THE COPE OF PRESENT EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN A DISRUPTION OF PANDEMIC

 

     

    Education teaches us about our society and environment, as well as how to change them for the better. Education also assists us in developing our own perspective on our lives, preparing us to have our own points of view and form our own opinions on various aspects of life. Today's education is not merely a means of acquiring knowledge. Nowadays, anyone with a computer and an internet connection can gain access to vast amounts of data and information via various websites and e-commerce platforms. But, without education, can information be transformed into knowledge? Only education can teach us how to interpret various issues and events in our lives. We can learn not only from textbook lessons, but also from our teachers, guardians, and mentors who show us how to read those books. We learn from our own lives as well, through practical experiences and hands-on training. In short, education enables us to gain the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes we need to make informed decisions, live meaningful lives, and play active roles in modern society.

We have been dealing with a massive crisis since the beginning of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc around the world, disrupting our lives and livelihoods. As a result, all enrolled students in Philippine schools, colleges, and universities have been unable to attend classes for nearly a year due to restrictions imposed to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus since the middle of March 2020. Students have suffered greatly as a result of this. The Covid-19 pandemic has shaken the world, affecting the lives of countless communities, families, and students. The crisis that erupted was unprepared for by society. As a result of households' uneven access to technology, pillars such as educational equality have suffered. The education system has been challenged all over the world, but we must remember that with each challenge comes an opportunity for improvement.

         Education is one of the areas most affected by the virus, which has been halted or significantly slowed by restrictive laws and the establishment of social distancing. In 182 countries, educational institutions have been closed, and traditional university education has been hampered. Furthermore, the virus has affected more than 90% of the world's student population, increasing pressure on higher education systems to change their approach to distance learning (e-learning). In response to this threat, all educational systems and professionals are attempting to act appropriately by identifying effective solutions to reduce the pandemic's negative effects on the field of education.

         When millions of young people including us are urged to stay at home with our families and educational institutions remain closed, online education appears to be the only option for ensuring these students' educational continuity. The question remains as to whether we were willing to use these alternative methods of providing education in our country without compromising the quality of education provided to students like us. However, there are significant challenges that are becoming more acute as a result of the current global crisis. There are currently few scalable impact solutions for regions and countries experiencing major challenges in terms of reliable Internet connections and access to digital devices. We also have a very limited understanding of how teachers, students, and parents are dealing with these new working methods. There is little or no evidence of cross-national cooperation, despite the fact that there is an excellent opportunity to do so, and teachers have been forced to use an unprepared system. Furthermore, vulnerable students are unlikely to be able to maximize their time. Concerns have also been raised about increasing screen exposure time. In terms of families, achieving a work-life balance while supporting their children's educational process can be difficult. In emergency situations, it is unclear what the best practices are for different age groups in their online educational development from home. Furthermore, something that is rarely discussed is the best way to care for students with learning disabilities and special needs. Finally, while there are numerous tools and resources available, the most effective solutions and the best methods for implementing them are not always widely known. In these trying times, there has been an increase in the number of tools and resources aimed at the student's learning process. Despite the challenges identified, a proposal of the most outstanding solutions to address continuity in students' learning processes has been developed.

        It is too early to make definitive statements about its impact, but we can make a few key observations. Overall, the pandemic has posed more challenges and strains on education than it has benefited it. Responses from education systems and authorities have typically been swift but hurried, hopeful but uncertain. Many students have been put in grave danger, and teachers have approached their new roles with varying degrees of expertise and confidence. However, some encouraging signs have emerged.

        The most obvious consequences of the pandemic include the need to: close schools, or at the very least create social distance, rapidly ramp up online teaching and learning, keep children safe, inform and support parents in becoming partners in their children's education, and determine how quality in education can be sustained.

       When teachers engage students virtually, they are forced to rethink how they teach. The essential component of interaction has been jeopardized. Teachers have lost the ability to ask students questions in real time. Lost the ability to confidently assess student levels of engagement and motivation, both of which are critical to learning. Some students have been enthralled by online learning and modular learning. The COVID  – 19 pandemic has caused great disruption in schooling around the world, the educational changes that are happening in our country and amidst such changes, the timeless constants that should be affirmed. In particular, the move towards a blended learning approach needs to help us students develop the capacity for independent learning, not just replicate classroom teaching in the virtual medium. Also, despite needing to adapt very quickly to the pandemic, Philippines should continue to build its education system in a balanced and steady manner leaders, teachers and school play in the society. Schools scramble to conduct lessons online so that we students learning would not be too adversely affected. However, simply equipping students with the necessary computing devices is not adequate. There are issues with pedagogy to be addressed as well. One of the key lessons learnt is the need to redesign the learning experience around technological affordances, not just by replacing lessons with virtual talk and chalk lectures. When designed well, technology can be used to enhance and facilitate students like us learning not just during times of emergencies. Everyone had to pivot, and fast! New changes included the need to transition from personal interactions to virtual platforms like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet. Webinars became a tool to get in front of the client—until people expressed webinar burnout and webinar invites were often treated like spam emails. These became fresh challenges that arose from what is being dubbed the new normal. Teachers, hopefully, have been compelled to reflect on the fundamentals of teaching. Lesson planning must be done with care and skill. Students' contributions to the lesson must be carefully considered. What prior knowledge do they have upon which to construct new knowledge? Are teachers using familiar examples to illustrate the points they want to make to students? Are questions being framed in such a way that they maximize learning? Are rehearsal' techniques used to consolidate new knowledge? Where video technology, such as ZOOM, is available, are teachers ensuring that their presentations are dynamic and that they are expertly soliciting feedback from students to gauge the effectiveness of learning? In the worst-case scenario, teachers have simply handed out worksheets to students, instructing them to "research" new content.

