Beyond the classroom

We can expect vaccines from various pharmaceuticals to arrive starting this month and that vaccination will take place based on the priority list beginning with our healthcare providers, and so on. This despite a substantial proportion of the population who are still unconvinced of the advantages of being vaccinated. In the implementation, apart from the lead agencies such as the Health Department, the Local Government Units, other government workers are also being tapped. One group happens to be our teachers from the Department of Education.

During a Senate hearing on the country's COVID-19 vaccination program on January 15, Department of Health secretary Francisco Duque III said that teachers from public schools are the ones who are seen as initial volunteers.

Our teachers compose a big force to consider, given the large pool of teachers that the organization would provide for the nationwide implementation. But this arrangement is not new at all. This is because every time the country holds an election, whether local or national, our teachers are the ones being tapped.

In particular, our teachers will be very much in need of information dissemination to spell out certain misconceptions about the program. As the authorities have explained, the role of teachers in vaccination teams would be limited to health education.

Vaccination teams will each consist of six members, with specialists having particular positions such as screening and evaluation, health education, vaccination, documenter/recorder, and someone to take vital signs. Teachers are assigned to roles in health education. Health practitioners such as physicians, nurses, or midwives will administer the vaccine itself.

It has been or is part of their commitment to be of service to the society where they belong or to be relevant to it. It is a dedication that stretches well beyond the four walls of the classroom, far beyond the premises of the school and, yes, far beyond their duties as husbands, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. Teachers at home care for their children being mothers and fathers. And ultimately, such accountability requires no substitutes. And in schools, these same teachers work as advisers or subject teachers as parents to 40 or 50 school children, a task that biological parents are always asking how teachers can do it when they, on their own, even have trouble with only one or two children.

My hope is that in this pandemic era, teachers would not feel burdened by this additional task. It could be used by some as an opportunity to demoralize them. To our ailing brothers and sisters, this is a direct contribution by our teachers. It is crucial that we strip labels, marks, and even affiliations in times of difficulty, and be convinced that our contribution, whether small, can create a significant impact to others and to the society as a whole.

‘It is crucial that we strip labels, marks, and even affiliations in times of difficulty, and be convinced that our contribution, whether small, can create a significant impact to others and to the society as a whole.’