Imagine this—you have loads of requirements for more than five subjects every day, you have to do daily chores at home, you have responsibilities and tasks in organizations, you have to take care of your siblings, and you have to find time for self-care during a pandemic. But here is the catch: you do not have to imagine at all since these are the reality of Filipino students presently. Ever since the transition of classes from physical learning to online and offline learning began, an unreasonable amount of workloads is being given to students. This transition also causes an alteration in the mindset of those who are truly affected in this current situation. 

One of the most common changes in the mindset of the students is that they do not worry about receiving quality education anymore because they only care about complying with all of the requirements. With the existing modification in the modes of evaluation, the students only care about merely submitting the activities, worksheets, and assignments needed to pass a certain subject, without ensuring that they actually learned valuable knowledge.

Furthermore, the students also do not prioritize their mental health since they are bombarded with a list of things needed to accomplish. Some students experience burnout or the feeling of emotional exhaustion due to the stress piling up. It is also very alarming that several issues regarding suicide cases are reported due to the stress, anxiety, and demands of the new normal in learning that students oftentimes feel.

Added to the changes in the mindset of students is that they believe that online and offline learning are just formal words for self-studying or self-paced learning. Though the changes in the education system involve the transition from teacher-centered to independent learning, it is difficult to assure that the students are given the chance to learn at their own time and at their own pace since most of the time, deadlines are still set by the teachers. With this, the essence of selfpaced learning becomes non-existent.

Lastly, there is no more concept of a weekend for students because Saturdays and Sundays are already the designated time to finish all of the tasks.

Imagine this—eight hours of sleep, right amount of workloads, enough time for family, friends, and self. Are we going to be able to make this our reality again? 

By: Angela Racquel A. Marzan | Teacher I | Sta. Rita High School