(photo: UNESCO)
Uno may baja himoon nan mga maestro/maestra? There are comments
from the parents that they shall be given the salary of the teachers since they
are expected to facilitate the learning of their children during these times
where the virus is persisting. Probably some of them forgot that the well-being
and learning of their children start from home.
"Parental
responsibility" - with respect to their minor children shall refer to the
rights and duties of the parents as defined in Article 220 of Executive Order
No. 209, as amended, otherwise known as the "Family Code of the
Philippines.
In Article 220: The
parents and those exercising parental authority shall have with the respect to
their unemancipated children on wards the following rights and duties:
(1) To keep them in
their company, to support, educate and instruct them by right precept and good
example, and to provide for their upbringing in keeping with their means; (2)
To give them love and affection, advice and counsel, companionship and
understanding; (3) To provide them with moral and spiritual guidance, inculcate
in them honesty, integrity, self-discipline, self-reliance, industry and
thrift, stimulate their interest in civic affairs, and inspire in them
compliance with the duties of citizenship.
It has been a
practice among Filipinos to “leave” their responsibilities to the teachers and Day
Care workers. Corporal punishment was even encouraged by some parents to the
teachers when the kids do nasty things.
Research clearly
links the quality of children’s first years with their future physical,
cognitive, communicative, social and emotional functioning. Interaction and
rich experience are keys. But in developing countries, families are too often
without resources to provide the environment and stimulation that their young
children need. In the Philippines, center-based early childhood development
services are scarce and of uneven quality (childfun.org).
With the onslaught of
the alternative learning modality of the Department of Education, parents are
expected to facilitate the learning of their children in their own capacities.
The IATF prohibits the minors to go out and have face-to-face encounters with
others that is why parental support is tantamount to the learning process
during the pandemic.
Parental involvement
is an essential factor in the development of the foundation in children’s
education. In spite of this, many parents do not appear to be getting involved
in their children’s education.
This lack of
involvement may have a negative impact on student performance in and out of the
classroom and ultimately affect their continuing educational development and
success. Teachers need to play a major role in connecting to the larger school
community.
The Learning
Continuity Plan of the schools lists orientation of the parents on the alternative
learning delivery modes for this school year. But with the varied profiles of
the parents, an impending difficulty is at hand. There are those who will repel
on the idea of being involved since for them, it will get along the way in
finding for a living. Some of them will be out to work and how can their
children expect support and guidance from those whose educational attainment
are limited?
Wilichowski and Cobo
(2020) said that averting the damage brought on by the corona virus (COVID-19)
pandemic requires an aggressive education policy response, which involves: 1)
coping during the crisis to reduce learning loss while schools are closed, 2)
managing continuity of learning to promote learning recovery as schools reopen
safely, and 3) using the crisis as an opportunity to improve and accelerate,
making education systems stronger and more equitable than they were before.
The DepEd must provide
actionable guidance for teachers. This should point to ways teachers can become
content curators, and provide
recommendations so that they do not overwhelm pupils with excessive
lectures, lessons plans, and homework. In the U.S., Uganda, Brazil, France, and
Ethiopia, this guidance includes easy-to-implement ideas so that teachers can
adapt the content from remote learning plans for their needs.
There must also be
strong policies to allow the parents to have commitment on the learning of the
children with the help of the local governments in providing learning and
development to capacitate the facilitating skills of the parents.
As education systems
emerge from this crisis, it is clear that a new chapter is waiting to be
written with detailed medium- and long-term actions (e.g., increasing
investments in remote learning, adopting blended models when schools partially
reopen, or creating remedial e-courses), which can help educational systems
build back stronger and become more equitable.
We will also learn
from the things along the way when the new school year opens come August 24.
Still, it is firm that education MUST continue. We cannot afford to have a
generation of morons if we will allow the pandemic to create a learning gap.
