Still optimistic about ‘Walang maiiwan’

Before the pronouncement of President Duterte that classes are to begin on Oct. 5, I had already been feeling down. With the first day of classes already waving to us educators, I could not help but be anxious, such that I almost didn’t finish a script assigned to me for the radio-based instruction.

Thinking of the 250 10th-grade students I will not be interacting with face to face makes the next days difficult to get by. Until now, I have not yet seen or read any prescribed learning material in English 10. I do not know how I will answer the parents’ sentiments on how some of them would teach their children using modular distance learning. I cannot seem to imagine how the child, with the absence of a seatmate or subject teacher like me, would process his thoughts when it comes to the materials he would be reading.

How will he answer each activity from Monday through Friday? What if, though parents may contact me through a scheduled time, they do not have phones, or their relatives or neighbors do not feel generous enough to lend theirs? What if the parents do not know how to read? How can they assist their child? What if, without my real-time motivation on their tasks, independent learners will get lazy in finishing their outputs? What if this school year fails to truly reach out to learners in the absence of face-to-face learning?

Scary thoughts, I guess, and I do not have any answer.

As a public school teacher, a decade after I had my internship at Muñoz National High School in Nueva Ecija, I am already well-versed in the everyday classroom scenario. The Philippines, through the Department of Education (DepEd), is doing its utmost to uphold quality education in our country. This is evident in our shift from the revised basic education curriculum (RBEC) to the mandated K-to-12 basic education. However, we have not been ready to welcome the drastic effects of COVID-19 as it has ravaged more and more countries all over the world. The road ahead is hazy; facing the future head-on is to expect slamming into the unknown.

Walang maiiwan. Nobody will be left behind. This is DepEd’s tagline, and I am wholeheartedly with them in this advocacy. I want to make this materialize so that my 250 children will not be left out no matter the odds or consequences this pandemic has brought. I want to be certain that they will get the quality basic education they deserve. They are, after all, our hope. It may seem so idealistic, but I want them to achieve their dreams and be on track, like my other children before who are now successful in their chosen careers.

Walang maiiwan. This embodies every educator’s dream, that despite the COVID-19 crisis, our nation’s pupils and students may still be able to equip themselves with the most essential learning competencies (MELCs) that each of the self-learning modules (SLMs) and learning activity sheets (LAS) contain.

In previous years, we teachers served as second parents. Now, the parents have to be their children’s second teachers, even as we remain the professional teachers compensated by the people and expected to serve and mold young minds.

I have been speaking in front of parents for two days now, orienting them about what to expect this school year. To be honest, my apprehensions seem to have waned just by talking to them, listening to their concerns, and answering them as truthfully as possible.

At a time like this, I do not really take to heart the snide comments of some parents. I see their woes and concerns. Their seemingly hurtful words are a representation of their high regard for us educators. Without us by their children’s side, they become anxious that their efforts may not prove enough and that their child might be left behind. Ayaw nilang mapag-iwanan. They do not want their children to be left behind. We don’t want that, too.

My children this school year still have a long way to go, and I shall be with them throughout this journey. No educational system is perfect, and despite every bump in the road, I remain optimistic.

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Marjorie T. Millan is a Grade 10 teacher in Isabela, Philippines.