Are we prepared to K-12 Education Program?

K-12, according to government's official site, is considered as the basic education needed to equipped him/her with fundamental knowledge and be competitive globally.

It consist of 1 year in Kindergarten, 6 years of Primary Education, 4 years of Junior High School and 2 years of Senior High School. Implementation is effective 2013-2014 school year.

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For my child to prepare in this new system and be accepted in a reputable school, I would initially enroll him/her first in a preschool class or toddler/playgroup class. Some schools nowadays expect that kids are knowledgeable in ABCs, 123s, colors and shapes. In fact, the school will have to undergo student assessment before they accept new students. If Kindergarten is for 5 yrs old, Preschool is for 4 yrs, Toddler or Playgroup is 2-3 yrs old.

I let my eldest join playgroup class for socialization since she does not have someone to interact with at home (aside from her nanny). The 2-hr session consist of singing and dancing and storytelling and playing. She's 2 yrs and 5-month old then. Two years after, she started Nursery, then Kindergarten. She'll be in third grade this coming June 2014 and still enjoying it.

This summer I let my youngest join a toddlers class (still for socialization development). However, seems like teaching style is different, maybe because its a different school. Nevertheless, I'm sure, their teaching style is not effective. Letting a toddlers sit on a chair for 2 hours while the teacher is discussing alphabets and numbers and shapes and colors or giving materials for them to color or write or read, I doubt if its a smooth sailing class. I still want the way where children learn through songs, dance, stories and play.

The government should review the system. Is it quantity over quality? Too may levels but are the contents really present for the students to grasp the fundamentals? There are successful Pinoys that excel and they came from a 10-year basic education. Are they resolving the root cause of the education system's problem?

How about you moms out there? Are you prepared to K-12?