ACCESS AND QUALITY
JANE REYES CASTRO
There is a new type of entrepreneur quickly rising in everywhere. They have a significant impact on the lives of many people. Do you know someone in education who is motivated, mission-driven, passionate, smart, and can create something new? If the answer is yes, you know an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are game-changing innovators who are bursting with education technology ideas and creativity. These talented and rising stars may be the missing link that your start-up needs right now.
Effective classroom teachers make some of the best start-up leaders or colleagues because their traits run parallel to entrepreneurs. If an educator finds something to believe in, that passion can yield great results. There are many reasons teachers are actively involved in the entrepreneur space. Schools are finally beginning to incorporate technology into their classrooms, resistance to technology is waning, and educators are advocates of 21st-century learning.
Here are some reasons why you should consider working with a teacher turned entrepreneur:
1. They did not go into the field for money. Like entrepreneurs, effective teachers went into their chosen field to solve problems and make a difference in the world. Those who go into the classroom every day understand that teaching is not solely a career; it is a lifestyle that requires hours of work, flexibility and endless amounts of dedication. Educators are driven by a deep-rooted passion for helping others succeed as well as to bring forward positive change. As entrepreneurs, they know that money may or may not follow, but choose to pursue the endeavor for the greater good.
2. Multitasking is in their DNA. According to Teach Thought, the average teacher makes over 1,500 educational decisions in one school day. They are fully engaged support systems for students, parents, and colleagues. Teachers manage everything in a classroom. These areas range from the physical environment to teaching students with different learning needs, levels, and language barriers. For many children, teachers are nurses, nurturers, cooks, and confidants. Like entrepreneurs, teachers can juggle multiple priorities, and they fully understand and accept that this is part of their job.
3. They know how to communicate. Successful entrepreneurs can communicate with ease in different situations. Like entrepreneurs, effective teachers can explain complex ideas in ways everybody can comprehend. They understand their customers (students and parents) and know how to relate to them.
4. They care. Teacher entrepreneurs are rarely in it for the money. They do it out of a desire to share and collaborate, an intense frustration with the status quo, and the knowledge that there is a better way. They want the best for their kids. When an entrepreneur is passionate about their product and customers, investors know it and customers get it.
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The author is from Bamban, Tarlac, Division of Tarlac Province
ALGI E JURI DI CO
Education for All (EFA) and No Child Left Behind have been the battlecry of international and local groups since 1990s. These sustainable development goals remain a hot topic of concern of countries who put education as one of the main rights of citizens including children. These two mainly promote the equal access and quality of education for everyone regardless of anything – sex, belief, ethnicity, socio-economic status, etc.
In the Philippines, the progress towards EFA are being addressed through different programs of the Department of Education. Various modes of delivery of education were created in order to provide equitable education to every Filipino learner.
Mobile teaching was formed to cater learners in a distant place who are having difficulty to go to formal school due to different factors like finance, transportation, health considerations, and location. The Alternative Learning System (ALS) work for the welfare of out-of-school youth who, because of various reasons, are not able to enroll and/ or graduate appropriate to their age. In ALS, learners have flexible schedule that fit to the availability of the learners. The curriculum of ALS are drawn from the basic content standards ofthecurriculuminregular/formaleducation.Afterthesessionsofclasses, the learners will then take the Accreditation and Equivalency (A & E) Test to be able to obtain their elementary or high school diploma depending on the level of examination they will be taking. The diploma are equivalent of those obtain from the formal schooling. There are also divisions that offer other form of schooling like distant education through e-classroom, ALIVE for Muslim learners, and special education program for learners with special educational needs.
Now, the DepEd is promoting inclusive education as a response to the EFA objectives. Inclusive education (IE) means that all learners must have access to quality education together with their peers. Although, IE is not a new program, it still remains to be a hot topic for discussion especially with the inclusive education for learners with special educational needs (LSENs) wherein it stipulates that they should be learning with the typical learners and are not always confined in a self-contained classroom.
The promotion of complete Education for All (EFA) in the country is still a working progress yet it is commendable that the Department of Education is taking a step for this paradigm shift. This change might not be easy to accept but as long as there are leaders who fight for the right of all learners for quality, access, and equality in education, the goals set will be realized.
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The author is SPED Teacher at Jose Escaler Memorial School
Apalit District, Division Of Pampanga