I have heard of learning loss during the first few months of the pandemic. I hear the news, I read articles, and I see teachers discussing the issue of learning loss. However, I cannot fully wrap my head around it because frankly, I did not observe it. Or maybe I was just blinded by what was currently happening during the pandemic when it comes to health and all that I had failed to recognize that there is an existing issue about learning loss.

            In a study conducted by the World Bank (2018), it was mentioned that “Learning outcomes in basic education are so low… the developing world is facing a learning crisis.” Before the pandemic, many students were in school every day, but they still cannot read, count, or write. Globally, 125 million children are not acquiring functional literacy or numeracy, even after spending at least four years in school”. Imagine how the pandemic had negatively impacted the learning opportunities of students that they can get in school which has now come to a halt because of what is happening. The World Bank argued that even though students were in school most of them are still not learning. This is a study conducted during 2018, the pre-pandemic era, so even during this time, there was a learning crisis.

            This is because some schools have the notion that as long as the students are in school, they are learning. And of course, that is far from the truth.  The World Bank went on to discuss that there is a big difference between schooling and learning. The former, which is schooling means that learners are able to go to a physical school wherein they could engage in social activities and be inside the physical classroom that could stimulate learning among them but that does not ensure it. Schooling is when learners do tasks like cleaning the room, they are assigned to parts of the room where they can decorate, and they are given opportunities to become leaders and the like.

            Learning on the other hand is the outcome of schooling. According to World Bank (2018), learning is what the students take home after schooling. This includes how they can apply whatever they have learned or absorbed in school in real-life situations. Learning entails critical thinking, analysis, and comprehension. Learning in schools is commonly initiated and facilitated by teachers. We are at the core of learning still we are reminded that the center or the reason why we promote, or initiate learning is for the students. Teachers are instigators of learning. We are to promote not only schooling but most importantly learning.

            Therefore, students can go to school and not learn. If students are not stimulated in an environment where they could learn or be in an environment that fosters learning, there will surely be an indication that learning does not take place hence the issue of learning loss.

            According to the World Bank (2018), there are ultimately four reasons that cause learning loss: unprepared learners; unskilled teachers; poor school management; and unrelated school inputs.

            Learners from disadvantaged backgrounds exhibit unpreparedness in school both physically and mentally. Chronic malnutrition and other illnesses highly affect the learning process of these students. And these learners can also be exposed to abusive environments which will more likely affect their socioemotional state that may pose threats to their cognitive development.

            Nobody was ever prepared for the pandemic, especially teachers. Still, we were pushed to fulfill tasks and it is as if we are walking down this narrow path blindfolded because we do not know what to do. we were instructed on what we could do but teachers such as I am, do not have the capacity to immediately assess their effectiveness with such little guidance. So, I agree with the fact that teachers were unskilled during the beginning of the pandemic. But teachers are still skilled in their specialized field.

            The effective management of schools relies on capacity and autonomy for decision-making at the school level, which is often lacking. Higher management quality and school leadership are associated with better educational outcomes. Yet in many developing countries effective school management is missing (World Bank, 2018). How much more if we are to look at our own school management? What could be improved? How can one be of any help in managing schools? These questions are of yours to answer.

            Unrelated school inputs are confined to how teachers cascade classroom lessons and instructions. Since most students nowadays are considered digital natives, the outcomes of our lessons should be relevant to the prevalence of technological advancements, sociocultural influences, and other issues or topics that will spark the interests of learners. How many of us, can honestly say that we have done this in all our lessons? Again, this question is for us to ponder.

            Learning loss is evident and proven. And it’s accumulated over the past years and was heightened during the pandemic. It can be considered a disease if we will not do anything to cure it. We, as teachers play a very essential role in eradicating learning loss. Our ideas in addressing this issue if put together can make a difference. Start inside your own classroom. Prioritize learning and work with it hand in hand with schooling. Evaluate your strategies, monitor their effectiveness with the guidance of your school head or department head, improve on them—enhance them. The answer to learning loss starts when we S teachers unite in offering only quality service for our learners.

By: Alexis Sol Ganaden|Teacher III |Tapinac Senior High School |Olongapo