Building the Nations Future Leaders Through the K to 12 Basic Education Program

Thank you very much for a nice introduction. To our respected district supervisor.. To our school principal.. To our esteemed teachers of this institution To our hardworking parents of the graduating pupils. To all our guests.Visitorsfriends Good morning. A story was once told by an unknown author. And I quote Building Your House An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisurely life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. He would miss the paycheck each week but he wanted to retire. !hey could get by. !he contractor was sorry to see his good worker go " asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. !he carpenter said yes but over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. #t was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career. $hen the carpenter finished his work his employer came to inspect the house. !hen he handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said %!his is your house... my gift to you.% !he carpenter was shocked& $hat a shame& #f he had only known he was building his own house he would have done it all so differently. nd of quote.

!y dear friends" once again we have reached another milestone" where these young boys and girls are to embark on another endeavor of their young lives in the pursuit of something greater than themselves. And we are here to witness and applaud what they have achieved so far# at the same time to support them for their needed strength to continue moving on to the ne$t phase of their pursuit. I read to you that short and yet inspiring story to drive a point in accordance with our theme for this commencement e$ercises 'Building the (ation)s *uture +eaders !hrough the , to -. Basic /ducation 0rogram1 . The author of our little story wanted to point out an important lesson for all of us today" when he said that" and I quote% 2o it is with us. $e build our lives a day at a time often putting less than our best into the building. !hen with a shock we reali3e we have to live in the house we have built. #f we could do it over we would do it much differently. But you cannot go back. You are the carpenter and every day you hammer a nail place a board or erect a wall. 2omeone once said %+ife is a do-it-yourself project.% Your attitude and the choices you make today help build the %house% you will live in tomorrow. !herefore Build wisely& nd of quote. &e are called to build wisely on our future" our investment today on education is an all important element on our lives. &hat we have earned today from that investment is 'ust one part of the building blocks that we placed as we established our future. (f course" we have to take into account how we put forth our foundation so that these building blocks would be firmly established and e$perience stability as we go through life. As we move along with the routine of life" like in the story" we are urged to give our best. &e have to employ different methods" techniques" materials" programs" in the building of our house" and in our case" our future" in order for us to achieve our desired goal. And with the efforts of our leaders we came up with this program" )*+,.

Accordingly" the nhanced )*+, -asic ducation .rogram in the .hilippines has been officially started. It has been initiated by the Aquino administration where students will have to undergo a new system of education. This program will require all incoming students to enroll into two more years of basic education. Thus" the )*+, /ystem will basically include the 0niversal kindergarten, 1 years of elementary, 2 years of 'unior high school with an additional , years for senior high school. !oreover" the program aims to uplift the quality of education in the .hilippines in order for graduates to be easily employed. The program also aims to meet the standards required for professionals who would want to work abroad. !ost importantly" the system aims to fully enhance and develop the students in order for them to be well3prepared especially in emotional and cognitive aspects. Through this" graduates will be able to face the pressures of their future workplace. 4urthermore" reading the rationale according to the primer of this program" which I hope you have become aware of" that 4!here is an urgent need to enhance the 5uality of basic education in our country as seen in the education outcomes of *ilipino students and the comparative disadvantage of the 0hilippines with regard to other countries.) And it is envisioned that and I quote% 4the ,--. 6urriculum 4holistically developed learners with .-st century skills) 78eped 0rimer .9--:. At the core of this basic education program is 'the complete human development of every graduate1 78ep/d discussion paper p.;:. !his further means that every student would have an understanding of the world around him and a passion for life-long learning while addressing every student)s basic learning needs< 4learning to learn the ac5uisition of numeracy literacy and scientific and technological knowledge as applied to daily life) 7p.;:. #n addition to this every graduate is envisioned to have respect for human rights and would aim to become 4!aka35iyos" !aka3tao" !akabansa" !aka3kalikasan) 7p.;:

