IT HAS been one year and five months since we faced the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crisis, and as much as it has affected our day-to-day activities, it has also caused a big impact on our education system, specifically our learners who were forced to continue their learning inside their homes.
While this new modality of learning means that we can ensure the health and safety of our students, this has also caused them to suffer from mental health problems and cope with the demands of the distance learning setup. This poses the great need to conduct a program that addresses the development of skills related to academic, personal and social, and career aspects of the student.
To respond to these issues, the Department of Education initiated the Homeroom Guidance (HG) during Crisis Situation for School Year (SY) 2020-2021 in public and private schools. Through this program, teachers can reach out to students and give them the interventions they need. These efforts help them cope with the difficulties and changes they are facing is indeed a big thing to deter the incidents of teen suicide, anxiety and depression cases among our students, and other mental or emotional problems.
While we continuously adapt to the new mode of education, positive changes in our educational system with the little things can be done to improve the quality of education. Looking at the best practices of the different countries such as Japan and Finland and we can pick up the methodologies that we can implement. For example, the Japanese educational system is admired in the world for the values and discipline inculcated at very young ages which may lead to beautiful chemistry of academic and personality excellence. Finland, on the other hand, is a trailblazer in education based on PISA surveys and the happiest country in three consecutive years based on the 2020 Nations World Happiness Report.
Students’ happiness, strengths, relaxation and play in Finland’s educational system can be the key in addressing failures and dropout rates in the country, which is not limited and applicable only to pupils living in poverty and remote areas, or it is Japan’s moral education and formation of values, self-discipline, firmness in character, and manners before knowledge, which can possibly alleviate violence and crime rates involving juveniles.
Teachers, as the second parents of our young learners, can help them become happy and motivated individuals who can cope with whatever challenge or problem they will encounter as they go on with their lives and help them become the best person that they can be in the future.