Opening of classes

The Department of Education has moved the opening date for the school year from August 24 to October 5, 2020. The department is expected to fill in some preparatory gaps with about two months to go. Let’s accept that even how our education officials would announce and project to be ready for the opening in August, the public, especially the parents, still know that there is so much to do, much more on the teaching materials. I know that even just a week before the schedule first opening of classes, teachers are still groping for the self-learning modules, awaiting from the central office, which will be distributed at least a week before the class opening.

Even if education officials will ceaselessly declare that there would be no face-to-face instruction, we still cannot erase our parents’ concerns and apprehensions about their children’s health. This is in addition to the fact that parents will always find ways for distance learning to take place by providing their kids with the requisite learning gadgets.

Since every class opening is always met with perennial issues and concerns about inadequacy of planning, learning materials, lack of classrooms, and I believe these same concerns will be posed this year as we face a new situation that needs similar as well as differentiated approaches and solutions

The wisdom behind extending class opening lies behind the protection of our students. The reality is, I’d go for making classes by next year. From the beginning, the University of the Philippines experts have suggested opening of classes by December for all levels as they expect to have the COVID cases flattened and some medical remedies be made available already.

Even how much we assure our parents and home tutors to be our temporary teachers at homes, teaching requires a specialized training and orientation in the early or basic education. This kind of arrangement would impact on the core functions of the parents. Much more to those working parents. Parents who have time for their children because they don’t have work are more likely do not have the education background and therefore do not have the content and pedagogical expertise to be substitute teachers.

The challenge is how and what efforts the school or the teachers are making to bring the learning to the students, in any way. There are subject contents which are not within the parents or home tutors’ ability. And in far-flung areas it is equally a great challenge to do this through an online approach. Exploring the overwhelming possibilities of learning delivery is a dignified response.

Hopefully, the extension will be used to improve the potential of the education system, fill some missed gaps and potentially alleviate our parents’ apprehensions. After all the new law enabling delayed class opening is in response to the prevailing state of emergency. Its flexibility would allow schools to determine their opening date on the basis of the relevant factors. And we are all on the side of our children’s health in this time of pandemic.

No parent would allow for risk to a child. And even at home, when we want to keep learning going, parents don’t have the requisite experience and expertise to address deeper, content-based learning skills.