Teachers share ‘pandemic lessons’, preps for incoming school year

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

Eleazar Danila has been teaching English to Junior and Senior High School students at the St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary for almost four years, and he had just finished his first year of teaching through his computer screen.

The Department of Education (DepEd), in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, instituted a blended learning system consisting of modules, answer sheets, and online meetings, all without physical interaction.

Adjustments had to be made, and the DepEd began the previous academic year on October 5, 2020. This year, classes will start almost a month earlier on September 13.

Accordingly, Danila conducted mock classes with his students, who also adjusted to studying in the comfort of their own homes instead of boarding inside the seminary.

His challenge of a fluctuating internet connection persisted throughout the school year, which also posed another challenge for him. He had to travel from his home in Molo to the seminary in Jaro just to get good internet connection.

And because of these challenges, Danila considered himself, and all his fellow teachers, as frontliners in the pandemic.

“Last school year, we were asked to work at home but our internet connectivity was unstable and I cannot deliver well my lessons. Later on, the seminary decided that if we have problems in internet connection, we just go there and held our classes. It is very hard to travel going to the Seminary amidst the pandemic. We consider ourselves frontliners also because we are exposed to the virus especially in using public utility vehicles, which I consider unsafe up until now,” said Danila.

Danila’s former English teacher at the Iloilo City National High School (ICNHS), Eric Buenafe, admitted he was worried about moving forward to a completely different mode of teaching last school year.

Like his former student, Buenafe felt “challenged” by the abrupt and distinct changes that had to be made so that learning could continue.

But he saw these challenges as opportunities for personal and professional growth. He resorted to learning about making creative content on his YouTube channel with his students, and even helped the DepEd come up with learning materials.

“I was doubting about my readiness and even my students’ readiness. Skepticism really hindered me oftentimes. With this new normal and new platform, how could I foster an assured and quality learning and experience for my students? How are they going to cooperate actively with no face-to-face interaction? And still lots of uncertainties germinated in my mind,” said Buenafe.

Donita Sol Escorido, who recently ended her contract with the Iloilo Prima Galaw Art Institute (IPGAI) as a pre-school teacher, said the internet connection also made it hard for her to learn new things in teaching in a non-physical setting, all within a short period of time.

“Everything was overwhelming. We need to learn something new and we need to be flexible in order to adapt. Also being a teacher we also need to be prepared for every uncertainties and ambiguities that will come our way. There are some minor challenges like technical and internet difficulties in conducting online class, preparing modules in a short period of time, and thinking of teaching strategies that could keep our students’ interest in online learning,” she said.

Danila, Buenafe, and Escorido were just some of the teachers Daily Guardian spoke to last year on the challenges they faced embracing this “new normal” in education.

CHALLENGES AND ADJUSTMENTS

This past school year, teachers still faced tough challenges despite the adjustments they had made to make sure that learners’ education went on.

Aside from internet connection, Danila also mentioned the students’ connectivity and technological malfunctions, their difficulty in dedication to their studies, and his unstable income being a private school teacher.

He cited an example of one of his students who admitted to him the difficulty of an online setup, which ultimately got him (the student) off the school’s honors list.

“As a teacher it was very alarming because this student was an outstanding one, not to mention that he was very keen on the details pertaining to my lessons and he was very diligent. And all of the sudden due to this pandemic, his final grade decreased which made him out of the honor list. It was quite frustrating to see the student suffer knowing that he was also doing his best despite the financial constraints they were facing,” he said.

Buenafe used different techniques in his classes, using a modular mode for the ICNHS’ Regular class while the Special Science Classes (SSC) were taught in a blended mode—a mix of online and modular learning.

These modes came with problems of their own—internet connection for the SSC, and distribution and retrieval of the modules for both Regular and SSC programs.

He also encountered unwanted background noises during his online classes, which made it difficult for him and his students to enjoy their time together virtually.

Another challenge he shared was the abundance of group chats on social media. He said that while group chats were a quick way to communicate with students and their parents, having too many clouded the assurance that they received their information accurately and on time.

With these issues, he learned to understand the plight of the learners’ families in accessing the lessons, whether it be online or offline.

