REMEDIAL CLASSES: A REMEDY TO EDUCATION?

IAN B. SISON

For countless times, parents and guardians are repetitively reminding their children of the beauty and benefit of having a good education. Education is the only wealth parents can leave their children which no one can take away from them— a constant reminder that everyone may have heard from their elderly. This is to point out that having a quality education is like finding a bar of gold; it’s something one can treasure forever. However, our educational system in this 21st century is challenged by many factors. The internet, social media, modern technology, peer pressure and family problems are just few of these many factors that pull away students from their interest in studying and finishing their education. The result— many drop-out students and out of school youth are forced to face the challenges of life, off-guarded and unprepared.

These problems are being addressed by the Department of Education. In many schools nowadays, you will see teachers who stay even beyond the school hours. They stay not because they wish to receive overtime pay. They do stay because they need to extend a voluntary work. After a long, tiring and loaded day with a number of students who, at times, push their patience to the limits, teachers need to conduct remedial classes to those students who failed to meet the competencies of the lessons. The teachers rediscuss the lessons, use diverse techniques and strategies, prepare another set of evaluation materials making sure that the students would finally be able to grasp the lesson and finally meet the required competencies. Instead of going home early where their own families are waiting, teachers conduct remedial classes to ensure that those students who were unable to understand the lessons during class hours won’t totally get left behind by their peers. While this may not be new, many schools are seriously observing this today to prevent drop-outs and repeaters among the students especially now that K12 curriculum is being implemented.

This program may sound very appealing to our ears, yet problems are still faced by teachers. The poor support from some parents and guardians and the absences of the students to their remedial classes among others hinder the success of this initiative.

The future lies in the hands of the youth of today. This is the reason why we should invest not only our resources, but also and more importantly, our collective efforts in ensuring that the future of this land are given correct attention, today. But the remedy to our educational problems is not something the teachers alone should bear. Rather, all of us can provide our own remedy to these problems. This can only happen when we share ourselves selflessly to our students. As Bill Grace, a poet has once written, “It takes a village to raise a child”, we should also work hand in hand in ensuring that our students would receive the best education that is possible. Education is a joint effort of all the stakeholders: the parents, the school, the community. The success of our children is also the success of our future!

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The author is Teacher at Balitucan National High School