Education vs. COVID19 Learning Landscape Changes

Republic of the Philippines
CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY

(CvSU)
DON SEVERINO DE LAS ALAS CAMPUS
Indang, Cavite
AQUINO, PROZAC B. BA JOURN 2-2
Midterm Requirement
Education vs. COVID-19: Learning landscape changes
as pandemic continues to slam Philippines
After months of interlude due to the pandemic and delay owing to the countless appeals
from teachers, students, parents, and several school officials, the Department of Education finally
opened the school year 2020-2021 for 47,000 public schools nationwide through different
modalities last October 5.
"Today, October 5, 2020, we open our schools. Today, we claim victory over the destroyer,
COVID-19," Education Secretary Leonor Briones said during DepEd's online event.
Pursuant to President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement on his 5th State of the Nation
address, there shall be no face-to-face classes until a vaccine is discovered and the risk of
exposure to the virus is eliminated. It is to ensure the health of the learners and the teachers
amidst the rising cases of COVID-19 in the country.
“We will comply with the President’s directive to postpone face-to-face classes until a
vaccine is available,” DepEd released in an official statement. They also assured the parents,
learners, stakeholders, and the President that they are preparing themselves from what they call
a “mission”.
The Onset of Setbacks
It was in February that DepEd started suspending all of its major national and regional
activities, as stated in the Memorandum No. 15, s. 2020. It is in compliance with the DOH’s interim
guidelines on COVID-19 response in schools and higher education institutions (DC No. 2020-
1 | Education vs. COVID-19: Learning landscape changes as pandemic continues to slam Philippines
0042). After the unprecedented rise in virus transmission, the Department eventually canceled all
its events indefinitely.
Classes in all levels were suspended in March in light of the implementation of the
Enhanced Community Quarantine in the entire island of Luzon. Exams were suspended and
recognition and graduation rites were done online. The entire Philippines was then declared under
the state of public health emergency.
The Preparation
The law provides that the school opening shall start on the first Monday of June but not
later than the last day of August. Knowing this, starting from late April, the Department conducted
consultations with its executive committee, management committee, civil society, business sector,
and education experts to tackle the issue of the opening of the school year 2020-2021. Parents
and learners also expressed their views on Facebook through surveys. After some time,
numerous memorandums were released by the Department to commence the preparation of the
teachers and the learning materials or modules.
Argielyn Mag-Usara, Music and Arts teacher of Trece Martires City Elementary School
said it was around this time that they were told to attend webinars and watch various tutorials for
their preparation for the apparent new landscape of learning. Mag-usara attended these webinars
to gain knowledge in the utilization of essential software they are going to use. She said that it
was almost every day that they had to watch numerous webinars to cope up with the demands of
blended learning.
“In terms of preparation, we were also given a soft copy of the modules. We were the one
who will print, book bind, and distribute,” she said. These were all done at school premises using
the school’s equipment. The modules were from the regional office and are the same per region.
She also started contacting her students one-by-one to look on and administer to them
the Learner Enrolment and Survey Form (LESF) for SY 2020-2021. This form is an expanded
version of the regular enrolment form which captures not only the basic profile of learners but also
relevant survey questions for parents designed to profile the household in terms of their readiness
for distance education.
“Some parents feared to enroll their child because they thought that their child will need
to go to the school which will put their health at risk. They were not emotionally ready,” Mag-usara
said. She also admitted that it was a very tedious and energy-draining task so they needed to
attend webinars about mental health.
“Many people are thinking that teachers are not doing anything, but in reality, we had to
focus our eyes on our computer screen for the whole day just to attend these webinars. Some are
3-day straight webinars, some even lasted for a week! They (DepEd) have so many things to
discuss that’s why webinars and conferences are that many,” she added.
Maria Luz Alido, grade 10 teacher of Tanza National Trade School, also shared the same
experience and sentiments. “To attend these webinars, teachers should have a stable, fast, and
reliable internet connection. It is very important,” Alido said since they’ve also conducted online
orientations.
As to the parents' preferred learning modality for their children, LESF data show that 8.8M
parents preferred modular, 3.9M blended, 3.8M Online, 1.4 M Educational TV, 900K Radio-based
instruction, and around half a million preferred other modalities. Meanwhile, LESF also revealed
