MS. MEAN-CHIN
OCTOBER 11, 2020
From “Ma’am and Sir” to “Ma, Pa, Ate, and Kuya”. Learning will not be the same again for students thriving for their right to education.
The Philippine education system is now adapting to the new blended learning as public schools were set to resume its classes nationwide on October 5, 2020. Despite the calls for an academic freeze due to the corona virus outbreak, the Department of Education still believes that education should not be compromised.
“Education cannot wait,” says DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones. To maintain the education of millions of Filipino students, the government implemented a distance learning approach. Distance learning, also known as correspondence education or home study, is a form of education where there is little or no face-to-face interaction between students and their instructors.
This type of modality has three categories. In which, one of the highly convenient for most of the typical Filipino students is the Modular Distance Learning. It was also the most preferred learning system of majority of parents/guardians based on the result of the Learning Enrollment and Survey Form (LESF).
The Department of Education will be the one to provide and distribute the self learning modules to every students every week through their respective schools. They will have ample time to study and assess the modules before the start of weekly class.
Students are expected to complete the task and submit their outputs at the end of the week.
Open communication between the teacher to students and/or teacher to parents/guardians is also part of the norm. This is to ensure and monitor the progress of the students at home.
Just the thought of studying at home gives students the eerie feeling of freedom and luxury of being less pressured. Conversely, this modular distance learning has certain adversities to both parents and students.
What are the common disadvantages of Modular Distance Learning for a typical Filipino student with a normal family set up?
Soon after the opening of classes, these problems and difficulties encountered by students, especially teachers burst into different social media platforms.
Technical Element – this has been the most substantial issue of distance learning. Technicality involves the availability of devices both for students and teachers. These are Mobile phones. Computers, Laptops, Printers and Internet Connection.
Self Learning Module’s Reliability – being the pivotal instrument of this new norm, it’s content should meet the standard learning capacity of a student. Given that these instructional materials will be assess by students on their own, mostly.
Sense of Authority– as mentioned, the luxury of being less pressured. Parents become teachers, but do not see to be as one.
Focus and Concentration -the comfort of studying at home with less or no supervision at all. Students tend to divert their attention instead of focusing on and prioritizing their homeschooling first.
Parent’s / Guardian’s Educational Background- it may sound off but let’s face the reality that not all parents are well equipped with proper education.
These are just some of the adversities of the so-called New Normal of the Philippine Education System. The hasty determination of our country’s readiness to adapt to the new norm is way off.
Our children may be adjusting from the traditional school set up they were used to. So as parents and guardians, the devotion in giving them the support and guidance will be of big help. Proper time management and discipline will be the most engaging tools for our students to pass through this.
Coexisting with this Pandemic is one of the best defenses and might be the only choice for us to move forward. Lets us just complement ourselves after this global crisis. After all, we all deserve it.
How was your experience answering your Child’s Module? I mean..
How was your experience helping your Child with his/her Modules?
