Back to school: This time, it’s for real

Published March 3, 2022, 12:05 AM

by Manila Bulletin

Don’t let the title of this editorial fool you. Online classes, of course, are real — as real as the virtual world would allow. But after almost two years of classes conducted in front of a screen, with students digitally participating, it comes as a breath of fresh, COVID-free air that the Department of Education (DepEd) is now considering more schools for face-to-face classes. 

Since November 2021, the DepEd has given permission for a number of schools to welcome students back into the four walls of a classroom. This setup was briefly halted in January of this year by the unexpected surge in COVID cases brought by the virus’ omicron variant. As of February, however, there have been around 1,700 schools implementing a face-to-face setup, according to the DepEd Sec. Leonor Briones. She added that some 6,213 schools all over the Philippines are now ready to conduct in-person classes now that an Alert Level 1 status has been implemented in the National Capital Region as well as in other parts of the country. Moreover, the ongoing vaccination of children ages five to 11 has definitely contributed to the more relaxed attitude toward schools and the conduct of classes. 

It truly is the way to go. In many other countries around the world, face-to-face classes have since been conducted as early as the first couple of quarters in 2021. While that, in itself, was experimental at best—an adjective one would not have considered to describe face-to-face classes prior to the pandemic—there is no denying that a year or so of classes behind screens has had detrimental effects on learners, particularly on children who are in their more formative years. There is no replacing actual physical interaction among students, although many schools have tried quite hard to remedy the situation. Some resorted to creativity with their Physical Education classes and others even considered creating a semblance of normalcy by encouraging their students to digitally interact with their classmates. 

After almost two years of living in a pandemic, one that some experts are saying is already on the verge of dying down, it is safe to assume that face-to-face classes can no longer be put on the backburner. This, of course, does not mean that every precaution that is necessary to ensure the safety of both educators and learners should be neglected. Despite the high vaccination rate among the DepEd personnel and teachers, and now with more students getting inoculated, a degree of safety should still be practiced—the wearing of face masks, for example, should be strictly enforced.

As parents welcome this move to a new normal in education, it is perhaps the students, especially the younger learners, who are most excited to see their friends again, this time for real. After all, if guidelines allow for children to go out to malls and restaurants, why shouldn’t they be given the chance to learn at the comfort of a classroom once again?