This school year will be different. The Covid-19 pandemic imposes challenges to the health and protection of learners. It is very challenging as we are fighting against an unseen enemy. Nevertheless, education shall continue.
For someone who is working in the field, such as students, parents, and teachers, this school year will be potentially difficult. Parents are afraid of sending their children to school, so blended learning will be practiced.
Concerns on using the types of learning modalities were raised. It is true that many of our schools are in rural areas. Both teachers and learners lack gadgets. The unavailability of equipment, unstable internet connection, and electrical consumption are issues raised by parents from low income families, both in rural and urban areas. Thus, access to online education is a problem for them. For parents from low income families, the situation is problematic. It is hard for their children to access said blended learning modalities because they do not have enough money to get or buy gadgets for their children.
As one parent said (translated from M’ranao), “Life is so hard for us. During this school year, our struggle is doubled. We don’t have money to buy gadgets for our children for their online classes. My struggle as a parent is undeniable. I always think of where I can get enough money for my children to sustain their needs while studying. My daughter who is now in high school is always asking me to buy a cellphone for her online class and until now, I couldn’t buy her a cellphone because we don’t have enough money.”
“It is double the struggle because my son, a Grade 4 student, is always asking me to answer or assess his assignments but I cannot help sometimes. I am thinking that my son knows their lesson better than I who did not even graduate elementary. I can’t help him in his lesson because I don’t know how I am going to discuss his lesson and assignment to him. I hope everything will be normal soon so that I can send my children to their respective schools,” she added.
It is said that without the buzz of the classroom setting and the company of peers, it is no surprise that some students can begin to feel a strong sense of isolation that slowly erodes their desire to learn. This is also a big challenge for all parents and teachers.
Based on preliminary interviews on the challenges of low income families with blended learning, parents suggested that teachers should maintain the interaction, evaluation and assessment to observe enough of their students’ improvements and to enable them to discover their potential and create their own destiny in the global community. The further responsibilities of every parents to their children is to assure that while they are having their online classes, they should have a strong immune system and to always make sure that they follow the given health security and safety protocols set by the Department of Health (DOH) and Ministry of Health (MOH). Aside from that, parents must also play a vital role in their children’s lives, now more than ever, in order to reassure them that everything will be alright in the end.