!he ,--. vision aims to have relevance in the socio-economic realm as well. !his means that the students would understand their role as productive members of the country. 2uch vision can only be possible through an enhanced curriculum.1 And so we put forward what could be our best in our building effort. 6et" we should also remember" as the primer would tell us" the importance of 7maka35iyos8 in our endeavor. 9ast !arch +:" ,;+<" the /t. =oseph 9earning >enter of -unawan" Inc." had their 7moving3up8 ceremony" in which yours truly is the school administrator. (ur invited speaker" !s. 9arlynne .. /amoranos" of Agusan del /ur /tate >ollege of Agriculture and Technology" shared to us this three building blocks needed for the fulfillment of our goal. And I8m going to share this to you also. /he shared to us" that we need this basic elements or building blocks in our educational process. ?amely" A - >. A for AI!. In every endeavor" we always have to have our aim. &e aim for the future" for the fulfillment of our dreams. And we should not waver from that aim. I know there are many obstacles and difficulties in the process" but we have to be resolved to hold on to our aim. &e heard many young people who have stopped their education because of financial constraints" but we heard also people who" even with difficulties" financial or something else" found ways to make their dreams come true. - for - 9I V . &e have to believe that we can do it. (ur government leaders believe that this program is best for us" we are called to show our belief by giving our best in everything that we do" especially in our studies. The task ahead" my dear graduates" is tough" and this program will help us prepare ourselves for the task at hand. &e 'ust have to believe. > for >A99 (? G(5. 6ou know this is where we can find ourselves in a tricky situation. 6ou know there is always this part in us" that we can associate with the divine. And everybody" may he or she be a >hristian or not" would always agree that there are things and entities that are greater than ourselves. 4or us >hristians" we call this God. &e all agree that sometimes and somewhere in the events of our lives" we found ourselves helpless and weak in front of some overwhelming events" that somehow pushed us to call on God. In the same way" in our endeavor for the pursuit

of knowledge" problems and difficulties will be our companion but God will be with us. &e have to remember that God will be our greatest companion. verybody else have and will come and gone" but God will be constant. 4or =esus himself promised that @e will be with us till the end of time. In this 'ourney" we have an ally" a supporter" a companion" a friend and a teacher. &e must go to =esus for he is our greatest teacher. &e have been told" that what we are trying to commit ourselves to" is the achievement of a holistic person" a complete human development. There you have it" with the core value of these three basic principles" A for AI!" for - 9I V " > for >A99 (? G(5" we can attain our goal. And not only would I say that I would present to you a 7holistic person" a complete human development8 but a person with an integral development where a mind" body and spirit are completely nourished" nurtured and enhanced. !y dear friends" I know there have been arguments and counter3 arguments in the process of putting forward this proposal and eventually in its implementation. !any have come to believe that this program lacked the merits of really answering our present woes in the educational system of the country. !any of you here" I would say" especially our educators have reservations about the success of this venture. &e have read some opinions in and out of the government institutions that we need to study more this program" because of the many underlying reasons" in order for us to arrive at a more suitable and applicable course of action consistent with the educational needs of the country. Apart from this program" over the years" we have been presented with various models of educational systems to answer the growing discontent that is spreading in the institutional circles. It has been said that ultimately" regardless of whichever AmodelB" what the youth and country direly needs is for the development and establishment of an education system that caters to the needs of the 4ilipino youth and the society in general. -ut for now" at this very moment" no matter what the real reasons are" we cannot afford to lay idle" to sit back and wait for something to happen. At best" this will become an opportunity for us to prove that we are capable of realiCing our dreams with the help of this program.

&e need all the help we can get# for us" for our children" for our future. 9et8s not waste this opportunity. 9et8s use this instead for our own advantage. It has been said that the choices we make today can determine tomorrow8s results. /o make a good choice ?(&" so that we can make a G((5 difference. And eventually a G((5 tomorrow. Isn8t this a good way to be positiveD I8m sure it is. In any way" we have God on our side. At this 'uncture" permit me to repeat the words of learning from our story% But you cannot go back. You are the carpenter and every day you hammer a nail place a board or erect a wall. 2omeone once said %+ife is a do-it-yourself project.% Your attitude and the choices you make today help build the %house% you will live in tomorrow. !herefore Build wisely& And I would add% -uild with God. Thank you very much.

4r. @erbert 4. =aranilla .arish Vicar /t. =oseph the &orker .arish -unawan" Agusan del /ur