Challenges are what makes life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. –Joshua Marine
March 11, 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shaken the Philippines and later, our President declared a national lockdown. No one is exempted from the effect of this pandemic responses and created a dilemma in the Philippine educational system. The questions of who, what, where, when, and how arises in most of the teachers? Who will be responsible for students if there will be a face-to-face class? Who will teach the students at home? What can we do to sustain education for this school year? Where can students go to learn? When will the school year begin? And most especially, how are we going to teach?
Those are only some of the challenges that we faced through in the beginning of the new school year. The Department of Education followed the command of the president to move the opening of the school year and made sure that enough webinars are given to teachers to be equipped in the new normal. There may be many online trainings and webinars yet that will never be enough in the battle that we are facing right now in the new normal especially as Mathematics teacher.
They always say that Math is the hardest subject in a traditional classroom setup. Teachers are doing their best to make the students understand the lesson and makes interventions for those who have difficulty in learning. In the normal school days, the time that we have is not enough so if I will compare it to today’s situation with one-hour online class for the whole week, the mastery for this school year is really questionable. In this matter, the intervention for mastery is important even in distance learning so teachers made materials to supplement learning at home. We created modules that students can read without the aid and full guidance of a real teacher. It is now up to the student if he or she will honestly use his modules to learn.
A big leap to technology is also one of the hardest struggles of teachers especially those who are not millennials nevertheless, they are all trying their best to cope up with the changes and the need of our situation. The budget for technological equipment is also a challenge because most of us needs to upgrade our laptops, computer, cellphones, and our internet provider to give a quality teaching without lags. Most of us invested in tablet and pen to write and discuss solutions that is traditionally written in a chalk board.
We know that teachers are not the only who is having a hard time in this situation yet challenges are really the catalyst to create an avenue for growth. I saw how our respected old teachers embraced the changes and faced the new normal with confidence and passion for teaching. It is as if saying that we will never be beaten by our situation, instead, we are learning from all of these.
Indeed, challenges and difficulties are all opportunities for growth, changes, and makes the life worth living.
By: Cyrene Joy B. Bermido | Teacher II | Olongapo City National High school
