IT’s been more or less three years when the pandemic has brought havoc to the entire system of education in which both teachers and learners were badly affected. Teachers in the field who are the front-liners and foregoers of the chosen learning delivery modalities had been doing the best efforts in keeping education within standards in every way it can be. Doing so requires industry, dedication and commitment in order to meet the expectations and desired learning outcomes of learners who are the heart of the purpose.
It is said that “once a teacher, always a teacher”. It is a lifetime commitment that is fulfilled when a learner surpasses greater educational achievements and higher position in the service and career. A teacher who produces individuals who became tycoons of their own masterpieces had successfully created his own masterpiece. According to Henry B. Adams, “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops”.
As a Grade 6 classroom teacher for fifteen years, the author had been through a lot of challenges in teaching children with multiple intelligences who uniquely learn in their own capacity and pacing. But, the most challenging scenario is teaching at this time of the pandemic when face to face teaching-learning in school has been prohibited due to COVID19 virus. The sudden closures of school had brought great problems, issues and concerns that need to be addressed by teachers as the immediate responding agents. Different learning delivery modalities were provided to best suit the appropriate LDM for every school. Being stationed in a far barrio school where there is no internet connectivity and technology/gadgets of elementary school children is proven to be very scarce, the Modular Delivery of Learning-Printed (MDL-P) has been appropriately chosen.
MDL-P is never an easy task to do. Like other learning modalities, it undergoes a series of tasks to follow and accomplish before it is handed to the parents during the scheduled distribution and to be answered by learners who are at home as their meantime learning centers. Printed modules are products of the collaborative efforts of Education Program Supervisors (EPS), the technical working teams, the learning resource teams, the writers in every learning area and the teachers in the field who are tasked for printing and reproduction for learners as end-users. It is made sure that the competencies in the modules are MELC-based and are contextualized and localized to better fit the learners’ needs, capability and knowledge for an easier understanding of the content. It is even shortened into an integrative assessment to give ample time for learners to comply with their performance tasks and still have time to bond with family and friends as part of the learning scheme.
The first year of the implementation was a little bit harder since it marked the beginning of the plan. Inadequacy of the resources was patched up with the extended help from agencies where partnerships were tapped and strengthened. Squarely, all linkages triumphantly sustained the implementation until this time. The spirit of “Bayanihan” has proven to be effective in addressing the priorities of the schools to fight against the crisis and withstand education. It is indeed a union of the same vision and mission to hit the overall educational goals of the Department of Education for a lifelong learning.
Being a classroom teacher this time of the pandemic requires much vigor to get done with a lot of work and responsibilities. Rain or shine, a teacher needs to look for places where connectivity is good to download the modules on line and to get updates from group chats or to share information to colleagues and stakeholders especially to parents who have connections. Under the shed of the trees on top of mountains on a sunny day, or under the umbrella when it rains, teachers diligently attend virtual meetings and orientations to keep abreast of what is new to better serve the learning needs of children. Work in school is even brought at home in sleepless nights checking the learners’ assessments, performance tasks, computing grades, answering parents queries in feedback forms, weekly home learning plan preparations and other related tasks. Sometimes, a weekend is no longer a holiday from work but becomes an extension of the noble service a teacher has taken oath to serve. Teachers face all these challenges with a smile and never as burden. With all the love without reservations, every challenge has turned into new learning opportunities for children to be more capacitated to learn independently at their own with less assistance from family members and to the teacher as well.
On the contrary, still a number of the learners are found to have learning difficulties due to certain factors. These learners are those that greatly need teachers’ attention and remediation. This remediation comes in many ways, in different strategies and interventions. But on top of all, the writer had created a self-made reading intervention through interactive games. In here, learners are asked to do the task individually to measure their knowledge and level of comprehension. Stories with questions and other reading materials are encoded using PowerPoint presentations and codes that are useful to enhance the effects and projections during the assessments and collaborative activities of the learners.
The teacher used this intervention material to produce engaging activities that are helpful in reading development among learners. After the series of remediation conducted, pupils are more fascinated to read, answer and collaborate with their classmates in the different learning activities. Thus, reading skills and assessment results are higher compared to traditional way of conducting remedial interventions. This activity is done in a limited face to face manner on scheduled basis with parents’ consent and of course permit from the LGU, RHU and PNP as persons of authorities.
To keep pupils motivated to never fail in getting and returning their weekly modules and performance tasks, the author even resorts to giving of food and school supplies to all the learners as a form of help and rewards. Moreover, home visitations were done in getting feedbacks and status of learners who showed signs of non-participation in the getting and returning of modules. This is done to urgently address concerns and arrived at a mutual agreement in sustaining the learners’ schooling. With their parents, learners were encouraged and motivated to go on with their studies, assured that they will be helped all throughout with their learning difficulties through teacher’s remediation and assistance. Both the teacher and the parent could collaboratively do something to help the child learn and keep them interested to finish the school-year victoriously.
All the efforts made were never in vain. The current status of the identified learners with learning difficulties and learners at risk of dropping out had shown a fruitful progress in their learning. Indeed, a work by heart is a work well done. It is a work of M-astery, A-ppreciation, S-elflessness, T-alent, E-nergy, and R-eadiness. It is a piece worth emulating in being optimistic towards a successful school in the future. It is a masterpiece that sets no boundaries in achieving a seamless education for all children.
“If you wish to achieve worthwhile things in your personal and career life, you must become a worthwhile person in your own self-development.” – Brian Tracy
