Everything was surreal. I felt trapped inside a bad dream I could not wake up from.
I remember walking up to the locked classroom of Children’s Development Center (CDC) with a singularly eery feeling. Everything seemed misty and different. The silence was deafening.
I looked around and saw no giggling and playing children. The usual sound and sight of parents or guardians chatting were nowhere to be found.
Slowly, I unlocked the classroom door. Turning the knob, I was half-expecting a chorus of shrill voices of my pupils surprising me with their familiar sing-song greeting, “Good morning, Teacher!”
I heard nothing.
I stepped inside and stared at my pupils chairs and desks, which were peculiarly empty. I looked at the toys neatly arranged inside the open cabinet by the window. The blackboard was wiped clean sans my pupils’ scribbles.
Since I was appointed as the head teacher of the kindergarten school of the Kapatiran-Kaunlaran Foundation Inc. (KKFI) three years ago, I treated this classroom as a happy ship where I am the captain.
My sole responsibility was to help my young students navigate the tricky waters of education. My mission was to safely transport them to the shores as more knowledgeable and better persons.
But looking at my empty classroom, I wondered, “Has everyone abandoned my ship? Why would they do that?”
Suddenly, I was jolted back to reality. I realized it was the time of pandemic and the government, in an effort to control the spread of fatal coronavirus, closed the schools down and all the places where a number of people can gather.
Hence, my ship, the CDC, was abandoned and I, the captain, was tied up like a hostage and rendered useless.
But a dim of hope from a lighthouse yonder showed itself. It is called “blended learning,” an alternative route of teaching where the teacher and his students need not meet face-to-face but through the magic of information technology called internet and virtual classrooms.
Hence, a new journey for my S.S. KKFI-CDC started last August 24.
Everyone was excited! The kids have enrolled and my assistant teachers and I were ready. Earlier, we turbo-charged our learning curve and acquired new skills that enabled us to produce videos and other virtual materials and tools for teaching.
I guess we were able to achieve that because we willingly embraced the so-called “new normal” early on.
As the ship’s pilot, I have two hours to transport my passengers to the shore everyday. Before sailing, I have to make sure the ship’s not overloaded to avoid the risk of sinking.
I have been mindful that “overloading” might compromise the quality of the learning experience of pupils since blended learning was something new to everyone. Learners must enjoy equal attention from the teacher. It’s what they deserve and need.
During the first journey, the experiment started without a hitch. I could feel that the passengers were all excited. There seemed to be truth to the saying, “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” They seemed to be compensating for the months of not seeing and inter-acting with one another.
We were already mid-way sailing when a problem occurred—the internet signal weakened and then it started reconnecting. In spite of all of that, this captain never thought of abandoning the ship. I was 100 percent confident that I could reach the destination safely and successfully.
It was a learning experience for me, too. To prepare for the maiden voyage, I surfed the Web to scour for necessary information, I sought advice from more experienced navigators, I attended webinars on the topic and I enhanced my craft in every way possible.
Such was my drive to prevail over the new challenge. It was important to acclimatise myself to this new environment, which “computer screen.” It’s my new stage and I have to own it, I thought.
Another challenge was how to maintain the parents’ enthusiasm under the new normal. I had to convince them that it was a bad idea to discontinue their children’s education during the pandemic.
The one challenge that required a herculean effort on my part was how to motivate myself during those times when I was weakening in body and spirit.
It’s a good thing that I have God to turn to for strength. He has never failed me. I could feel Him protecting and guiding me so that I will be able to fulfill my duty as a teacher of children.
The Covid-19 pandemic is probably the worst crisis the CDC has ever faced since kindergarten education in the Philippines was first held inside the KKFI’s Hugh Wilson building almost a 100 years ago.
However, an institution that has weathered the test of time cannot be sank even by the tall waves of the pandemic. This ship is sturdy and reliable enough to reach its destination.
Believe me because this is the captain speaking.