Perhaps, the Philippines is one of the few countries left in the distant learning practice since the pandemic started. For almost two academic years now, kids in the Philippines are still stuck at home learning through the small screens of laptops and tablets – without the physical presence of classmates, friends, and teachers.
While very few have come back to face-to-face setup, most are still learning distantly. In addition, those certified to run in a physical school only accept a limited number of students, leaving others stuck at home.
Today was our kids’ e-card distribution day. While listening to the teachers sharing their thoughts online via zoom, we as parents had our discussion too. Is distant learning effective? Is it worth it? Can they bounce back once we’re all allowed to go face to face again?
He says…
I don’t believe in distant learning. See how parents often supply the answers if they haven’t already answered the modules themselves. How can students learn? When every time our eight-year-old has a class, we have to be beside her and help her answer during recitations and tasks performances.
It’s far better to learn face to face. The kids learn independence. And they learn independently. Plus, the teachers can genuinely gauge how they perform and how much they learn. I’m not discrediting the teachers. It’s just that for me, it’s hard to believe that they are learning what they’re supposed to know with all the time constraints, the screen-time limit, etc.,
I can only wish we could go back to normal so they can go to school and leave the teaching to the teacher.
She says...
Distant learning has far been practiced even before the pandemic started. And it has been proven effective. Otherwise, it would not have been suggested and practiced. The only reason I can see why we are looking at it negatively is how many parents are babying their kids during online school.
In the many instances I sit beside my daughter, parents readily give answers to every teacher’s questions. Parents complain to the teachers if the tasks are too long or too hard to answer. I don’t remember my parents doing that for me back in the day.
It isn’t a bad thing. But, we are keeping our kids unready for when they can all go back to school. They’d get used to being supplied with all their needs. As for my kids, they know they should at least try first before asking me. And I help them find the answers. I don’t give them out readily.
As to how effective distant learning is – it depends on the learner. If he’s eager and willing, I can’t see why it won’t be effective. We also have to give it to today’s kids – adjusting to this concept is difficult. We never experienced this back in the day.
We can always say – “ang dali lang mag-aral ngayon, nasa bahay lang kayo” (it’s so easy to do school today, you don’t even have to leave home). But, we’ve never been in their shoes, have we? Imagine being a kid and getting stuck at home. That’s not the norm. But they’ve embraced it because they don’t have any choice.
Is it worth it? Yes. But it shouldn’t just come from the kid. You have to make it worth it, too. After all, parents are the first teachers. Talk to them. Guide them. Find out what they need. Listen to them. Understand what they’re going through.
It is also worth praising the teachers who have learned to adjust to the technological advancements of the internet in a short period. I’ve seen teachers who are old enough to operate a computer but keep trying and succeeding. Kudos to you all!
We ended the discussion with a hearty meal at lunch.
