I was told to
not bite the hand that feeds me because I was giving raw data of actual
students’ performance during the implementation of distance learning amidst the
pandemic. I know that I must be considerate. Since the finals are not here yet,
whatever grades that I gave were undeniably temporary because I was still
hoping for those students to catch up. I mean no disrespect to the institution,
but I would not lie to the system and pretend everything is fine. The problem
is present, and it must be confronted. And the hand that feeds me is not the cash
disbursing agent of the institution, rather it is those who are taxed. The institution
simply reallocated the funds, but as to one feeding me, it is the people via tax.
Thus, it is my duty to serve them well by maintaining honesty at all cost. I am
at lost being a recipient of an outdated paternalistic pretentious adage of subservience.
I know that our
students are experiencing a huge toll and burnout in this pandemic. This reflects
the poor training of our students because they cannot take on the mounting
reading tasks brought by the modular approach paired with the uncontrollable dread and difficulties
of the situation. If they were adept to endure reading and in individual learning,
modular approach is not that difficult. However, most of our students are
simply promoted out of leniency or to escape the system’s meticulous and blame-inflicting
stance towards failing students. One cannot simply expect strong independent
learning and reading resilience among our "overly protected snowflake learners." And on
another note, I have no qualms with students who are experiencing the pandemic’s
setback.
More so, the blame
is on the teacher for not exhausting all possible means. If by all possible
means, be it pedagogical, then the teacher needs to at least attempt to do so.
But if all possible means refers to misplaced considerations that are outside
the context of pedagogy, then that is a different story. Since the pandemic is
still at large, I know considerations are inevitable, and with all due respect,
I gave mine accordingly. With raised scores due to consideration given of
submitting and even answering the majority of the modules’ content, being
strict to the actual performance’s content is set aside.
I only needed
the students’ eagerness at the very least during this situation. When the pandemic
will be over and face-to-face will commence, I will go back on full steam to teach.
But as for now, I am also treading carefully and considerately with the learners I
am facing right now. Be it bullshit to some cases as their online behavior is
almost next to frequent nonsense while passively or actively ignoring my communication, I still have
to delude myself that these students are stressed and are just simply doing
other things to keep their sanity.
But the main points I want to stress that our students lack reading resilience and individual learning skills. Moreover, with the majority of being technologically adept at very least, they are just mere consumers of applications with even mindless usage of such. They still need to be taught how to navigate key areas that are vital to establishing proficiency of being a digital citizen. And lastly, I have strong feelings against outdated pretentious adage. My duty is to improve quality education in the country and not just to mindlessly promote half-baked citizenry that can wreck potential havoc. If the nation has bad citizenry who cannot think, fail to decide, refuse to collaborate, score poorly on international exams on Math and Science, and fail to uphold high morals, then there must be something wrong with the education sector wherewith I take responsibility.
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