Issues Affecting Learning in Sulu

Mudjamil, Albasir A.

Success in the academic area is an achievement that often requires students to overcome many
hindrances, some of which are more challenging than others. If academic performance could be based only on
natural intelligence of a student alone, there could be no problem in achieving the same level of learning.
However, other factors can contribute to a student's level of success throughout all stages of education.
Socioeconomic status of parents, Lack of self-motivation, and inadequate learning materials in school, are all
issues that could stand in the way of a student's success in the classroom. Developing an awareness of the
factors that could negatively impact academic success is one way to better prepare parents, teachers and
students to deal with them.

 Lack of Student Motivation

There are many students in Sulu who are intelligent. However, this not always link to a proportional gain in
academic performances because simply they do not care about attending school or putting in the effort
necessary to maintain their grades. It is very sad to think to have these kind of students who just go to school
because they have to or else their parents would be hot mad at them. An unmotivated student may initially
be on grade level, but they will fall behind only to wake up one day and realize it is too late to catch up. A
teacher or administrator can only do so much to motivate a student -- ultimately it is up to the student as to
whether or not they decide to change.

 Poverty
Poverty has a significant impact on student learning. Accordingly students living in affluent well-educated
homes and communities are far more academically successful while those living in poverty are typically
behind academically. This could also be linked to socioeconomic status of parents. Students whose families
are low in socioeconomic progress are more slowly academically than their wealthier peers. Wealth and status
can be a great factor that could affect performance and learning, including inadequate money to buy materials
needed in school, and having obligations around the house or at a part-time job that may disturb study time.

 Lack of Proper Funding

Funding has a significant impact on student performance. A lack of funding typically leads to larger class sizes
and less technology and curriculum materials and the more students a teacher has, the less attention they can
pay to each individual students. This can become significant when you have a class full of 30 to 40 students at
varying academic levels.
Teachers must be equipped with engaging tools covering the standards they are required to teach. Technology
is a tremendous academic tool, but it is also pricey to purchase, maintain, and upgrade. Curriculum in general
continuously changes and needs to be updated, but most states curriculum adoption runs in five-year cycles.
At the end of each five-year cycle, the curriculum is totally outdated and physically worn out.