Do you feel being into a battle without any arm or weapon? Or the feeling of taking an exam without any preparation? If the answer is yes, you must be a teacher or a parent. This pandemic caught us off guard. No one prepared for it. Teachers and parents were taken by surprise with the shift of the educational system this time of pandemic.  But despite the odds, the Department of Education has been firm on its stand that “Learning must continue”.

Prior to the “new normal”, teachers are the main facilitator of learning. They supervise and guide the students with their day-to-day lessons. Teacher is the main figure of the learning process. An irreplaceable role. But when the blended learning came into the scenario, the teacher’s figure were shadowed by the presence of parents. This is a new development for everyone especially to parents since they will take a big part in the new normal setup. Learning will be moved to students’ homes and parents will somewhat take on the role of teachers.

According to Mark Anthony Llego in his article “Stronger Parent-Teacher Partnership Amidst Pandemic”, there are few ways on strengthening the partnership between parents and teachers.

1. Open Communication – at this point, clear and honest communication between teachers and parents must be established. Both the teacher and parent can help each other in tracking the academic progress of the student.

2. Parental Involvement – the parents must be informed that this time when it is impossible for teachers to personally check the students in real time, parents have to double their parenting effort by setting their children on track and from time to time checking and confirming their progress with their teachers. Giving instructions is not just the sole responsibility of the teacher but of the parents as well. The parents are an effective substitute for the teachers this time.

3. Clear Objective – both teachers and parents must set targets. They should set expectations on what’s going to happen within the period of distance education.

4. Willingness to cooperate – to get in touch with almost 100% of the families and to make sure that they have everything they need for their children to learn and give families whatever supports they need,  is not an easy task. Teachers do handle a lot of students, and they can’t monitor them one by one. If the parents are willing to cooperate and are ready to go the extra mile just to achieve a successful continuing education of their children, then this new normal we have in education will come to fruition.

To sum up, no one has done things perfectly right now, and that is okay. We are in the time of confusion, struggles and challenges. What is only required for us is to keep moving forward. Parents know their children best and this can also be an opportunity for them to strengthen their bonds. Teachers can maximize the presence of the parents in delivering quality education despite the odds. In the end, we are only aiming for one thing – a meaningful learning for our learners.

By: Maria Agnes P. Ramirez, MAT / Teacher III / Olongapo City National High School