that 395,743 learners from private schools and SUCs/LUCs have transferred to public schools.
Enrollment and Available Learning modalities
Nationwide, 59% of the learners are going to use printed module. Twenty percent are
online, while 20% are on offline digital. TV and radio will only be supplemental so it will be blended
learning in other places.
“Our school only offered online and modular learning modality. Before the opening of
classes, the students thought that online is a lot easier than modular since what they will only
need is an internet or data connection. But now, they have realized how hard it is to attend classes
online so many have shifted from online to modular.” Alido said.
From the entire section of 61 students which she handles who are supposedly all enrolled
on online modality, it crashed to only 21 students doing online and the rest on modular. When
asked why she thinks this happened, she said internet reliability poses an obstacle for a smooth
online class.
She added it only took the students only a week to finally realize and decide that they will
eventually shift to modular from online modality and she presumes that when the 2nd quarter
begins, many other students will also shift to modular.
Going back to Ma’am Mag-usara, as a Grade 1 elementary teacher, she said it was
especially challenging for them to handle such young learners. Many have transferred and some
did not even enroll because their parents cannot afford to actually teach kids at home due to work
and other personal reasons.
“In the grade level that I handle, we only have a modular option. It is not blended but purely
modular modality. It is because such young kids especially those below 10 years old have a low
resistance to radiation from staying online through a computer. They are simply not allowed to
take online classes. It is until grade four that learners are then introduced to blended learning,”
Mag-usara said.
Execution
Under Republic Act 11480 which was signed to amend the current law on the date of the
opening of classes in view of the public health emergency, the school year opening was deferred
on Oct 5 with its different modality offerings for the over 22 million learners enrolled.
Since Mag-usara is handling grade one learners all using modular modality, she started
informing the parents on how to understand certain instructions written on the self-learning
modules so their kids can answer it correctly. The lesson starts on Monday. Submission of
answered modules is on every Friday alongside the distribution of new activity sheets to answer.
“Before even Monday comes, we help the parents understand the Weekly Home
Learning Plan which is the replacement of the regular lesson plan. If they have queries, they will
then ask me through our group chat,” Mag-usara said. “Since the subject that I teach is Music and
Arts, I will need to take a video of myself demonstrating certain concepts like beats, tempo, and
such. Those are complex ideas to understand for a regular parent. I try my best to assist them.”
She added that the parents are going to be the teachers of their kids for most of the time.
Unfortunately, not all parents are educated and literate enough to comprehend such concepts
and then teach it to their children especially if they have plenty of them in the family. Some
guardians have jobs to fulfill that they don’t have time to even grasp the contents of the modules.
Sadly, some students don’t even have their parents to teach them. Some go to their neighbor and
others hire a tutor if possible.
“When the time of submission comes, I receive partially answered modules. Some don’t
even have a single answer to it. What we do is we return the modules to the parents and assist
them even more. Those who have internet connections send videos of the performance of their
child (singing or dancing) and then we assess them through that. If they don’t have an internet
connection, parents simply report to me their progress in answering the modules,” Mag-usara
added.
It is a more challenging task to handle her students because all of them still cannot read
and write. That’s why she focuses on the parents so they can fully understand the contents of the
lessons for their children's’ sake. If lucky, some parents and students are fast learners but
unfortunately, that is simply not the reality. Ma’am Mag-usara tries her best to motivate the parents
and their children alike so this school year can somehow push on.
As a high school teacher, on the other hand, Alido told that DepEd memorandum directs
the application of asynchronous learning alongside the synchronous classes. She only meets her
students virtually once a week.
“We utilize Google Classroom. That’s where I post the activities that I intend for them to
finish. It is for the asynchronous class. Synchronous class calls for the use of Zoom or other video
conferencing applications. I discuss the lessons and answer queries at that time. Discussion only
lasts for a maximum of one hour every virtual meeting,” Alido said.
Contrast and Challenges
New challenges arose and massive adjustments are done to conform to the new
landscape of teaching and learning. Firstly, for the teachers. Secondly, for the students and their