“I’ve received a lot of excuses not to attend the class because of it and I need to remediate it which is a bit time-consuming. Most of us who are teaching online claim that having strong internet access is the fundamental solution in the delivery of the lessons. But we can’t deny the fact that not all families can actually afford the expenses of securing a stable internet connection, so the teaching-learning process has become compromised,” Buenafe said.

Similar to Danila and Buenafe, Escorido also had to refocus her teaching style so that her pupils could learn effectively.

“There are some students which online learning is not effective on them, especially in preschool. What I did is focus more on their own learning style. Like providing more worksheets, Art Activities with their parents, making video outputs that also align with the curriculum, and any other activities that enhance their creativity as well as enjoyable and fun,” she said.

PERSONAL, PROFESSIONAL LIVES

Like any adjustment, people have to make with their lives, the pandemic and its effect on education also affected the personal and professional aspects of their life.

For Escorido, she became more aware and knowledgeable about technology and to adapt to an environment “with uncertainty and fear”, learning to face challenges without doubting her capacity as an educator.

She said that she also realized the importance of the support of parents and other community members in the development of the children they teach.

“During this distance learning, we teachers, need the support of the parents in order for the student’s improvement. We teachers and parents, and the community as well we need to work hand in hand in order to develop students’ full potential. The support system of the family and the community should be stronger especially in these trying times in education,” she said.

Danila said that the pandemic “taught him how to love, to listen, to respect, to care, and to help”, making him learn how to persevere out of the confines of what he had been used to.

Being able to stay at home in a “more-than-usual” basis made him realize the daily struggles of his family “as clear as the sun”, becoming a better brother to his younger siblings and even helping them with their modules.

“If someone asks me how I’m dealing with the pandemic and how it influences me I would say: I know that is not easy for us, I know it’s not easy for those lying in the hospitals, I know it’s not easy for those who lost someone. Life takes us in different directions. That’s why it’s important to live the moment, without thinking of the past or the future. I sit at home, do my school assignments, go out on the balcony, have tea or coffee, listen to good music. I can’t count all the activities I do to stay positive. It matters to me that my brother, my parents and grandparents are safe and for them I do my best. This situation has taught me many things,” he said.

Buenafe said that the current pandemic and the new style of education has taught him how to be more patient, as he felt himself change along with the personal and professional adjustments he had made.

Like Escorido, he also saw the value of collaborating with parents, school administration, and members of the community to ensure that students continue receiving quality education.

“Perhaps I have grown as a professional being. I am clarified with my role in shaping the minds of the nation while building my passion in teaching since I realized teaching in this pandemic is considered a sacrifice and an act of love, for it takes time, attention, and patience. And through this, I have been learning to see ways to continue the learning process for the welfare of my students. Indeed, keeping a whole class attentive has always been a challenge for me but the ‘new normal’ has given me a chance to look at the whole new dimension,” he said.

MOVING FORWARD

With the realizations they have gotten from the previous school year, they have found themselves more equipped and are now bracing for the incoming year.

Escorido opted not to renew with IPGAI, as she had applied for a teaching position with the DepEd and chose to wait for the results, anticipating positive results.

Danila said like the previous school years, he will seek to have a dialogue with each of his students on their personal assessments of the past school year and possible suggestions for the incoming school year.

He shared that he “felt good” preparing for the coming school year, but admitted that both private and public school teachers need more support from the government.

“This school year is the assessment of what we have done last school year. We are just setting up the mood of our students, I initially planned to talk with them in a personal manner so that I will be able to evaluate and make solutions to their problem. Every start of the school year, we conducted this kind of activity to help our students realize the need to study despite the pandemic we are facing and also instill in them that no matter what the situation, it is still the human heart of the teacher shall prevail – but on a case-to-case scenario,” he said.

Buenafe mulled into “more creative ways” of teaching, and even suggested that he may tap into his students’ love for video games, to make sure that they would enjoy learning even further as they continue in a virtual set-up.

He said that for him, it was also important to prepare himself as he and his fellow teachers continue, believing that their readiness “can make a leap of moving forward despite this pandemic” and ensure that they will be “producing learners who will strive to become future leaders”.

“I will make sure that the online learning environment that is mission-based will allow them to increase their self-confidence and eventually become goal-oriented individuals. Possibly, I will impose a learning environment which is more flexible to enable students to make more choices about their lives and their learning through strengthening a learner-centered teaching model as we had in the face-to-face set-up,” he said.