Alone due to Covid 19

I am a Senior High School Teacher for 3 years and 5 months now but this School Year 2020-2021 faces a new normal for us teachers, students and to their respective parents. It is a big challenge for us to face these changes especially on the different instructions and appropriate modalities we will deliver to our students.

It is 8am now as I write this short article and this time is usually alloted for my first subject. It doesn’t mean I am doing nothing now, but I take a short break after cleaning our assigned area inside the school premises. As I ponder, realizations puzzle in my mind as I miss my students, subjects and social activities. 3 S in School wherein I normally see, do and participate daily. I normally see my students inside my classroom, I usually do teaching my assigned subjects daily and our class competitively participate in different social activities.

1. Students. Yeah, indeed I miss my students. I treat my students especially those under my advisory class as my sons and daughters. I am teaching Grade 12 students and their ages ranges from 17-19. I miss their smiles, their alibis when homework left undone, their love stories and love teams, different personalities and attitudes, family problems like financial problem and real life stories like those working students and early teenage pregnancy.

2. Subjects. I am teaching Accounting and Business Management subjects to my ABM and GAS students. I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Managements in college and had an industry experience in a business process outsourcing company for 3 years and an Accounting Assistant in a commercial bank for 3 years also. Those subjects are in lined with my educational background and work experienced.

I miss those subjects especially in doing my lesson plans at night, preparing for my IM’s or Instructional Materials especially finalizing my powerpoint as my aid of support in teaching my students for them to visually understand my lesson and in teaching or delivering my lesson during class hours. Indeed, teaching is a two way process: my students learned from me and in the same way I learned from them.

3. Social Activities.

My students are the Seniors in the school that is why we used to win in every competition. I miss those social activities like Mr.and Ms. Palakasan, Buwan ng Wika, Math-Science Month, Nutrition Month and other gatherings even outside the school like activities in the Bario and in our Municipality. For senior students, for this school year they will miss the following social gatherings like Acquiantance Party, JS Promenade, Career Guidance Week, Students’ Retreat and Seniors’ Ball.

I am alone now inside my classroom and questions are pondering in my mind. When will Covid 19 end When will I see all my new Grade 12 students? When will the vaccine be used by our Filipino people? Are they effective and can really cure those infected patients? Do the government has enough financial support to sustain those who are in need? Anyway, it seems hanging this time like a question mark (?). It seems hanging but there is a period at the end of every story. I will wait for those answers and keep doing what is right by now and continue on trusting God for I believe He is in control and He knows all things.