October 5 was a hard deadline for many Filipino teachers to meet. The week before, they were still scrambling to prepare and welcome their pupils, albeit remotely. For teacher Lench Ann Perilla, this included transcribing worksheets to Braille for her blind pupils who are in the first and fourth grades.
“Their lessons are aligned with the regular (class), so I need to wait for the modules from the advisers in their grade levels,” said Perilla, who teaches at San Vicente Elementary School in Quezon City. “I’ll modify the modules and translate them to Braille.”
The Department of Education (DepEd) said it was ready for the new school year. However, teachers bore the brunt of the work. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced students worldwide out of their schools and into the safety of their homes, it entailed extra effort on the part of the teachers, particularly the teachers of learners with special needs, who wanted to give their students the best shot at remote learning.
The academic year 2020-2021 in the Philippines was supposed to start on August 24. However, DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones, after much criticism even from senators, decided to postpone the opening of classes to October 5. Teacher Jennifer Polo, Special Education (SPED) 1 chairperson at Bautista Elementary School in Dasmariñas, Cavite, some 40 kilometers south of Manila, agreed with the postponement.
“That time, we were not yet ready. But now, even if it’s not 100%, we’ll be able to manage since we’re already provided materials and training. Mentally, physically, it’s doubtful, but we’ll make do. At least we’ll see if the materials we have are applicable,” said Polo in Filipino. She also handles students with visual disabilities.
With much of the Philippines still under different classifications of community quarantines, the DepEd formulated a Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP), which seeks to respond to the challenges posed by the public health emergency to the education sector.
Four modalities
“The BE-LCP also emphasizes that learning opportunities to our students may be provided through blended distance learning modalities, until any prohibition by the (Department of Health), (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases), or the President for face-to-face learning in schools/(community learning centers) is lifted or relaxed,” the document stated.
The DepEd identified four modalities of learning: face to face, distance, blended, and homeschooling. The agency recognized that face-to-face instruction is required for some learners with disabilities. Teaching Braille is an example where face-to-face instruction is advisable.
“It’s challenging to teach Braille in remote learning because it’s hands-on, it should be taught face-to-face, and the children need experiential learning for them to learn how to read and write in Braille,” said Perilla, a SPED teacher for five years.
The DepEd suggested accommodations for learners with disabilities since face-to-face is not yet allowed.
“Adaptations, such as (close) captioning, transcribing to Braille, sign-language interpretation, or providing different format options, shall also be considered for learners with disabilities. Materials for learners such as, but not limited to, self-learning modules and other print materials; TV clips/videos; and online materials can be designed to be accessible to learners with hearing, visual, and/or any other impairments,” the DepEd’s learning plan said.
Most of Polo’s SPED students chose distance learning, specifically modules that included printed and digital materials, offline e-books, mainly due to the lack of resources such as gadgets and internet connectivity.
“Some students lack internet connectivity or gadgets, and sometimes their parents cannot provide for those,” Polo said. Those who opted for online classes will also be given modules in anticipation of possible connectivity problems.
Perilla said the DepEd promised to distribute modules for distance learning. However, as of late September, no learning modules were at hand. “Our school head asked us to prepare our own supplementary learning materials just in case the module from the DepEd Central Office does not arrive on time,” she said.
Although the reproduction of materials is done by the school, translating them to Braille is another story. “I’m the only one who can translate it to Braille,” Perilla added.
Accessible modules
Like Perilla, Polo also had to work overtime to make modules accessible to students with special needs. Polo said they were planning to do voice-overs to explain the module in case both the child and the parent would have a hard time grasping the lessons.
To enforce physical distancing in schools, the teachers said there would be a specific time during which parents could get the modules from the schools to avoid crowding.
Much of the responsibility is shifted to the parents now, as their children’s teachers at home. Polo said in creating the modules, they took into consideration the guardians who might not know how to read Braille.
“It’s still the child who will study. In case he or she can’t understand what is written in Braille, the parent or guardian can look at the printed module and explain,” Polo said.
Perilla echoed the same sentiment that cooperation with the parents was very much needed. “As much as we want to give our full attention to the child, we can’t since we’re not allowed to conduct face-to-face for now. What we’ll do is to send guides to the parents so they can teach our target lessons to the child,” she said.
