WE REAP WHAT WE SOW
RUBY S. BERMUDEZ
The tagline “We reap what we sow” is somehow true in education. The performance of our learners is dependent on how we trained and teach them. Many teachers complaint of the presence of non-numerates and non-readers in their class without realizing that they are part of the blame, why? because these children had been under their care for more or less ten months where they were supposed to have a chance to help them yet did nothing but to blame the teacher of the previous grade level. In order to help solve the issue on literacy and numeracy, teachers especially on key stage 1 (K-3) should focus on reading and numbers above all other learning areas because I believe that reading is a pre-requisite to learning and knowing the basics in mathematics is pivotal in learning more complex skills. Focusing on the foundational skills allows learners to learn by heart because it enables them to have a meaningful learning where they enjoy and learn at their own pace and having such a joyful experience will surely have a positive impact in the teaching-learning process. As teachers, we need to take actions in order to promote functional literacy and numeracy as these will be the beginning of lifelong learning emancipating our learners from the world of ignorance thus make them productive citizens of the country. We reap what we sow and so if we want to improve the performance of our learners we should try to address their needs and dig down to the root cause of the problem which is poor foundational skills in literacy and numeracy. Equipping our learners with the basic and foundational skills they need could give us the assurance of their continuous learning across all grade levels and the time to act is NOW.
-oOoThe author is Teacher III at Bamban Elem.School Masinloc, Zambales