction of the educating process itself are the substance of what we know rightly or wrongly to be general education.

- To say then, that general education is consist of training in skills in the sciences, mathematics, and language competence is the popular but erroneous understanding of G.E.

THE SOURCE FOR THE BALANCE IN A GENERAL EDUCATION

PROGRAM

-As educators we are concerned with the life-time vocation of dealing with “human beings who are essentially creatures who have the power to experience meanings.”

- According to Dr. Philip Phenix, in his book, Realms of Meaning: A Philosophy of the Curriculum for General Education, the goal of general education is the fulfillment of human life through the enlargement and deepening of meaning.

HOW SHALL WE ATTEMPT TO CORRECT THIS

IMBALANCE?

President Donald Kennedy of Stanford University, in his 1981 Commencement Address, passionately pleaded for “the need of humanistic vision to balance off our preoccupation with systems, analyses, to counterbalance what he calls “the disproportionate faith in new technology.

Present General Education program in the University of the Philippines in terms of curricular offerings

9 units of natural and physical sciences, and mathematics

12 units of social sciences18 units of humanities: language, literature, and

sprinkling of fine arts and music Total-39 units

-The imbalance in our G.E program lies not in a set of courses or curricular offerings. I believe the root cause of the imbalance lies in the wrong concept, the misunderstanding, or a gross misinterpretation of the whole philosophy underlying a General education program.

- General Education, since its conception and institution by past U.P President Vicente G. Sinco, in 1960, has come to mean through the last two decades, a skills-training program in the languages, mathematics and the other sciences, and knowledge accumulation as a daily exercise in practically all so-called G.E. courses.

A PHILOSOPHY OF GENERAL EDUCATION-A

MODEST PROPOSAL

1. What is education?2. What do we want our students to

learn?3. What do we want our students to

become?

According to Dr. Hyun, of Seoul University, Korea and Dr. Kim, also of Korea, joined by Dr. Chandi, of india, the following observation was made, and I believe the condition applies to a great extent to us in the Philippines.

“Colonialism tended to destroy or obscure the indigenous tradition, and the high value placed on technological advancement tends to further devaluate and erode the Asian’s own cultural heritage. The anomaly here is that according to the principles of liberal education inherited from the west, one of the functions of higher learning is a “critical transmission of one’s heritage.” One of the roles of general education is to help the student to learn to appreciate his own cultural tradition and thereby enabling him to reaffirm his national identity.

According to the author, the teacher specifically of General Education plays a major role in the making of a “holistic person” among his students. And a G.E teacher is one who is inevitably a value-carrier and a value-sharer.

CONCLUSION:Finally, while our far-reaching goal in a general education program is to develop our students into holistic human beings, as total, authentic personalities, let us always remember that we are Filipinos, and our roots should lie deep, and rest in an Asian soil-no matter what we study, or where we go to study, or with whom we study, our acute and full awareness of, and involvement in our own political, economic, and social condition is the measure of our being truly educated.

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING…….