   

       So, what new opportunities have arisen? The most obvious example is the pervasive use of technology. According to National Centre for Education and the Economy (NCEE) research, nearly 80% of educators worldwide used ‘technology and other innovative solutions.' The opportunity for ‘students to manage their own learning' was rated positively by more than 70% of those polled. According to the same survey, 65 % of respondents thought the new arrangements improved ‘parental involvement and cooperation. For students with special education needs, the results are likely to be mixed because, on the one hand, there is a decrease in the quality of personal, real support, but on the other hand, some students felt more at ease working from home and avoiding the sometimes overwhelming presence of many other students.

         Overall, there are wonderful opportunities that can be capitalized on in this exceptional situation, but there are also significant challenges that require new and innovative solutions. Our current understanding of what constitutes an optimal solution in areas where access to the Internet and digital devices is limited or non-existent is severely lacking. It is unclear how all of these proposals can be implemented in the context of the current crisis. The hope is that in the coming months, this challenge will be better understood, and that we will be able to rethink solutions that have been shown to work effectively on a large scale with the help of global networks. When schools reopen, it is safe to say that what has been learned from this experience should be used to effect positive change in the approach to improving education systems.

      

     The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated that the world of education is full of inspiring innovations that struggle to be disseminated on a daily basis in order to reach their intended audience: parents, students, and teachers. In conclusion, the pandemic caught us all off guard, and we must now work hard to better understand all of the implications of such tumultuous disruptions to schooling, as well as quickly improve the quality and accessibility of remote education, and get kids back to school as soon as possible!

REFERENCES:

https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.xvsKebAdoQtdr969WwOLDgHaEK?w=302&h=180&c=7&r=0&o=5&pid=1.7

E – learning https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.716f86cad2b4d95cf2fdb99f593a43f8?rik=ijCD0cFLq9a%2b%2bQ&riu=http%3a%2f%2fwww.webanywhere.co.uk%2fblog%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2fshutterstock249282898.jpg&ehk=o9oXXQjnZe79ytNPD%2bmeGIH6pM50J1YjI8LVZAD0Wvo%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0

 Distance learning classroom https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=t108PWNT&id=CE4F6959830CD4D7795FFDC16349CEF7D3BBFBEC&thid=OIP.t108PWNTligGUFMK8QPXsAHaD4&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fwww.pblworks.org%2fsites%2fdefault%2ffiles%2finline-images%2fDistance+Learning.png&exph=602&expw=1150&q=Educational+Software+for+Distance+Learning&simid=607990133165813360&FORM=IRPRST&ck=EA3CE8A1C5CA9B7F98C32C4BA3AA56ED&selectedIndex=0 https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=vES3R70o&id=6F951203161160A9DB6CD7FD046FEDB745ADBDB3&thid=OIP.vES3R70oK5fEJFGqNIUpYQHaHa&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR. online – learning bc44b747bd282b97c42451aa34852961%3frik%3ds72tRbftbwT91w%26riu%3dhttp%253a%252f%252flebanon.k12.or.us%252fmedia%252f2020%252f04%252fdistance-learning.jpg%26ehk%3dREbrRYfVW91VY59CtfzAi6GX%252bXxCR82YK8ku%252fp4O7%252bk%253d%26risl%3d%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0&exph=1500&expw=1500&q=distance+learning&simid=608038129407187690&FORM=IRPRST&ck=5EF75A1CD2618903E8337712686EBEBA&selectedIndex=0

DEPED tambayan - https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.MW1ezBmfAbi1KNyjuJMDIgHaE8?pid=ImgDet&rs=1

https://nevisblog.com/Photos/sandy-point-high-school-st-kitts-03.jpg

 Modular learning https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=R3z0mIpP&id=24C0E439201F24E6E2D1EB26D18995DF7D94BDCA&thid=OIP.R3z0mIpPpOpHbhcvSRNOMQHaD4&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2ftheaseanpost.com%2fsites%2fdefault%2ffiles%2f2020-12%2f6PM-SUN-06122020-AN.jpg&exph=628&expw=1200&q=Modular+lerning+pictures+in+philippines&simid=607997129650299221&FORM=IRPRST&ck=B3A2CCEB73A36E27DF5AA69088EF66B7&selectedIndex=1

success of distance learning clipart - Bing images