Prior to the implementation of the K-12 curriculum, Technology and Livelihood Teachers (TLE) weren’t required to have National Certificates (NC) from TESDA. They taught their lessons based on what they learned from their baccalaureate degree or based on the experiences they have gained over the years. It means that TLE/HE before still lingered to the old teachings and the skills taught to the students were also traditional. It was way before the evolution of technology is more competitive.
When the K-12 curriculum was implemented, all the teachers handling Technology and Livelihood Education subjects were required to take the training as well as undergo and pass the assessment for a certain specification. That is why most of the teachers in TLE nowadays have one or more NC and it is now a basic requirement for new passers to submit upon ranking.
I personally agree with this widespread requirement that DepEd impose. This is indeed a great help for us teachers in building the skills of most of our students. As a teacher myself handling both the JHS and SHS (because we are still in the process of hiring an SHS teacher), I clearly see the importance of the training a teacher can gain if he/she is an NC (II, III, IV) holder. It is not just a requirement but it is the ladder that will guide the teacher on how he/she will initiate the process of learning without spoon-feeding the learners.
Based on experience, teachers who have one or more NC’s are more effective than those who root for the traditional way of teaching (because there are old teachers who most likely don’t like to get NC because according to them they have all the experience and they don’t need the certificate). Yes, it is true that older teachers are already very seasoned but still it is different to refresh your brain with some new knowledge base on the new competencies we now adapt. It is not a loss to us we try to attend training, instead, it is an addition and way more advantageous to our part. We try to teach our students the skills but how can we teach them if we ourselves do not even have one? Our learners nowadays are way smarter and they can detect immediately if a teacher lacks the skills or if a teacher is efficient in a certain field. We are the bridge of learning ad so we need to get more training for us to build our selves to our learners. It is not only by the paper that we have certificates; we have to also make sure we are the best in our field.
Currently, the SHS students will be required to also take the assessment so that after graduation, they have already their NC’s with them that will help them land for jobs easily if they can’t automatically enroll in college. In DepEd, the teacher will act as the trainer and as well as the assessor before the students will be administered to the real assessment through the assessment centers. If the student fails, there are just two factors to be considered for the failure: the student despite the efforts of the teacher is not willing to learn or the teacher as the trainer did not train the student properly according to TESDA standards. It is the very main reason why most SHS teachers are also required to take the Trainers Methodology (TM1) to better guide the learners in order to surely (100%) pass the assessment.
So now, you see how important is a National Certificate (NC) is in the lives of all TLE teachers (even other courses tried to get NC too). For new teachers, since you have all the time, try all ways and means to grab yourself the training. It will be very helpful to you and of course upon ranking, you will have all the edge if you have it. We teach because we have the skills. – Clea | Helpline PH
