READINESS OF LEARNERS AND PARENTS FOR DISTANCE LEARNING MODALITY

Elvie M. Dimatulac

The general level of appreciation for distance learning among educators, learners, and parents can be said to be currently at a positive note, however, the test for readiness is still to be seen because the shift to distance learning for millions and millions of learners in the Philippines is unprecedented and quite overwhelming from the very start of the preparation period. Typically, this role is seen as a complement to the input from school. Parents supplement a child’s math learning by practicing counting or highlighting simple math problems in everyday life; or they illuminate history lessons with trips to important monuments or museums. Being the prime driver of learning, even in conjunction with online materials, is a different question; and while many parents round the world do successfully school their children at home, this seems unlikely to generalize over the whole population. So while global home schooling will surely produce some inspirational moments, some angry moments, some fun moments and some frustrated moments, it seems very unlikely that it will on average replace the learning lost from school.

For Filipino learners and educators, the impact of COVID-19 to schools and on education are both practical and sentimental. Practical because it changes the pattern and expectations of teachers, learners, parents, and the community when it comes to the conduct and delivery of education. Certain adjustments and urgent changes are required in order to cope with the pandemic and it has to come along with adapting to the new normal education settings. The health crisis becomes a possible birth site of an education crisis if educators and community leaders fail to react with urgency and ingenuity. The immediate impacts – education delivery modes, school engagement and work arrangement, socialization and activities. These realities cannot escape affecting the sentimental and psychological aspects of people. For this reason, education leaders made sure that the mental health and psychosocial well-being of learners, teachers, and parents are considered in planning and implementation of support programs. The negative impact of COVID-19 on education and to the communities can be mitigated if all stakeholders will contribute towards the aim of protecting and promoting the rights of the children to safe and nourishing environment – as well as to their needs for education.

In identifying the readiness of learners and parents in distance learning, the primary area of concern is the preparedness of all stakeholders in delivering distance education in terms of technology and infrastructure, equipment and materials, training and skills, and even mental and psychosocial well-being. Are the stakeholders prepared and equipped to offer, maintain, and innovate the local brand of distance learning they will provide the learners? This is the bottomline of the question for readiness. In the case of the all too familiar digital divide in the country – some have access to internet and some do not, primarily due to socioeconomic gaps and technological infrastructure disparity across the archipelago, common readiness is bleak and desperate. Due to this reality, the Department of Education moved to promote Modular Distance Learning through Self-Learning Materials where printed materials need no internet connection to be delivered. With adequate orientation with learners and parents, along with constant communication with them along the course of studying and answering these modules, learners and parents can be said to be ready enough. However, for learners and families with reading comprehension difficulty especially in English, the case of readiness can be the total opposite. This issue of readiness falls along the line of inclusiveness and differentiation – and proper training for teachers in delivering and supplementing the SLM’s is the key in addressing this concern. Skills trainings are also important in improving the know-how of teachers in providing the parents and learners optimal instructional assistance.

Another area of readiness is the mental and psychosocial well-being of learners and parents as they deal with the unique and sometimes morbid challenges presented by the pandemic while undergoing a shift in education delivery unfolding right before their eyes in their own homes. This sudden tide of changes can be too overwhelming to some families especially those who are in lower economic spectrum. The government should provide counselling and guidance support to learners, parents, and even to educators to mitigate the negative psychological effects of the pandemic.

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The author is Teacher III at Aranguren Integrated School (High School Department) DepEd Tarlac Province