ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GOOGLE CLASSROOM
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GOOGLE CLASSROOM
by Hiraya Marcos (12B - HUMSS)| Published September 2020
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I saw a tweet the other day about someone’s grandfather who works as a college professor. Though he’s already 63 years old, he takes time to learn how to set up Zoom meetings and learn how to use the technology, so that his students can learn even during online classes. Right now in this pandemic, a lot of things have changed, and a lot of things are still changing, yet people are trying their best to keep up, not just for themselves, but for others.
Of the many sectors that have been impacted by this pandemic, the educational sector is one which is facing the most drastic changes. Students have to adjust to the new remote learning systems set in place. However, students aren’t the only ones who are facing this new environment. For every hour of class scheduled, coordinators have prepared and planned for hours; for every new lesson taught, the teacher learns two. Now more than ever, teachers are challenged to be resilient in this new normal, as they support their students on the other side of the screen.
No one has been spared from the changes that have been made, not even the most versatile teachers. Preparation for teachers began before parents and students even considered returning to class. To make up for the entirely new schooling environment, teachers had to expend more time and effort into their school year preparations. “In previous years, teachers reported for work two weeks before the opening of classes to prepare for the school year ahead,” said devoted Chinese teacher Mr. Guo Chunfeng. “This year, all the teachers had repeatedly engaged in online training for two months before school started just to learn how to conduct an online class.”
Students are surely not the only ones learning new things this school year. The school staff has undergone various training sessions to understand online teaching in order to keep up with the novelty of the challenging situation. “I think that’s the assumption that students need to try to lessen, or try to abandon entirely -- that teachers have it all figured out,” said passionate high school teacher, Mr. Roberto Lim Jr. “It’s one of my educational philosophies: I think the only advantages of teachers are his age, his degree, and his experience.”
Though online classes have already begun, not all the kinks have been worked out. It’s an ongoing process of trial and error for everyone involved, and there are still many obstacles on the road ahead. “Some of the challenges are the unstable internet connection, disruptive behaviors of my students, checking my pupils’ asynchronous tasks, and trying to capture the students’ attention,” said beloved elementary teacher, Ms. Janette Sychinggui.
Teachers are learning and re-learning how to hold an interesting class, and are innovating creative ways to keep their students engaged. They expend time and effort into producing fun and interactive activities for their students to enjoy and learn from. Class participation is one of the major factors affecting the students’ learning, and teachers are coming up with ways to facilitate that better.
Aside from those, technical limitations are among those issues which teachers have to deal with. Teachers with poor internet connection don’t have the option to work from home, and instead conduct classes from within campus premises.
As the situation changes day by day, the roles that teachers play also shift, and they continue to change as time goes on. “I think my role as a teacher will definitely change because in this new normal, knowledge and skills aren’t the only things that are important,” said Junior Chef moderator, Mrs. Cathy Ong. “A teacher has to use her heart and needs to be a creative thinker in order to make online learning fun and interesting.”
With the pandemic the population is facing, everyone is becoming more stressed, but teachers are still determined to provide students with an education that will not lose out to that which they may receive during face-to-face classes. In this situation, teachers are still playing an integral role in the formation of the students. The connections built between students and teachers are now more essential to the learning process than ever. “Teachers and parents are both resource providers and role models for the students,” shares seasoned kindergarten teacher and mother of two boys, Mrs. Cathy Cruz. A number of teachers are facing the challenge of having multiple roles both in the classroom and in their families. “Being a teacher, a mom, and a wife is not that easy. I seek the help of my husband for family matters while I deal with work,” she said. Even family set-ups need to be restructured to accommodate the demands on the teachers. To that end, our teachers never stop working.
At the end of the day, for our teachers, it’s never about themselves. As our hardworking Subject Area Coordinator for Mathematics and Computer Mr. Valentin Limson said, “We want to make sure that we can still provide quality education to our students. We are of the mindset that no matter how big the challenges are, we will continue to exert extra effort to provide quality education.” Our teachers are working hard for the sake of giving us the best education possible despite the circumstances. Online classes are hard, but online classes without passionate teachers are even harder, so let’s be thankful for their efforts and appreciate them, not only on teacher’s day, but all the days that come after.
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