Teachers as Loco Parentis in the Pandemic Times

Jerelyn P. CaY

What is loco parentis? Loco parentis refers to a relationship in which a person puts himself or herself in the situation of a parent by assuming and discharging the obligations of a parent to a child. In the Philippines, the school authorities and teachers are considered a substitute parent or one who stands in loco parentis and as such, shall exercise substitute parental authority over his students (Art. 349, par. 2 of RA 386). How about during the pandemic times, how can a teacher play the role of a loco parentis? Our education system continues to face problems on how to deliver quality education, more so with the teachers. Teachers are bombarded with challenges and they should learn how to outweigh these in these trying times. One of these is being a substitute parent. The moment the child enrolled in your class, you are already responsible for his/her well-being. Even though face-to-face classes are not allowed, a teacher can act as loco parentis with the help technology. They can easily reach out thru voice or video call or text, or message students via social media platforms, and they termed it as “virtual or online kumustahan.” With these, teachers will get to know and will be able to build a special parent-child relationship with their students. Checking on a student, like a simple text “Kumusta ka na, anak?” will make him feel important and thus, he builds his trust in the teacher as his loco parentis. Indeed, teachers are capable of adapting to any kind of situation just to fulfill their role as loco parentis and as educators.