“As I am 27 years in teaching, my first teaching assignment was on a private

school which is in Claret School I was there for 6 years. Then I transferred to
public, before I was teaching grade 6, now I am handling this is already the 7th
year of teaching GT 2 class they are under the special education program the
higher extreme because special has the lower and the higher extreme. These
pupils are on the higher extreme we call them the GT or the gifted and talented
pupils. The lower extreme they are the pupils with learning disabilities.”

Diagnosis and Placement

“They have to take the test, in kinder you call them the GT kinder test, if they
pass the test they will be enrolled in the GT kinder and if they maintained their
grades they can proceed to grade 1, and if they pass, their required grade is 85%
in all subjects, no grades lower than 85, the general average is also 85. When
they reach grade 3, their grades in major subjects like: English, Math, and
Science should be in 85. Other subject like MAPE, it is okay to have 83 or 84
grade, as long as their general average is also 85 to be in the GT program and
maintain in the GT program.”

“Actually this inclusive education is more on the lower extreme, when teachers
found out that this is ready now, say for a certain pupil is ready to put in the
regular program they have that inclusive education, so for example the LD pupil
with learning disabilities and hearing impairments. But here in the GT it’s the
regular program who will go to the GT but they have to take the test and pass the
test first, there are times, like this year, they are 5 pupils who they found out that
they are ready for the GT program, supposed to be they will be here, but then
although they are ready when they took the test, they failed so we cannot put
them in the GT class, but more on the lower extreme, this inclusive education is
more on the lower extreme the LD pupils with hearing impaired, they can go with
the regular program, if they see them that they are ready, there are pupils there
in the lower extreme that are ready to be in the regular class and program
although they have those disabilities, but they can already go to the regular
program, so this inclusive education, is more on the lower extreme not so in the
GT program.”

Assessments and Teaching Approaches

“Actually the lesson plan, we have the same, but we level up our activities, only
the activities are different, like right now they have group work, while in the
regular program more on spoon feeding in grade 2 level. Here, we will leave
them, we will just give them the task and activity sheets they will go on their own.
And then the lesson plan, although we have the same subject matter, but we
level up because they will find it boring if we will spoon fed them and they are
advanced, they are wide reader children they will asked you questions.”

“We do follow the same DepEd grading system, the performance output, quizzes,
and then their periodic test, we have the same. But of course their grades must
be in 85, and they can attain it and higher than that. This boy here got 100 in all
test. And then, one time he said “teacher, why is your choices in the test you do
not have Mariana trench, supposed to be this is Mariana trench, Pacific Ocean
but then I will just choose the nearest answer, according to him, because Pacific
Ocean is next to Mariana trench, my question what is the biggest ocean on the
world, he said I’ll just get the nearest answer but It should be the Mariana
trench.” That’s the time, me as a teacher I have to read also about the Mariana
trench. And everything and he will share you something every day. “Last night
teacher, in youtube I found out, that croaks, the sound of the croaks they have
different sounds, and this kind of sounds” and then he will make the sounds, “this
is very alarming, that’s why what is happening to us now, the virus?, because of
this croaks how they sound, these frogs”, according to him, “there are frogs that
are from Malaysia, and they produce different sound, and when they produce
sound it is alarming, because this is a sign that something will happen to the
world, you see we have the virus, it is only January but there’s so many things
that happened.”

“The difference Between the regular and the GT. First, is the number of pupils, in
GT class we only have 35 and that is the maximum. Actually, right now I only
have 24 and 3 are absent while in the regular they catered 40 pupils, within this
school year they have 35-40 while the GT the maximum is only 35. When we talk
about the learning areas in the GT program grade 2, they have mother tongue in
all subjects, in Math still Mother Tongue but in here we use the English in Math.
In the regular program, their Math they count like uno dos tres. That’s why when
they reach grade 4 that’s the problem, some of the pupil don’t even know what is
seven. Kay yan anad sila grades 1, 2, and 3 in Mother Tongue that’s the
problem, while as here in GT we only use Mother Tongue during the Mother
Tongue subject, and Mother Tongue subject here it is only taught twice a week.
Whereas in the regular program, it is from Monday to Friday, here we only use
mother tongue twice a week while the rest of the days is MAPE (Music Arts and
PE). Our teaching schedules, we spend more time in English that is 90 minutes,
whereas in regular class is only 50 minutes, and then our Math is 60 minutes in
the regular class its only 40 minutes, our Filipino is also 60 minutes in the regular
class its only for 50 minutes, so the number of teaching hours is lesser compared
to the GT program, that’s why they go home late. They go home at 12 and in the
afternoon at 4. Whereas in the regular class, grade 2 like them they go home at
11 and in the afternoon they go home at 3. We have more number of teaching
hours, compared to the regular program. Number of pupils, teaching loads, and
with regards to... they are advance, our curriculum for the GT program is
advance, the teaching skills compared to them, they are all readers here, there
are no nonreaders. Of course they will not pass, they will go to the regular
program, if they cannot read, they can comprehend already, they can tell you
stories, this boy right here Joros Veherano, very smart.”

