Investing in Education amid the pandemic

LAST year, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the Department of Education (Deped) to rethink its plans for school year 20202021. Unknown to many, Deped had already developed the Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BELCP) which identifies the various learning delivery modalities that can be adapted during a pandemic.

Speaking at Businessmirror’s Coffee Club virtual forum titled “Investing in Education: Learn to Survive, Survive to Learn,” Education Assistant Secretary Alma Rubio Torio said the plan identified the various learning delivery modalities that can be adopted which include modular distance learning, educational TV- and radio-based instruction and blended learning, a combination of two or more sub categories of distance learning.

“The Deped has been implementing these distance learning delivery modalities through the alternative delivery mode even before the pandemic. But the just concluded school year is the first time that we employed these modalities on a massive scale,” she explained.

Not perfect

She admits that the plan is not perfect “as we also anticipate some operational implications along the way.”

“But the resilience of Deped has proven that no matter what the adversities are, Deped is committed to delivering its mandate. We were able to hold classes through distant learning. It’s a work in progress. Ang mahalaga nabukas po natin ang schools at hindi huminto ang pagaaral ng mga bata,” she said.

Psychologist Dr. Camille Garcia noted that the concept of online distant learning is not really new in the Philippine setting. Even before the pandemic, Dr. Garcia noted that there was homeschooling, open universities and online learning courses.

“Now that we are in this time of uncertainty, we try to combine the learning views we have and definitely online learning is the better option” she said.

Cheaper and safer

Dr. Garcia pointed out that while families had to shell out large sums of money for gadgets and Internet connectivity, distance learning is cheaper and safer in the long run. Families save on transportation expenses, allowances and experience no traffic.

“Parents can easily monitor their children at home too. This kind of learning made us develop new skills technically and refined critical thinking as well,” she added.

For teacher Allan T. Flores of Santiago National High School of Metro Dadiangas, “it is better to learn something than nothing at all.”

“In achieving this, we should not compromise the lives of our future professionals, our future leaders, our nation builders and rebuilders,” he said.

For the children

WITH eight years of teaching experience, Flores is currently a class advisor and a subject teacher of five classes. He also works in the Deped Division of General Santos City as a member of the technical working group which organized a series of readingrelated webinar workshops. He is also actively involved in module writing in English for radio- and Tv-based instructional materials in the arts and in journalism.

“I am doing this for the students since our educational mantra is ‘Una sa lahat, bata.’ We teachers are in the forefront to make education possible in this pandemic. There are a lot of challenges and most teachers are parents themselves,” he said.

“For one, mahirap na yung pag guide sa sariling anak. Maraming distractions, hindi ma-reach ang mga bata per over yactive in social media. Laging updated sa Facebook or Tiktok but when you reach out to them regarding their output, hindi ma-seen or hindi kami mareplyan agad, or not at all, at times. Yung pag guide sa kanila mahirap especially kung 200250 students naka assign sa bawat teacher in five classes of 30 to 50 students,” Flores said.

Extreme patience

NOW more than ever, Dr. Garcia said, is the time for teachers to exhibit extreme patience in handling their students remotely with all the distractions and interruptions combined. She added that teachers should be very creative and resourceful as they do their duty as educators every single day.

Teachers, she said, can be more observant and less judgmental of their students’ conduct. They should be given more time to understand their lessons as it is also quite difficult for parents who cannot understand the lesson to help out. She also suggested that teachers must be able to modify activities and modules when difficulty is observed among students.

“Finding solutions to help children with difficulty in online learning will be a big achievement on the part of our unsung heroes,” she said.

Role of parents

PARENTS also play a crucial role at this time. Children definitely need their help. However, helping children means assisting and guiding them with their lessons and not answering the assignment to get good grades.

“At this point, parents getting involved with their children’s learning should be a model of honesty, patience and diligence,” Dr. Garcia said.

Flores also appealed to parents to extend a helping hand when it comes to the education of their children.

“I always invite students not to see me but to hear me as I represent the teachers in our country. To our students, we cannot help you if you do not help yourselves. Education starts from home so parents we really have to ask for your assistance. We cannot afford education to stop. Yung mundo lang ang huminto but learning should never stop,” he said.

Unprecedented disruptions

TORIO said she recognizes the challenges of teachers and Filipino families. She noted that most teachers “have experienced unprecedented disruptions in their teaching as well as personal lives.”

“Some teachers spend most of their time printing and delivering modules. There is also the issue of connectivity and the availability of enough and on-time modules. Each of our teachers has responded in different ways to make education for our learners continue admidst these challenges,” she said.

She added that she personally supports the Commission on Higher Education’s proposal to adopt flexible learning as an opportunity to transition the call of the future.

“I personally believe that flexible learning may now form part of the new normal in ensuring continuity of education even in the most complex and challenging circumstances,” she said. “Hindi natin inaalis ang face-to-face. It is still the most preferred type for education. But for now, We cannot afford education to stop so various modalities for education shall continue.”

For her part, Dr. Garcia said that online learning is a better plan that no plan at all. The most important quality of any plan is the flexibility to change.

“Remember what Albert Einstein said. The measure of intelligence is the ability to change. Having this flexible learning that we have now is a way for us to survive to learn,” she said.