Teaching for a Living

Nilalamon ka man ng lungkot Lugmok sa pangungulila't pagod Hinga lang ‘Di natutulog ang Diyos   Pakiramdam ma'y nag-iisa Pinaglayo ng pandemya Hinga lang Maaayos din ang lahat   ‘Wag sukuan ang pag-asa Sa Diyos ay umasa ‘Di man umayon ang panahon Sa Kanya, may pagkakataon   Nasaan ka man ngayon Mahirap man ang sitwasyon Hinga lang May darating na solusyon   Ngayong sinusubok tayo ng Diyos Hirap man unawain nang lubos Hinga lang Sa huli’y may paghilom

No one saw the drastic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic in today's education. Everyone is caught unprepared. Even teachers are at the toughest challenge of their careers yet.  In times of emergencies, education shall thrive and continue. As a social capital, education needs to engage and capacitate every stakeholder to work hand-in-hand to assure learners' right to learning and success despite the continuous challenges in today's society. Though teachers are mandated to provide holistic and responsive instruction to the learners, educating a child is not their sole responsible perse. Everyone in the community has the responsibility of rearing a child to become competitive, humane, and proactive in society. In times like this current Coronavirus pandemic, collaboration among education's stakeholders is a key for the continuity of quality education.  Now, more than ever, teachers need to be adept and be transformed with the trends to strengthen the delivery of quality a...

Now that the Coronavirus pandemic is challenging education delivery, the teachers must work hard to capacitate themselves and look for meaningful continuing professional development (CPD) endeavors. Everyone now is shifting to remote learning or gaining knowledge, interacting, and connecting with others while at home.  In the Philippines, all professionals must have specific CPD points as a requirement for the renewal of their licenses under the mandates of the CPD Act of 2016 (RA No. 10912). Teachers must have 45 units of CPD activities in two major areas - ethics and professional development.  Today, there is a limitation with the face-to-face CPD activities, either self-directed (offered by non-CPD providers), professional (offered by CPD providers) and academic, and lifelong, formal, informal or non-formal learning. However, there are still online learning activities that credited CPD points. Organizations and entities are now offering online training, seminars, and contin...

The occurrence of natural and human-made catastrophes had hindered the delivery of quality education for the learners. In times like that, the role of scaffolding or instructional support resonates with the aim of continuous learning despite emergencies. Scaffolding is a term associated with the works of Wood, Bruner, and Ross (1976). It is instructional support provided by the teacher, tutor, parent, or any supervising professional, which is temporary, to assist learners in accomplishing their tasks and solving problems independently. It is an assistive learning technique proven to promote independency among learners, making them invest in their own pace of learning to explore, investigate, and formulate new information based on actual involvement in the process. Scaffolding, as it is used in construction, provides support, reinforcement, and foundation for learning. In times of emergencies, scaffolding becomes an integral tool to reinforce learning through the aid of an older person ...

In this wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of millions of people around the world had been practicing social distancing, home quarantine, or self-isolation. Such situations pave the way for people to experience cabin fever. It is an extreme feeling of restlessness/irritation for a long time brought about by isolation or confinement. Though restlessness and irritation are the primary symptoms of cabin fever, some people may also experience at the same time, the other signs or symptoms in various deg rees such as : - Impatience - Fear - Troublesome - Sadness/anxiety/depression - Anger/irrational outburst - Frustration - Hopelessness - Unmotivated - Lethargy   - Mood swing - Resentment - Inability to concentrate - Food cravings It is important to note that only trained mental health professional can accurately diagnose cabin fever. Some of the listed signs/symptoms above may also signs/symptoms for other mental health issues. ...

Today more than ever, the world needs heroes who are willing to volunteer, offer their service, and even sacrifice their lives for humanity. As the world faces the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries are locking their borders and holding seas of people to home quarantine. Left at the forefront of this global war are the health workers and other service providers.   But even some of these heroes had been knocked down by this disease. Everyone has been affected, and the uncertainties as to when this catastrophe will end still linger. There had been accounts of widespread civil unrest, discrimination and harassment to health workers, unemployment, and economic impediments as people continue to live in fear. It is at these times that the spirit of ‘Bayanihan’ and volunteerism must prevail; that the sense of humanity still exists and thrives among us. Yes, people of the world had been closing their doors in threat of the virus, but we must take the courage to open our hea...