From a Teacher’s Point of View

Regie J. Bengco

They say the best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book. It means teaching beyond what books can gratify. It means touching the lives of their students. However, would it still be possible during the pandemic?

As a result of the arising cases of Covid 19, teachers today don’t have a choice but to follow the safety protocols given by the IATF. One of the adjustments of DepEd to still continue education is through distance learning.

Merriam W ebster defines distance learning as, “a method of study where teachers and students do not meet in a classroom but use the Internet, e-mail, mail, etc., to have classes.” It means that students do not have direct interaction with their classmates and teachers Though learning still occurs, the setting is completely different. There is less interaction, less communication, and less bond between teacher and student. Teachers cannot monitor their pupils’ behavior very well because of limited time. It is as if the relationship between teacher and student is cut short.

If there are one thing teachers really miss during the pandemic, that is the presence of their students around the classroom. They miss the noises of their students during discussion, during group activities, and during break. Teachers miss the small chit chats after classes and the Segway life stories during discussions. More importantly, teachers miss the feeling of being a teacher. When they feel proud when their students achieve even simple awards, when they don’t have a choice but to reprimand their students for their misbehavior, and when they think they need to lend a hand or give advice to their students because they felt that something is wrong. In short, they miss being a parent to students who they treated as their own.

Teachers are definitely not happy in these changes. More than anyone, teachers are the most affected in this transition. It is not only because they need to attend different webinars or they need to learn different platforms for online teaching, but it is because… they worry. They worry about their students. They worry about their students who do not have gadgets, whose parents are illiterate, and they worry about their students who do not have someone to guide them. Scott Hayden said, “Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together.” For they know, it is through loving the students, can learning meaningfully transpire.

The author is Teacher

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III at Manibaug Elementary School