Relate mo Mam? . . . Sir?
Relate Mo Ma'am? . . . Sir?
Meet Teacher Aida.
For the past 35 years, she taught her subject using MP3 (Manila Paper), upgraded to MP4 (Manual Projector), then here comes Covid-19, she’s forced to present lessons in Video MPEG4, at the least.
Teacher Aida’s eyesight have gone blurry with age and illness; her fingers have grown wrinkly and stiff and could hardly touch the right keys in her cellphone or laptop; her palm could hardly grasp the mouse because of arthritis; her back and neck hurt and her eyes squint for working long hours in front of the computer preparing for her added worksheets and slide presentations. On the brink of resigning, but with mouths to feed and children to be sent to school, she is forced to continue teaching and in turn learn the craft to keep abreast with the demands of her profession.
Meet Teacher Fe.
She’s young, idealistic, vivacious and computer savvy. She’s quite adept with recent and relevant apps for online teaching. She’s excited with the new learning modality. There is one hindrance, though, she lives in a far-flung area, devoid of wireless infrastructure. To get her job done, she has to travel miles away to get wired-up and get connected with her immediate supervisor, fellow teachers, students and their parents.
Meet Teacher Bong.
Just like Teacher Fe, Teacher Bong is an epitome of a 21st Century Teacher. His dedication and passion are beyond reproach. His greatest obstacle is financial constraints. He teaches in a school with inadequate funds for the printing of learning modules. Much to his longing to provide the best learning materials to his students, he can’t do it because he himself scrimps on a meager salary, not to mention that he has to spare extra money for internet connection needed for work and schooling of his siblings. He tried to barter some of his stuff for bond papers, crayons and related materials.
These are only a few of the scenarios that confront the Filipino Teachers today. Teachers are forced to learn the trade in so short a time; prepare new materials to suit the newly-crafted MELCS; have to shell out extra money for LMs, internet connection or purchase of appropriate gadgets to meet the requisites of e-learning. Notwitstanding the fluctuating electrical service in some areas and the geographical difficulty, teachers struggle to maintain the quality of education against adversities.
Perhaps, people may say, that teachers need not be paid or that their salaries have to be reduced because they’re doing nothing and part of the work is passed on to parents or guardians. This contention infuriates me because, teachers are making an enormous effort to make education available for all, at all cost amidst the existing conditions. Hindi niyo lang nakikita. Hindi niyo lang natatantiya ang pagpupunyagi na nilalaan ni Teacher para lang makapaghanda ng epektibong LM para sa e-learning. Hindi niyo lang nararamdaman ang kaba, takot at mga agam-agam ni Teacher na humarap sa camera sa pagpapaliwanag ng leksyon na i-uupload sa internet. Hindi niyo lang alam ang hirap sa paghahanda ng video na kulang sa technical na kaalaman kalakip na ang kakulangan sa high-tech gadgets.
Once the teacher’s lesson/lecture is uploaded in the net, the teacher is left to the censure and prying eyes of the world. And what comes next? A hullabaloo of criticism even over the slightest of mistakes will go viral just like Covid. The poor teacher suffers the ridicule if not the accolade of the critical information superhighway.
I do not intend to justify or vindicate the flaws and inadequacies of teachers, I just want to solicit understanding and compassion and reserve the dignity and respect due them. As a teacher myself, I am annoyed at the insensitive comments from netizens. We are not perfect, though, we try to be perfect. Just like medical professionals, we, teachers are also frontliners beating the odds of the pandemic or any other situation to deliver education to every learner. Off-the-cuff, the teachers dive into changes in the curriculum because delivery of learning should not be delayed.
Teachers once lived in a world walled with boards, green and white, and we carried books and notebooks to class. Covid made us tread the cyberworld and diverted our classroom to the computer. Our workplace has changed, our delivery of learning shifted. We were left with the only option of embracing the new system under the New Normal. We were forced to navigate unchartered waters but because of our love for the profession we took it as a mission, thus, we bravely took the oars and paddled through the waters to achieve our mission of delivering education to the learners amidst the threat of the Covid pandemic. The trend is never ending because challenges continue to plague the educational system.
How I wish, no matter what, teachers will seriously take on the challenge of shaping and nurturing minds for the good of the community and the world and later face God and tell Him, "I have done my mission of preparing worthy citizens for the world and Your Kingdom."
HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY!
hba/09.27.2024
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