DepEd Adopts Philippine Professional Standard for Teachers to Further Improve Educators’ Qualification Skills

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Recognizing the importance of professionalizing standards for teachers and for their continuous development, the Department of Education (DepEd), through the Teacher Education Council (TEC), adopted the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST).

In DepEd Order No. 42, series 2017 or the National Adoption and Implementation of the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers, Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones stated that the new set of standards for teachers is propelled by the introduction of national and international frameworks, such as the K to 12 program and ASEAN integration.

The PPST outlines the required skills and competencies of quality teachers, enabling them to cope with the emerging global frameworks.

The PPST basically aims to: 1) set the clear expectations of teachers along well-defined career stages of professional development from beginning to distinguished practice; 2) engage teachers to actively embrace a continuing effort in attaining proficiency; and 3) apply a uniform measure to assess teacher performance, identify needs, and provide support for professional development.

Briones pointed out that the PPST will be the basis for all learning and development programs for teachers to ensure that they are properly equipped to effectively implement the K to 12. Teacher quality for the 21st century The PPST targets to produce better teachers in the country by improving their qualifications skills and by increasing their levels of knowledge, practice and professional engagement.

The six modules of the PPST are the following: 1) The Department of Education; 2) The Filipino Teacher; 3) The K to 12 curriculum; 4) The Teaching Process; 5) the Learning Process; and 6) The School and Community Linkages.

These are all anchored on the seven domains that quality teachers should exhibit including: 1) Content Knowledge and Pedagogy; 2) Learning Environment; 3) Diversity of learners; 4) Curriculum and Planning; 5) Assessment and Reporting; 6) Community Linkages and Professional Engagement; and 7) Personal Growth and Professional Development.

Career stages Anchored on the principle of lifelong learning, the set of professional standards for teachers articulates their developmental progression.

Career Stage 1 or Beginning Teachers have gained the qualifications for entry into teaching position; Career Stage 2 or Proficient Teachers are professionally independent in the application of skills vital to the teaching and learning process; Career Stage 3 or Highly Proficient Teachers consistently display a high level of performance in their teaching practice; and Career Stage 4 or Distinguished Teachers exhibit the highest standard of teaching practice in accordance to global best practice.

The regional offices are set to orient their respective schools divisions on the PPST, including the monitoring and evaluation of its implementation. The school divisions will cascade it to schools districts and schools.


2017 PPST activities

DepEd, through the Teacher Education Council (TEC) headed by Director Runvi Manguerra, has initiated the PPST workshops on Module Development, Enhancement and Validation attended by curriculum specialists, school heads, and other stakeholders. A workshop on the Development of Implementing Guidelines for PPST was also conducted in coordination with the Research Center for Teacher Quality (RCTQ), and attended by DepEd Regional Directors and officers of Basic Education Sector Transformation (BEST) program.

TEC also spearheaded the PPST National Roll-Out, as well as the Teacher Induction Program (TIP) National Orientation of Trainers in three clusters – Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, which was participated by DepEd Directors, Schools Division Superintendents, chiefs, district supervisors, principals, education program specialists, master teachers, and RCTQ officials. This was followed by TIP module review workshops and module pre-finalization workshops.

The concept of the PPST was first introduced during the First National Assembly of Education Leaders held at PICC, Pasay City, and attended by 3,800 education managers nationwide. It was formally launched during the World Teachers’ Day (WTD) celebration held in Legazpi City that was attended by 6,000 teachers across the country.

Bello Announces Opening of Overseas Filipino Bank on Jan. 18, the Creation of 2 Million New Jobs in 2018

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Department of Labor & Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III announced that President Rodrigo “ Rody” R. Duterte will launch the first ever Overseas Filipino Bank tomorrow January 18 Thursday at 3 p.m. at the Philippine Post Office Building at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila City, he announced this on January 17 at the Pandesal Forum of 79-year-old Kamuning Bakery Cafe in Quezon City.

Secretary Bello said: “This has been the promise of politicians for the past 40 years, but this will be fulfilled tomorrow. The Overseas Filipino Bank will service the financial and other needs of overseas Filipinos, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and of all the country’s workers. This is good news for all overseas Filipinos and for the Philippine economy.” Bello added that overseas Filipino workers could avail of loans from P50, 000 to P350, 000, collateral-free, and with lower interest rates than other regular banks.

Secretary Bello also expressed high hopes that the government’s now stalled peace talks with Communist rebels shall resume soon, he told media that President Duterte is sincere in his wish for achieving “inclusive and lasting peace for the Philippines” and hopes that the Communist rebels will cooperate. Communist Party founder Jose Ma. Sison is former colleague of Secretary Bello and President Duterte, because Bello said he was chairman of the leftist Bayan group in Mindanao during the martial law years which he pointed out was more militant than other Bayan chapters in Metro Manila and other regions.

Bello also announced that government estimates creation of new jobs this year 2018 at 2 million new jobs due to President Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program and the TRAIN tax reform law, plus 2 million new jobs yearly for a total of 10 million jobs in 5 years.

For the year 2017, DOLE had inspected 60,732 establishments covering 6.994 million workers and 85,725 workers have been regularized as of January 10, 2018.

Secretary Bello said: “For year 2018, DOLE shall inspect 54,530 establishments to ensure compliance with labor laws and standards, particularly the right to security of tenure. Rest assured that the government-especially President Duterte-is committed to improve the welfare of all workers in the Philippines.”

Men's Wedding Bands Play a Crucial Role in Various Wedding Ceremonies

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Weddings are beautiful occasions not only for the bride and bridegroom but also for the two families as their children are getting united and starting a new life. Weddings can be defined as a ceremony where two people - the bride and the bridegroom - are united or rather get married to each other.

Even though the meaning of wedding is the same all over the world, the rituals performed in the wedding ceremony differ between various cultures, religions, classes, and countries.

The main purpose of this wedding ceremony is to publicly announce the marriage between the two people. This is necessary from the viewpoint of law. How you celebrate this ceremony depends on your financial status and the reputation you have in the society.

However, there are some rituals which are assumed to be compulsory based on the religion and the culture. One should have clear idea about the common types of weddings that takes place through the world.