Even before the country shifted into distance learning, many Filipino students have been struggling to learn because they are boxed in the “traditional type” of learning.
Educational psychologist Lizamarie Campoamor-Olegario, during the launch of SEQuRe Education Movement’s “THURSDAY HABIT” series on Thursday, April 15, said that this struggle was even more highlighted when the Philippine government implemented alternative learning delivery modalities.
Schools were shut down - and have remained closed - since March 2020 due to the ongoing public health situation in the country brought by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Bakit ba tayo nahihirapan sa pag-aaral, bakit marami tayong issues sa pag-aaral - dahil napaka-tradisyonal ng ating pananaw sa pag-aaral ng mga estudyante at makikita ito sa lahat ng ginagawa natin ngayon (Why are we having a hard time studying, why do we have so many issues in learning - this is because our view when it comes to education of students is too traditional), Olegario said.
The implementation of the new learning set-up, Olegario noted, posed various challenges not only for learners but for their parents and teachers as well.
Olegario, a faculty member at the University of the Philippines (UP) - College of Education, joined other panelists in the roundtable discussion on #AcademicEase.
Youth groups, student councils, and other education stakeholders have been calling for #AcademicBreak and #AcademicEase in the past few weeks amid reimposition of a stricter quarantine measure in areas where spikes in COVID-19 cases are reported.
As an educator for the past 24 years, Olegario said that a “less formal” learning set-up should be implemented by the government through the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
Given this, Olegario underscored the need to give students the “breaks and time out” that they need.
“There is no need for rigid coursework and grading - we have to lessen the academic pressure,” she added.
Olegario also stressed the importance of ensuring that learners - as well as their teachers - get enough sleep. “I still hear students complaining that there is too much school work to do to the point that they are not having enough sleep,” she added.
While education is important, Olegario said that students and teachers should strive to achieve work-life balance. “We have to remember, aside from physical health, mental health should also be a priority,” she ended.
Early this week, DepEd maintained that #AcademicEase measures are already in place at the basic education level - thus, there might be no need to implement nationwide #AcademicBreak.