THIS is something so debatable that people from all walks of life always have something to say -- Is the Department of Education (DepEd) ready for the opening of classes?
Last year (2020), the department faced four kinds of faces. One was happy, the other was sad, the third was angry, and the last was confused.
The first face was smiling as it understood that education must continue. It knew that children wouldn’t stay still at home without doing something they deem important. It saw the benefits of learning and recognized that education is as important as time. If you miss it, you lose opportunities and possibilities and you can never get it back.
The second face had eyes, eyebrows, and lips pulled down. It didn’t want a new educational system where no one meets face to face. It knew that a big change means difficult adjustment. The face saw it coming -- it would be a non-exciting, exhausting situation ahead. We want to learn together with friends or our teachers.
The third face had glaring eyes with lips pressed tightly together as if preparing to burst. It knew the danger of the Covid-19 virus. It wanted to focus on how to stay safe in this time of the pandemic. It wanted to cancel one academic year. It wanted education to wait. We have all the time in the world anyway, it said.
The fourth face showed a wrinkled forehead with eyes looking straight but with no direction. It raised so many what-ifs -- what if I do not have gadgets or internet connection, what if I can no longer afford to send my children to school, what if I cannot teach my children because I am working or am not capable of doing so. Life is full of what-ifs. What if we do not risk at all? It won’t change anything.
These were the faces, so DepEd offered some things to ponder on.
It knew that holding face-to-face classes was impossible, so the Department made every home the learner’s classroom. Instead of going to school, the teachers prepared self-learning modules (SLMs). These SLMs are either printed or digital, and the learners can have them all in the comforts of their homes.
For those without an internet connection, they can opt to have printed modules. For those with gadgets and can have some possibilities to have an internet connection, they can choose digitized modules where they can download the lessons and they can open it anytime, even offline.
For those with gadgets and internet connections, they can go online learning where they meet their teacher virtually.
For those with radio and TV, they can use the radio-based or TV-based instruction where they can hear the teachers lecturing on the radio or see them on TV. Here, they can feel that the teacher is just around.
All these can also be combined, that's why it is called blended learning. DepEd offered different learning modalities where children and parents can choose from.
To ensure that teachers and learners are safe, only the parents or the guardians go to school for the distribution and retrieval of modules. All schools established health protocols. Even the barangays have helped establish some mechanisms to make it easier and safer for parents.
All the local government units (LGU) in Davao Region contributed much to improve the situation. The Special Education Fund of cities and provinces was allotted to school buildings, facilities, and equipment.
Jonas Piore, the Brigada Eskwela/Adopt-A-School and Partnership Coordinator of Davao City Division and a member of the Communications Team, shared the immense contribution of Davao City LGU amounting to 237 million.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte allotted more than 220 million for the production of modules and more than 8 million for Riso and duplicating machines. All teachers are allotted one tablet each.
The non-government agencies and private organizations have contributed enormously too. For example, the Davao Filipino-Chinese Cultural Foundation, Inc. had donated speech laboratories, computer laboratories, and a broadcasting studio for Davao Region.
Now, is DepEd ready for the opening of the school year 2021-2022 on September 13?
Probably the happy face would say “I was right after all.” The sad face would say “Well, at least it is still exciting.” Or the angry face would say “Not bad.” And the confused face would declare “Ok, I understand now.”
I remember DepEd-Davao Regional Director Allan G. Farnazo saying something about teachable moments. It is a situation or experience that gives us the opportunity to learn about life. It is something that opens us to more realizations.
All that has happened last year were teachable moments for DepEd. And let’s add one more -- the tipping point. It is that critical point in your life that leads to a significant change in you. In the case of our educational system, the virus gave that tipping point.
So now, to ask if DepEd is ready for the opening of classes or to conclude that it isn’t is humor.