Past- Pandemic Education in the Philippines

Charmaine S. Lacayanan

Have you ever wondered how will the country look like right after the Covid-19 pandemic? Do you think that the lessons we learned in the past few months enough to change our old ways of living? Perhaps, the most notable change that we will see is in the way of maintaining health protocols will be most evident within the bounds of the schools. The old classroom setting with forty or more students will probably just a thing of the past. The then crowded campus will start to have more space and grounds to give way in maintaining distance among individuals. However, huge population of students at a given time within the school is also a concern that must be addressed. We can possibly see multiple shifts being employed just to accommodate the minimum health protocols imposed by the government and at the same time, catering to the demands of the educational system. Although a vaccine can be administered late this year it is difficult to neglect the fact that Covid-19 has taught us lessons the hard way and possibly, another similar disease would appear out of nowhere. Because of this reason, schools would minimize activities that invite or create crowd such as sports fest, foundation day celebration and proms. The students will most likely be working independently far from the usual group activities. Mass works, and constant disinfection will also be available from time to time to minimize the tendency of contamination. Students entering the premises of the campus wearing mask is the new normal to see. These things are only few of what the future might look like inside our school. Considering all these we must still look straight forward and face whatever tomorrow will bring to us.

--oOo-

The author is Teacher I at Pampanga High School