Filipino Teachers As Education Frontliners

Without a doubt, teachers are the heroes of the education sector. Just like how medical front-liners risk their lives to save others, teachers also put their own welfare at risk to ensure that learning will continue for millions of Filipino children amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

- Merlina Hernando-Malipot

As the country celebrates the National Teachers’ Day (NTD) today, Oct. 5, which also coincides with the World Teachers’ Day (WTD) celebration, the heroism of teachers is highlighted more than ever with the opening of a new school year.

Teachers’ heroism amid the pandemic

This school year, students and their parents are not the only ones who will have to adjust to the new ways of learning. Teachers will have to navigate alternative delivery modalities under the distance/blended learning.

In the Basic Education-Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP) of the Department of Education (DepEd), teachers will directly implement the different learning delivery modalities.

Without face-to-face classes, teachers need to learn new skills to effectively carry out their roles and responsibilities.

Recognizing this need, DepEd has been training its teachers. As of Sept. 28, DepEd said that 754,627 teachers have been trained on distance learning modalities.

The trainings focused on capacity-building, specifically on Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-based teaching. Many webinars on actual classroom management, teaching styles, Internet safety as well as mental and psychosocial support – among others – were also held for teachers.