Every teacher needs a community of parents

III Jeffrey M. Pineda

Teachers have always been described as warriors, ready to battle anytime, anywhere. Even in our cubicles when our busy time affords us to share a joke or two, this observation always comes out and will surely produce a booming laugh among us. But the pandemic has tested this description. Have we stood up to it? Certainly. But as any warrior who has fought a good battle, we too have our own limitations.

We have adjusted well with the overwhelming workload and changes in the learning delivery. All of these were weathered with excellence and competence we are expected to provide despite the difficult times. What we worry most about are the learners. The outputs and the assessment speak for themselves and the outcomes are dismal. You will see how the performance of the learners has taken an altogether different shape. It is alarming and even the government has been taking a serious look on this matter.

In this case the warrior-teacher that the public deems us can no longer fight on his/ her own. The challenge is too big to overcome that the saying “It takes a village to raise a child” can once again prove itself in the virtual classroom. This is a problem that requires that concerted effort of all the school stakeholders. Your warrior-teacher is in need of help and the number one stakeholder we see could lift us up is the parent— our home partners in education.

The roles of parents in this new set up in education are worth reconsidering. The once-in-a-quarter parent-teacher conference before must be rediscovered. Gone are the times of casual meetings and regular financial contributions. A rebranding, a transformation is in order. We need a community of parents. A community that will serve as the scaffold for the continuity of the learner’s education. A community that will give out all the support that this health crisis demands. A community that acts as one to achieve one goal. The goal of quality education for all.

In this community, the parents should assume a greater role. The usual support they give to their children remains but this time they should deliberately take the mantle and become facilitators

of learning. They should take an active part in ensuring that their children receive the education they need as prescribed by the curriculum. This taking charge can be difficult at first and this is where the community and the warrior-teacher come in.

As the head manager of the classroom, the teacher has the responsibility to engage the parents for the welfare and success of the learners. However, the formation of this community of parents that we envision should be geared toward the mobilization of parents as partner educators. And this requires planning and execution on the part of the teacher. Thinking out of the box would definitely make it easier. Beyond training the parents, what more strategies can we employ to ensure the coherence of this community?

I think the warrior-teacher description has misconstrued reality or worse has obfuscated the truth. It may sound noble and could energize us but we may not forget that there are support systems that we can tap. Not only tap per se but to activate as a community to back us up.

*****

The author is a Secondary School Teacher I at Francisco G. Nepomuceno

Memorial High School, Angeles City.