parents.
“We lost the traditional classroom interaction that we are used to for the past decades.
Some people might not even see but the reality is that teachers have so much more tedious tasks
to do now than the traditional face-to-face classes,” Alido said.
Speaking from her over two decades of teaching career, she also added that it becomes
even more stressful when students and even some parents are asking her about certain
instructions written in their modules. Some modules from the Department were not well evaluated
and screened before distribution. That’s why teachers needed to make supplementary activities
for their students.
In recent months, these self-learning modules became infamous in the news and started
making rounds on social media for some of its contents are wrong or consisting of insufficient
ideas.
“I’m sorry but the truth is that lessons were forcefully compiled in compact inadequate
modules (pinagkasya). Lessons were compressed in a way that some students cannot even
comprehend its contents. Maybe they only started writing and editing these modules in June.
Time constraint, I think, played a big role in the modules inaccuracy,” Alido revealed.
Elementary teacher Mag-usara also told her challenges as she tries to adjust to the new
normal of education. She said that if in face-to-face classes they are already facing problems in
teaching learners how to read, how harder could it be doing it remotely. She also expressed her
compassion to the parents of many children who are finding it hard to teach and act as the teacher
of their kids.
“In the traditional setting at school, we can focus on every student that needs our attention.
We can assess who are the slow learners and those who are fast learners. In that way, we can
provide the necessary action to take in order for them to gain the knowledge and assistance that
they individually require. Now, it's almost all up to the parents of the learners. We cannot
accurately assess which is which. There might even be a possibility that the parents are the one
answering all the activity sheets and not the learners,” Mag-usara said.
She added that the communication gap remains the number one problem since not all
parents have their own internet connection. Hence, they cannot provide the proper and needed
approach to meet the needs of the learners.
Internet connectivity is also the problem of Grade 12 Humanities and Social Sciences
student Trisha Importado. She enrolled under blended learning which is the combination of online
and modular modality. Importado said that those who enrolled in modular modality are no different
from those who are taking online classes.
“Even if you’re enrolled in modular, as a grade 12 student, you will still need to attend
online classes to present your research defense and to coordinate with your groupmates, so it
boils down to the fact that we still need a reliable internet connection which, unfortunately, not
everyone has,” she said.
Evaluation and Meeting the gap
Mag-usara said it is still unclear until now on how they will evaluate the students but what
they have now is a class record of all the activities done. The parents are the ones who will teach
their children which afterward will answer the activities. The key to correction is also given to the
parents so they are also the ones who will check the answers. No quarterly exams are to be given
to any students as per DepEd memorandum.
Considering all of these challenges, she raised her concern on DepEd’s policy for grade
one learners: No Read-No Move, wherein grade one students are not allowed to be promoted
until they know how to read. Using this current mode of learning, as much as she wants to have
all her students know how to read at the end of the school year, she expects that some students
will remain illiterate in reading after all the lessons and that is where she is much concerned.
“After numerous attempts to contact the parents, there are times that many calls remain
unanswered. This is the time that we actually need to do a home visit to personally hand over the
modules and to inquire about the learners and parents’ concerns,” Mag-usara said. “Reaching
out to the students and their parents is the hardest part. Alongside this, we also need to make
several school reports.”
As per high school teacher Ma’am Alido, all queries and concerns are raised online. When
things are unclear in the virtual class, they utilize Facebook groups and other similar apps to
address the questions. She said that this school year can be considered as a giveaway or a
“bonus” to the students if they only comply with the requirements. Despite this, she is still
somehow happy that this year didn’t go to waste of having the students idle at their homes waiting
for the next school year.
Mike Lester Binarao, grade 8 student, said it is incredibly hard to adjust to online classes
but he is glad that his school is doing all it can do to assist them. They were given flash drives
which contain videos of their lesson. His parents though still need to go to their school to pass his
answer sheets which will then be checked by their teachers.
Solutions, not suggestions
In a statement on November 3, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers said DepEd's should

