Change of Game Plan: Still, No Faceto-Face

Alicia B. Narciso

The plea of many parents and guardians to send their children at school is rampant. Parents with jobs are having hard times to help their children attend their classes. It is true that majority of the parents find homeschooling “stressful and challenging” during the pandemic. When President Rodrigo Duterte announced the pilot testing of face-to-face instruction among recommended schools, some parents were excited about it. The dry run for face-to-face classes was originally set on the first quarter of the year. The pilot test for face-to-face classes would be implemented in few schools in areas with low-risk to the virus. In a timeline shown, DepEd Regional Offices would submit to Education Secretary a list of qualified schools for the implementation of the dry-run face-to-face classes. The schools that would join in the dry run would then be selected. Participating school officials and representatives would undergo training, mobilization, orientation and readiness confirmation before the pilot implementation starts. After the two-week dry run, regional reports will be submitted for final recommendation to the President. However, it was emphasized that face-to-face classes would be voluntary, thus a parent’s permit must be submitted for the student to participate.

Yet, just recently, the game plan has changed due to a new strain of Covid-19, which was apparently more infectious, and has been felt in the United Kingdom and has already been witnessed in other neighboring countries like Malaysia.

“I have allowed the face-to-face classes as pilot projects all over the country,”

“I’m calling back the order and I will not allow face-to-face classes of children until we are through with this. We have to, I said, we have to know the nature of the germ that we are confronting. Wala pa tayong alam. I cannot take the risk of allowing the children.”

These are the statements of the President that changed the plan believing that it would more a disaster if the plan on the resumption of face-to-face would be pushed through on the first quarter of the year. The safety of the children is the top priority here. Parents again will be the real front liners of education amidst pandemic. But there has to be no pressure.

As Vidya Shah, an assistant professor at York University’s faculty of education, said, “we are asking too much of parents and teachers and we need to pull back on what the expectations are for children learning at home.” “learning doesn’t happen because of a perfect, pre-packaged lesson ... Learning is happening everywhere and all the time – in the kitchen when you’re cooking, when you’re going for a walk and in conversation with your children about what’s happening on TV.”

The author is Teacher

--oOo-

III at San Nicolas Elementary School