K - 12.

When we were kids, my mother enrolled seven of us siblings plus a cousin, in kindergarten prior to enrolling us in the public school system.

So there I was at the age of 5, under Maestrang Elo, learning the caton, a book with simple texts used to learn how to read.

Maestrang Elo kindergarten school was a stone's throw away from Namei Polytechnic, along Mabini Street.

In Maestra Elo's house, preschool youngsters attended morning sessions and learned the Spanish alphabet, prayers and reading method.  So, even before entering Grade I, most of the kids were already able to read.

Maestra Elo and her older sister were retired teachers when they opened their own kindergarten school in Mandaluyong.  Their school, located in the first floor of their beautiful house was popular among lehitimong taga Mandaluyong (old timers in Mandaluyong).  Later on, the school was transferred to a new wing in their house.

But when I was a student of Maestra Elo, our classes were held in the house, in the stairways, and in the sprawling garden.

This is the Mandaluyong Public Elementary School as it looks today. 

The caton system of reading was very effective.  I remember reciting the Spanish alphabet, as follows,

A a	B b	C c	Ch ch	D d	E e	F f	G g	H h	I i
a	be	ce	che	de	e	efe	ge	hache	i
J j	K k	L l	Ll ll	M m	N n	Ñ ñ	O o	P p	Q q
jota	ka	ele	elle	eme	ene	eñe	o	pe	cu
R r	S s	T t	U u	V v	W w	X x	Y y	Z z
erre	ese	te	u	uve	uve doble doble u doble ve	equis	i griega ye	zeta

 and easily learning how to read Tagalog words.

San Felipe Neri (Catholic) Church, along Aglipay St. in Mandaluyong.

There were no learning or reading aids then as we have now, like cassette tapes or video or cartoons. We only had coloring books during those days.

Now, my grand niece Tam in Seattle, at age four, already seems to know how to read. My sister, her Lola, narrated how Tam was given all sorts of ribbons by her prep school teacher because she's able to accomplish all the tasks given her.  Tam spent her free time watching educational cartoons even before she was able to walk.

Raising the standards in Philippine educational system should be a welcome change.  Starting this school year, 2012-2013, kindergarten is universally offered in the public school system and also a new curriculum will be introduced to Grade I and Grade 7 students. By SY 2016-2017, Grade 11/Year 5 will be introduced, and Grade 12/Year 6 by SY 2017-2018; with the phased implementation of the new curriculum which will be finished by the SY 2017-2018.

Some parents are against the introduction of these changes because these will entail additional costs and lengthen the number of years before their children will be able to finish a course in the university. 

Personally, I approve of these changes.  In Canada, new Filipino immigrants find it hard to have their educational attainment and profession accredited because the Philippine educational system is lacking two years compared to the Canadian school system. With the introduction of the K-12 system, the Philippines will be at par with the rest of the world.

This new system will make the Philippines more competitive in the world market, that's the bottom line.