Distance learning: Braving the Paradigm Shift

Do not forget to check on our warriors—our students and teachers—who brave multiple roadblocks in shifting to distance learning.

Editorial cartoon by Vince Paraunda

Even as the country continues to battle a pandemic, which has caused all schools to shut down, the education center emphasizes that student learning must not be stopped, but rather it shall evolve. Hence, the Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) actively pushed for conducting classes via distance learning for public schools and flexible learning, respectively.

In fact, today marks the official start of classes in primary and secondary public schools for A.Y. 2020-2021. This was prior postponed from August 24 to October 5 to give way for preparations in order to ensure that education would still be accessible and inclusive without compromising quality. Despite such efforts, it was reported that about 3 million students may have dropped out this school year due to their family's current financial state as affected by the crisis. This raises the concern whether education in the new normal is only for the privileged, when education should and always be a right.

Exposing Roadblocks to Education

The switch to distance learning exposes several roadblocks to education, such as lack of reliable internet, lack of access to gadgets, and lack of homes conducive for learning. No matter how much parents want to secure the essentials, they simply cannot afford to do so, for many lost their livelihoods in this crisis. Their priorities right now focus on the basic necessities in order to survive instead of providing education to their kids. Thus, distance learning is a strong proof that there is a large gap among social classes in our country.

Recognizing these challenges, CHED and DepEd worked on providing three different modes of delivery, which still require remote teaching either through online video conferencing or modular learning (soft or hard copy) or mixed, and even via radio and television for DepEd schools.

With modular learning being the most preferred type of learning as majority have no access to internet, the mass production of printed modules for students as well as onset of donation drives for tablets and computers for both students and teachers have been rampant. However, these are not still enough to support all students and teachers in the country.

Teachers spend about Php 1500 monthly on internet connection, but are neither given laptops nor internet allowance. Printed modules cost a staggering Php 35 billion amount that requires an additional Php 10 billion for DepEd's budget for 2021. Yet the government has shown that their priorities lie far from education. Take for example, the high budgets for infrastructure and continued funding for police and military budgets in Duterte's 2021 budget proposal, leading to higher chances of leaving more students behind. Another one is the popular Manila Bay's 'white sand' project with reportedly Php 389 million funding could have been used instead for providing tablets and laptops to students.

Unwavering Commitment and Passion

Coincidentally, today’s start of classes is also the celebration of World Teacher’s Day, held annually since 1994 with the theme, “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future.” During these challenging times, our teachers continuously find ways to provide their students learning.

In a video by Rappler, teachers all over the country share their passion and commitment to teaching. With the goal of inspiring and guiding the youth towards building the future, teachers continue to pursue teaching despite the unfavorable conditions.

Before classes started, teachers have undergone trainings through webinars for distance learning. They also prepared course packs, modules, and videos good for the whole semester with the little preparation time they had. Aside from that, most veteran teachers have difficulty with technological tools, but they moved forward and learned new platforms just so they can educate their students.

Caring for the Students and Teachers’ Well-being

This sudden shift in the paradigm of learning greatly affects the well-being of both teachers and students alike. Both experience accumulated backlogs; required readings, videos, papers, and etc. for students while unchecked students' requirements and pending video lecture uploads for teachers. As a result, students and teacher both burn the midnight oil much more so in this virtual class setup vs that in a traditional class. Multiple anecdotes show that teachers and students are spending more time outside their usual work hours in order to finish all that need to be accomplished. With a pandemic and online classes on their plates, the mental well-being of teachers and students are at stake.

To our dear Filipino teachers who make things that seemed impossible for our education system months ago possible, thank you from the depths of our hearts for your passion and commitment to service. To our fellow students who are also struggling to adapt in this new setup, let us continue to learn so that we can apply our learnings in solving problems and building a bright future together. To our government officials who have not yet brought their act together, please carry out your duty in supporting our educational sector instead of prioritizing your personal interests. Lastly, to our fellow Filipinos, may we appreciate the efforts of our warriors and recognize that they are merely humans too in a middle of a crisis.