focus on giving concrete solutions to the grievances of the teaching staff and learners.
"We don't need any more suggestions from DepEd," said Raymond Basilio, ACT secretary-
general. "What we need are concrete provisions and measures that will once and for all resolve
the issues with government's ill-equipped and underprepared remote learning program."
Alido shared the same grievance with ACT. “We, teachers, have only one comment. The
Department always say that our teachers are all ready. What we say is that they know nothing.
Because what they only do is give out orders, they are not the one in our situation,” Alido said.
“They should try to put on our shoes for them to experience the actuality of education modalities.
But we can do nothing because they are the governing body.”
According to Mag-usara, the parents were overwhelmed with the number of activities that
their children have to do every week. Every subject requires six activities per week. The real
understanding of the concepts is what really concerns her. The students might only be doing the
activities for the sake of passing and not learning. She fears that her students will not actually
learn anything from this mode of learning.
Mental Health
Plenty of teachers are still exposed to health risks because they still need to report at
school premises and facilitate the retrieval and distribution of modules every week. They started
taking vitamins and engaging in physical activities to strengthen their immune system. Apart from
the physical stress, the anxiety brought by the fear of thinking that the students will move to the
next grade level without proper evaluation and remedy administered to each one of them poses
a big threat to the mental health of the teachers.
As educators, teachers do their best to meet the demands of the Department but they said
they feel neglected in certain aspects. One example is that they were required to have a fixed
internet connection at home and teachers have their so-called “chalk allowance” every year. This
very low P3,500 chalk allowance was now diverted to be used as their “internet allowance” for the
whole year. It is a far cry from the actual expenses that they have to pay so they have to save
money.
“We work even in the middle of the night. Formerly, school hours were the only time that
we are going to face the students and do our job. Now, even at midnight, students and even
parents will send their questions and concerns on certain topics,” Alido said. “If you are not that
resilient enough to adjust, you can be eaten up by the stress as what other teachers from different
provinces already did.”
According to the Yale School of Public Health, schools should set up meditation,
mindfulness sessions, and mental health workshops for students and employees with different
needs. They said teachers and schools should promote "physical distancing and not social
distancing" by doing “virtual hugs and high fives” to encourage the students. “Teachers must also
watch out for signs of depression, anxiety, or burn out, and bridge students to necessary supports,”
Yale said.
Encouragement
Teaching in the new normal is undeniably hard according to the teachers. When asked
about what advice they could give to their co-teachers, they said that health should be prioritized
above all.
“Always keep safe. Sanitize more often and be steadfast through all the tasks that we still
have to do,” Mag-usara said.
“Keep up fellow teachers! We can do it. It’s hard but we have to move on from the
traditional and adjust to the new normal,” Alido added.
They said that as per the students, they should also help themselves and not just lean on
their instructors for them to survive this school year. Students should have their interest and
initiative to learn and comply with all the requirements because, at the end of the day, they are all
in this endeavor together.
Future expectations
Teachers and students both hope for a better 2nd quarter where the discrepancies and
shortcomings of the current quarter are addressed and improved.
Mag-usara and Alido know that some of their students will end up not having the fullest of
learning by the end of the school year. They hope that DepEd will consider the situation of their
students and their parents since not all are privileged enough to keep up with the demands of
distance learning. Teachers and students both agree in hoping for the end of this pandemic as
soon as possible.
“I really hope that we can go back to normal as soon as possible, but I don’t want to
compromise my health. Until a vaccine is discovered, I think we should adapt to the present
conditions,” Grade 12 student Importado said.
Pandemics usually lasts for 2 years according to the Center for Infectious Disease
Research and Policy. As per the latest DOH report, the Philippines has a fluctuating number of
new cases every day averaging from a thousand to almost three thousand. The Department of
Science and Technology forecasted a vaccine against coronavirus may be available to Filipinos
by the second quarter of 2021.
Nonetheless, even if the future still seems like a fuzzy image, ultimately, the return of the
traditional mode of teaching is what everyone yearns for. No one knows what day or month that
return is going to arrive so for now, the only option that remains for some is to adapt to somehow
survive the challenge of the new landscape of education in our country.
Documentation
Interview with Ma’am Argielyn Mag-Usara, Grade 1 MAPEH Teacher

of Trece Martires City Elementary School
Interview with Ma’am Argielyn Mag-Usara, Grade 1 MAPEH Teacher
of Trece Martires City Elementary School
Actual photos of the distribution and retrieval of self-learning modules
at Brgy. De Ocampo, Trece Martires City, Cavite
Health protocol reminders were
posted as parents and guardians
line up to attend the retrieval and
distribution of their child’s self
learning modules.
Interview with Ma’am Maria Luz Alido, Grade 10 Instructor
of Tanza National Trade School
Interview with Grade 8 student Mike Lester Binarao and
Grade 12 student Trisha Anne Importado

Education vs. COVID19 Learning Landscape Changes

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Republic of the Philippines

CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY

Education vs. COVID-19: Learning landscape changes

as pandemic continues to slam Philippines

The Onset of Setbacks

Enrollment and Available Learning modalities

Contrast and Challenges

In a statement on November 3, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers said DepEd's should

Interview with Ma’am Argielyn Mag-Usara, Grade 1 MAPEH Teacher

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