Is The Opening of Classes Really “Victory over COVID-19”?

The following article was originally published on October 5, 2020. Amidst calls for Academic Freeze due to the impact of the Typhoon Qunita, Rolly, and Ulysses on the country, let’s revisit the state of teachers in Negros during the COVID-19 Pandemic

As the Philippines celebrated World Teacher’s Day last October 5, 2020, and marked the first the day of classes for public schools in the Philippines, Education Secretary Leonor Briones declared “victory over COVID-19” during the culminating activity of Dep-Ed, which saw the implementation of distance learning in schools around the country amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, we celebrate a great victory. We declare our victory of COVID-19, the destroyer of lives. We will not allow COVID-19 to destroy our children’s education and future.

Leonor Briones, Education Secretary, on the opening of classes during DepEd’s culminating activity on October 5, 2020

Meanwhile, Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba was forced to issue an apology a day earlier on October 4 following his remarks about teachers “doing less work with the blended learning scheme”, trying to cover such statement as “just being fatherly” and “challenging everyone with his remarks”.

Paghimutad sat down with three teachers from Negros Occidental (virtually, of course), to discuss their thoughts on the new form of blended learning and the importance of Teacher’s Day this 2020.

Thoughts on Briones’s statement

One teacher said that Briones has no clue about what teachers are currently facing due to the pandemic as he states that she is not even involved in the profession.

She has not experienced the difficulties of climbing mountains, traversing ravines, and crossing raging rivers to teach students from far-flung areas.

A Negrosanon teacher’s take on Briones’s “Victory over COVID-19” remark

Meanwhile, another educator we interviewed called out Briones for being insensitive, adding that holding classes in the middle of the pandemic is difficult for everyone, especially for public school teachers and students.

I feel especially for those struggling students who would have to teach themselves using modules

Negrosanon teacher’s views on blended learning

A schoolteacher also emphasized that opening of classes does not mean victory over COVID, and that the virus is still lurking around, with the end nowhere yet in sight.

Are we complaining? No, we are not. We follow what is asked of us. But to claim that we won over the virus just because we [have] opened the school year…that’s not a reality.

Negrosonanon teacher on “Victory over COVID” remark.

Challenges of Blended Learning

From what our interviewees told us, educators across the country be they in private or public schools are all experiencing difficulties, and often come at the expense of the teachers. They have to utilize what little salary they have to buy paper, laptops, printers, ink, and other teaching materials because the government and private institutions often do not subsidize teachers for such expenses. In public school, teachers have to print their own modules out of their own pockets.

Despite what Cagayan governor Mamba says, teachers are not just “lying around” as they express that they are constantly struggling with unstable internet connections, lack of gadgets for students, risk of getting infected while reporting physically to school, and lack of learning and logistical resources. Most teachers, especially in public school, are still required to report to school daily for online classes, thus, the risk of getting the virus as they commute or in campus is quite high.

Furthermore, they state that online classes/distant learning/modular learning is less effective compared to traditional classes. The teachers state that it’s quite hard to keep the students’ attention or even connect with their pupils online, remarking that online classes were quite impersonal and awkward.

Importance of Teacher’s Day amidst COVID-19

However, interviewees all said that there is still reason to celebrate teacher’s day despite the ongoing situation. They state that being a teacher is very challenging during these times, so any encouragement and appreciation they get boosts their morale immensely. It is vital that educators all over the country are commemorated for the contribution in molding us and thanking them for all their sacrifices, especially in adapting with the new method of teaching away from the classroom and modalities of blended learning, the teachers lamented.

No Student, Teacher Left Behind: Why is a National Academic Break Being Petitioned Once More?

As students have taken to the streets once more to call for a national academic break and academic ease, the demands this time around come following the destructive aftermath of Typhoon Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses, with numerous petitions from top universities calling for an end to the semester. Students and teachers in various afflicted parts of Luzon are still left without electricity or proper infrastructure and being left to scramble for resources, the petitioners lamented, stating that students are also running out of mental endurance to stay on top of academic demands while the country is battling disaster after disaster in the middle of a pandemic.

Furthermore, about 150 students from Ateneo de Manila University subsequently followed by the University of the Philippines, De La Salle University, and other institutions in Manila’s U-Belt have taken the demands further, pledging to withhold submission of any academic requirement until the national government heeds the people’s demands: to suspend online classes, for the government to help relief efforts to those affected by the typhoons, and for the Duterte administration to be held accountable for criminal negligence in both handling of recent natural calamities and the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Malacañang responded angrily to the continued protests, the call for a national academic break and ending the semester for students nationwide is currently in limbo, with great uncertainty about the call’s future.