Understanding in times of pandemic
No, Princip al , Payao Elementary School
THE COVID-19 pandemic caused a major shift in the trend of thePhilippine educational system. To address the problem on face-to-face instruction, learning delivery modalities ( LDM) are presented by the Department of Education ( DepEd). The LDM is one way to ensure that learning continues and that everyone’s safety is secured.
The LDM in various schools from Negros Occidentalincludes distance learning in the form of online, modular, radio-based instruction (RBI), TV-based instruction (TBI), and blended.Online learning can be synchronouswherein both the teacher and the learners are present in a virtual classroom and learning takes place at the same timeor asynchronous wherein learning takes place at one’s convenient time since teachers are posting learning materials online to be accessed by the learners anytime. Modular distance learning can be in print (hardcopy) or digital ( electronic/softcopy). The RBI uses radio scripts developed from modules as lessons and aired on partnered radio stations while TBI uses video lessons developed from modules and aired on partnered TV stations. Blended is a combination of any learning modality mentioned earlier. The choice of learning modality depends on the resources available for both the teacher and most especially the learners.
With the new normal in education, everyone is adjusting from the school’s personnel, teachers, parents to learners and even the community. Since, everyone is new to the current system, flexibility and understanding must prevail.
Everyone should be flexible in addressing the needs of one another. In the same manner, utmost understanding should be valued in this most pressing time. Everyone has problems and the pandemic may worsen the situation that we are in.
For the learners and parents, understand that the teacher is only one and the learners he handles may be more than 50 in a class and if he handles five or six sections, he will have roughly 300 learners all in all. The teacher is busy in developing and creating instructional materials and assessments suited for the learning modality that he handles. Surprisingly, some teachers handle more than one LDM. The teacher checks assessments that were submitted online or in print and it will take many late nights for him to finish checking these works. The teacher is human that needs time to rest. Hence, understand and respect their lunch time, family time and rest time. The teacher may not immediately answer all the questions for he is not always facing the class record and computer.
For the teachers, understand that the learners may not submit on time the outputs for he has no one to help him in studying hard lessons. At times, the learners cannot attend online class for they have no mobile load since the family prioritizes their stomachs not to go empty.
For parents, understand that in this situation, your role is very important. The learners that the teachers should have in their classrooms are already in your respective homes and your guidance really matters. The parents’ role in monitoring their children’s education is a great help to achieve that no learner should be left behind.
No one can predict when wills this pandemic end but let us just stay alert, remain safe and let the understanding prevail.