#VoxPopuli | The Art of Resuscitation

by Cathleen Baroy

This is what it takes to save a life: a hundred compressions and no more than eight breaths per minute. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a common health procedure, making sure that one still has a (slim) chance of being alive. Anyone can perform the technique, and it doesn’t take a lot of equipment to pull it off. Its commonality is a testament to its vitality. After all, it targets the heart: an organ that must not stop beating at all costs.

It’s safe to say that the education system is akin to the muscular organ. It’s what makes sure nations have an endless supply of competent and intelligent citizens. Education is liberation, and it is what allows individuals to go beyond the cards they are dealt with.

But not all hearts are equal. Some demand electricity to revive themselves, as they are too weak to beat on their own. Others need to be fully replaced, when they’ve run their course and are unable to function any longer.

COVID-19 targets the physiology of humans, but it also does not spare mercy for the systems that society functions under. The pandemic has brought a whole new set of struggles for Filipino students. Whether it’s error ridden modules, inadequate WiFi connection, teachers not familiar with tech, or unconducive home environments, it’s clear that education is now at a standstill. Schools are now asking themselves how to adapt to this “new normal“, while achieving the same things they would in the usual face-to-face setting. A hundred compressions and eight breaths are not enough, and we are found unsure how to resuscitate the heart of our country.

However, it would be incorrect to say that all these problems lie with the circumstances we’re in. In fact, the pandemic has merely exacerbated the underlying issues of our education system.

The heart of Filipino education has stopped beating a long time ago, ever since it’s been uprooted and replaced by American soldiers. Until now, we are slaves to an education that has never been meant for our salvation, and are judged by those who prioritize their own best interests.

Now, we are dealing with its predecessor in the form of neoliberal education. Instead of being a human right, neoliberalism has privatized education and turned it into a privilege. Individualism and competition is encouraged, instead of healthy collaboration. Not only that, but there’s also an increasing disparity between private and public high schools, brought by the lack of government support and funding for the education sector.

What’s even more problematic is how schools do not function with the Filipino youth in mind. Humans are reduced to mere statistics, prioritizing image and reputation over their wellbeing. It’s because of this that we have sexual predators roaming our halls and rising suicide rates, while administrations sing their praises for world rankings and accreditation.

It takes a hundred compressions and no more than eight breaths per minute to revive a heartbeat. But, it will take more to save our education system. Restarting the heart is enough, we must ensure that it can sustain itself.

Reforming Filipino education will be an arduous task, but it’s not impossible. In fact, we see it working already in indigenous communities, specifically, the Lumad people. In these communities, they encourage collective learning and collaboration. They impart teachings about agriculture and nature, sharing what is relevant to their communities. Unfortunately, they’re being demonized and targeted by our national government.

Of course, these kinds of initiatives will differ for those living in the city. There are no right or wrong answers to what our education should be. Our learning also does not exist in a vacuum, and is subject to other systems that can make or break it. But, at the end of the day, it’s obvious that we’ve lost our way when it comes to what we want the youth to be.

The education system can still be fixed, the heart can still be revived, but it only will be if all sectors work towards the goal in unison. It is only possible when we put all our strength into those metaphorical one thousand compressions and eight breaths per minute, never once faltering in trying to revive it.