Perilla said she wanted to teach parents Braille even before the pandemic so they could also understand what their children were reading and writing, but this did not materialize due to logistical concerns. She recognized that this was a huge change in the parents’ involvement in their children’s education.
An added role for parents
“Before, the parents’ role was to bring their children to school, pick them up, attend meetings, and assist with their assignments. But now, since the children are studying at home, the parents need to assist them all the time with their lessons. As much as we want to have our classes, we won’t be allowed since it’s risky,” she added.
This might be a problem, however, for parents who do not have education, as well as for learners with other disabilities, like hearing impairment, who use sign language.
Before the pandemic, students with special needs were in regular classes, in line with DepEd’s policy on SPED to “develop the essential knowledge and skills needed by learners with disabilities to be mainstreamed into the regular school system and eventually participate meaningfully in a constantly evolving society,” as stated in the department’s Policy Guidelines on the Adoption of the K to 12 Transition Curriculum for Learners with Disabilities issued on August 20, 2020.
Even private educational institutions that offer SPED are having a hard time adjusting to the remote learning setup.
Laro, Lapis, at Libro (roughly translated as Play, Pencil, and Book), a Marikina City-based private SPED school, also adopted distance learning programs that were either modular, online, or home-based to make sure the students would still be able to learn productively at their homes.
“(We) need to continue helping our students become better versions of themselves despite their current situation of being locked in,” teacher Jet Peralta, acting principal of Laro, said. “It is very challenging because, despite the fact that the home is the school’s partner in a student’s development, for learners with additional needs, it is not easy to generalize concepts and skills learned at school to their homes,” she added.
“Academic freeze” 
Peralta said they also included a training program for parents, caregivers, or other members of the family who will now take the role of the teacher at home. However, some have expressed doubts as to the effectiveness of remote learning.
Intervention Center for Autism and Related Exceptionalities (ICARE), based in Cagayan de Oro City in the southern island of Mindanao, caters to children with special needs such as those with autism, learning disability, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disability, language delays, behavior problems, and other neurodevelopmental delays. Before the pandemic, ICARE offered SPED and behavior therapy services, with enrollees reaching up to 75 students.
ICARE’s managing and program director Renato Tangonan said they decided not to offer SPED classes for now since they cannot guarantee significant results with the online setup.
“Oftentimes, children cannot sustain (staying on) the computer, and we are highly (dependent) on the caregiver or their parents to help us (implement) the program,” Tangonan said. Such a setup is generally not highly productive except for highly functional students who can follow instructions most of the time.
School closures are not unique in the Philippines. According to a June 5 survey of the United Nations Children’s Fund, some countries do not even have a set date for reopening their schools.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, some student groups called for “academic freeze”—a total suspension of the academic year until it is safe to return to schools. These groups cited the lack of preparedness and social inequality of students who might be left behind due to their lack of access to materials needed for remote learning.
This was rejected by the DepEd, saying it is a “short-sighted position” and “does not take into consideration the trade-off of prolonged interruption in the learning process of the children.” Perilla said she understood where the students were coming from, but also shared her perspective as an educator.
“As a teacher of DepEd, I admit, there’s still a lot to be done. In my point of view as a teacher, there is still a lot to learn since not all teachers are accustomed to remote learning. Even we younger teachers who are more tech-savvy are adjusting,” she said.
A final plea
Perilla reiterated that the lack of modules was a problem. However, she said that as teachers, they have no choice but to follow the DepEd’s orders.
“It’s okay if there will be an academic freeze, but since the department mandated the resumption of classes, we’ll resume,” she said. “As teachers who provide education to children, we’ll follow even though we know there’s still a lot to prepare because they said so. But I understand why some students are calling for an academic freeze because even they have to adjust.”
Her final plea is for the department to provide the necessary resources.
“I hope they can give all the modules for the schools. If they still have other resources they can give the schools, the teachers, and the parents, I hope they can provide them. We are willing to work; we won’t back down from this challenge,” Perilla said. ●
Yvette Morales has written for VERA Files and CNN Philippines. She is a third-year law student at the University of the Philippines.
