Filmmaker Jose Javier Reyes. Image: Facebook/@joey.reyes
Renowned filmmaker Jose Javier Reyes lamented the state of Philippine education over a module that asks students to identify which characters or actors said certain “hugot lines” from different movies.
Reyes took to Facebook on Oct. 26 to share a supposed Department of Education (DepEd) module as per his friend who called his attention about it. It was a Filipino 2 module given to his friend’s niece “to study rhetoric using our national language.”
“What was not only dismaying but infuriating about the material is self-explanatory,” the director stressed.
“What kind of vision and even professionalism exist among those in charge of education in this country if the teaching of language is based on identifying ‘hugot lines’ and ‘quotable quotes’ from local movies and asking who rendered these dialogue?” he added.
Among the movie lines provided in the module activity called “Linya Ni Idol Patok!” includes “Huwag kang pa-victim, hindi ikaw ang biktima. Manloloko ka lang talaga,” among others.
“What sort of learning expectations and deliverables are found here … or did whoever made this module think that involving popular culture trivia is an effective way to teach language?” Reyes stressed.
Reyes, an educator himself, said that as a person who works both in media and in the academe, he was “not only disgusted but infuriated and demoralized by the educational standards being shown to Filipino students.”
“How can we develop a nation of critical thinkers whereas some of those who were given the responsibility of shaping the minds of the young are in dire need of brains and even dedication to their work as well?” the filmmaker said.
“Thus today I have concocted a new term: ‘EDIOTS’. Idiots in Education,” Reyes added.
Meanwhile, DepEd director for public affairs service, June Arvin Gudoy, denied that the said learning module is a DepEd module.
‘The module was not developed by DepEd teachers and was not a part of our learning resources,” he told INQUIRER.net.
Prior to this, DepEd has also been receiving flak over numerous errors in its learning modules.
Lea Salonga, for one, expressed her frustration over the errors, specifically pointing out through Facebook that an illustration of an owl was labeled an “ostrich,” among several other mistakes. JB
[Editor’s note: This story was updated on Oct. 28, 2020, 1:57 p.m. to include the statement from DepEd.]
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