We all know, as Filipinos, that classes will begin on October 5 this year. We don't know what will happen next if the current administration will allow the beginning of classes on the said date knowing that the cases of covid 19 positive patients is still increasing. Eventhough, educators are quite prepared for the LDM or the so called Learning Delivery Modality that will be adopted by different public schools in the country, we will be facing a huge challenge and also the risk that every teacher and parent might encounter during the implementation of the LDM.
There are different LDMs that public school can adopt and these are the following;
Distance Learning Modality-It has 2 types; the Modular Distance Learning (MDL) and the Online Distance Learning (ODL).
In MDL , all activities will be done at home where parents or guardians are the primary household learning partners of the learners. They will be given modules, crafted by selected teachers, to be used as their learning materials. There is a schedule of the distribution and retrieval of modules depending on the agreement of the school administration and the parents.
In ODL, from the word itself, the teaching and learning process will be done through the utilization of the internet and gadgets like laptop, tablet, desktop, or cellphone.
Blended Learning Modality- This refers to the combination of 2 learning delivery modality which are the modular distance learning and face-to-face learning where teachers and learners will meet physically at school where teaching and learning process takes place.. The 2 LDM will be implemented based on the result of enrollment survey conducted by the public teachers.
Homeschooling- This refers to a learning delivery modality where a learner can have an access to a formal learning at home. This could be done through the supervision or guidance of a tutor, if the family can afford to hire a tutor or if there is a family member who can give proper instruction to the learner.
A public school can choose the appropriate LDM for it to be implemented during the school year 2020-2021. Whatever LDM that a school has adopted, it really is a struggle for our Filipino learners especially those living in remote areas who doesn't have an access to the internet to adjust their way of learning during the "new normal".
Self-learning modules will be utilized for modular distance learning. But, as constructed by educators, it became a congested task for the learners making them extend and spend most of the their at home in answering all the activities as indicated in the modules. It is also a challenge for the working parents to manage their time in supervising and guiding their children in learning at home.
There are different faces of problems facing by the parents, teachers, and learners this time of pandemic. Many of them demand for academic freeze.
To ensure the safety of everybody, the government must provide vaccines and number of the covid cases must decrease gradually before they allow the opening of classes this year.
How about you? Are you in favor of academic freeze? Why?