Challenges

“Of course, we have problems like that of Joross, sometimes the teacher does
not know what he is talking about because he is a wide reader according to him
“because when I was in kinder I was already reading grade 6 books that’s boring
teachers, those metaphors simile personification”, I am already teaching figure of
speech here in grade 2 because we already have that in our manual. They can
make sentences using personification, metaphor, and simile. My concern is, I
have to update myself I have to also read more and more because they are more
knowledgeable sometimes than the teacher because they are wide readers. And
we cannot leave them, like now you see them, they are playing, we have to keep
them busy all the time give them more work and more exercises, because if they
have nothing to do, they will keep on walking and walking, that is there
personality, the personality of a GT pupils they cannot stay in one place although
there are some who are also just there doing something keeping themselves
busy but most of them when they have no work to do they will just play.”

Mixing the GT Class and Regular Class

“My thoughts about mixing GT and regular class, they will be left behind
compared to them. Although there are some in the regular program who are also
good but maybe in terms of activities how they react to your lessons they are
behind compared to the GT pupils. Per observation if we will mix them, because I
have tried in the girl scouts the star scouts the regular program and the GT
program they are mix together, these pupils in the regular they will not talk, they
will just keep quiet they have like inferiority complex maybe because they know
they are GT, and then these GT pupils they will also want all the activities to be
done by them. Like, you do not know that, we will do this, although there are
some maybe they are although in the GT they are not in the highly extreme the
average only, they know how to mingle children in the regular program, but there
some they feel as if they know everything. Coleen can read well, her diction is
very beautiful, she can also write stories.”

Recommendation

“So my suggestion is, for the government, sana they will provide us with facilities,
like libraries, actually this GT program, we teachers we are the one who should
be resourceful enough, that’s why we have the TV, this TV is from the parents,
we asked for donations and solicitations, so that we can use this media, so we
have the Wi-Fi, but the government, actually the GT program here of the DepEd
they do not have books, these books are from claret and some ADZU
elementary, during summer I will go to claret since i was a former teacher in
Claret, ICAS and ask for books, and those books will be used here, because the
GT program do not have books, sana the government will provide us books an
facilities like libraries, we cannot also ask parents to donate us library whereas
the things in the classroom like TV they also shared there part for the benefit of
the GT class per the government, they only made the GT program but as far as
facilities they do not give us. If I were asked what will I ask from the government
is complete school facilities, sana may Science lab, although we have already
but the materials they give we have there the instruments in science all the
laboratory apparatus, bit it is for all not only for the GT class, one beaker how
many pupils and sections we have to share it. What is the assign teacher doing
there? Also Afraid that it will break. It’s just there inside the cabinet. The children
cannot hand on that, Sana we have computers in classroom. But sometimes we
do allow then to bring their laptop, so that they can use it, we are media
dependent sometimes but it depends on our subject matter, if they have research
they can bring cellphones we allow them also but not all the time only during
classes hours if needed.”

“My advice is if you will handle this kind of class, actually we teachers we were
just assigned we did not have seminars yet, when this program implemented in
this school all of them grade 1,3, and 4 they are master teachers, I am not a
master teacher yet I did not finish my study, but I was chosen to be here, actually
I was first assign in grade 4 GT during the first year of the program but then in
the middle of the school year the teacher who was handling this GT also a
master teacher GT 2 died because of cancer, so when she died the children
nobody wants to take charge of the GT 2 pupils and my youngest son was a GT
2 and I said “Mam what if I will go to grade 2 GT  because they do not want to be
with the regular, they do not want to go to school anymore, because the teacher
died so what will happen and the teacher died on august and you still have many
months until march what will happen to them, so I said to the principal the
previous principal, what if I will handle the grade 2 GT, and then you ask another
teacher to go to grade 4 because nobody wants to go to grade 2 so I pitied them,
and my son is also on grade 2 so the principal made the arrangement and then
that’s it, I got to go to Grade 2 GT and I enjoy with them so until now I am still in
grade 2 somebody take over in grade 4 because she doesn’t like to teach grade
2 because she has no patience, so my advice to you is to be prepared always.
Because sometimes they will ask you questions and you cannot answer them, be
prepared always, also be a wide reader like them be conscious with what is
happening on the surrounding, listen always to the news, because
sometimes they will say “Teacher what’s the news for today? Teacher I heard
over the radio that …” So you have to be also prepared for that. But it’s nice to
teach in the GT program unlike in the regular class, they do not know how to
read because of this mother tongue language until now they do not how to read
in Grade 2 already. They can only read in Chavacano. But when its English time,
although first and second grading, even if its English subject but they were taught
in Chavacano. Filipino subject but still in Chavacano, when they reach third
quarter that’s the time they will introduce the English language. The children
cannot cope up with the reading program that’s why when I read the DepEd
news in our workplace around 7,000 pupils in Bicol Region do not know how to
read, they are already in Grade 4. You see, non-readers. Same as here because
of the mother tongue subject. When I was in Elementary, we have only 3
subjects, for three hours, reading and writing and arithmetic. Math then reading
and writing. So when you reach grade 6 a sif you are already a teacher. My
mother reached in Grade 6 as if she’s already a teacher because she knows how
to read, right now, they have this mother tongue-mother tongue program and
what worse is the K to 12 program.