MANILA – Two senators on Tuesday pushed for the inclusion of the teaching of Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) and other character-building activities in the curriculum of the K to 12 program.
During a hearing of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, Senator Joel Villanueva said there is a clamor for the revival of the GMRC in the curriculum, considering the present realities “that we observe in our manner of conducting the affairs of the various aspects of our daily lives as Filipinos.”
Villanueva said Senate Bill 860, also known as the Comprehensive Values Education Act, aims to educate the whole person as it seeks to teach students the practical and acceptable manners of conducting daily affairs according to universal norms of ethics and morality.
“This representation believes that Values Education is more comprehensive and more foundational than mere teaching of GMRC,” Villanueva said in his sponsorship speech.
“Mr. Chairman, Values Education embraces the whole person. That's why our version of the bill recognizes that the present Values Education curriculum is incomplete; and it is for this reason that we propose the inclusion of the teaching of Good Manners and Right Conduct and of Character-Building Activities in Values Education curriculum,” he added.
He said character-building activities are also necessary to provide students with actual opportunities “to practice, experience, test, and deepen whatever is taught and caught in the other aspects of learning”.
“This may include immersions, exposures, outreach activities, and community service,” he added.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, panel chair, also saw the need to restore the GMRC subject in the basic education curriculum, noting that it should also be given emphasis, just like the traditional subjects such as Math, Science, and English.
“Yes, kailangan na nating ibalik ang values education. Kasama sa values education ang good morals at right conduct dahil nakita natin na over the last 49 years, naging paiba-iba ang pagtuturo ng values education (Yes, we need to restore values education, including good morals and right conduct. Because over the last 49 years, the way values education has been taught became varied),” Gatchalian said.
“So ang gusto natin ngayon ay bigyang emphasis naman ang values education dahil ito ang mabibigay ng tamang pag-asal ng ating mga kabataan at sila ang susunod na henerasyon na magdadala ng tamang asal na ito (Now we want to give emphasis on values education because this would teach the youth good manners, which they would carry on until the next generations),” he added. (PNA)
