Still blended, still learning

by Manila Bulletin

Over two years into a pandemic later, the Department of Education (DepEd) remains half-and-half with its attitude toward face-to-face classes. But perhaps it is right to do so. The Department’s latest pronouncements regarding the upcoming school year favors a mix of in-person and online classes.

If you are a parent who has been following the discussions regarding the resumption of classes, you might say, “Nothing new here.” And you would be right in saying so.

For the past several months now, with the easing of mobility restrictions due to the pandemic under an Alert Level 1 status, everything seems to be back to normal. Almost.

Kids are allowed back into public spaces—churches, malls, restaurants — accompanied by their families. Kids have been given access to vaccines against Covid. But why are they still not allowed to be back in their classrooms at a 100-percent level?

Some might argue that there are a lot of factors involved in a classroom setup different from those in other public spaces, say, like in malls or parks or restaurants. In schools, students would be mingling with fellow learners as well as educators. The thing is, with DepEd’s push for fully inoculating its personnel and teachers — both for public and private schools — and with vaccines available for children, the classroom setup seems to be becoming more and more viable as an option.

DepEd recognizes this with its suggestion that students spend some days back in school and other days of the week learning from home. It seems to be the safest bet. Although the department is not against face-to-face classes, it wants to exercise a degree of prudence.

The question is: What difference does it make for the students to be allowed out on some days compared to being allowed back in school for a week? Less chances of getting Covid? Maybe.

This is the reason why DepEd continues to push for the vaccination of younger learners, which to be clear, is completely optional. That being vaccinated is not even made a requirement for children to return to the classroom says a lot. Yet, putting all arguments in favor of vaccination aside, this may be the more probable reason why a blended learning setup is favored.

DepEd itself, together with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID), seems to be learning the ropes when it comes to reintegrating students back into a “new normal” for education. While this is understandable given the unpredictable nature of a pandemic, the current situation points to a more stable future, with Covid cases remaining in manageable numbers compared to those of the past two years.

Perhaps parents — and the learners themselves who are arguably in need of social interaction from their peers — only need to be patient for a little while longer, until the “new normal” in education takes on the semblance of a true normal.