Modules cannot replace teachers, that is the cold-hard fact. They spent years in education and training with their elective majors. Our parents came from various fields. We are school drop-outs, blue-collared workers, or white-collared ones rolled up in one.

“No student left behind.”

Sitting here now with the week-old school module of my pupil, I began to ponder on the success rate of the policy. Is there really no student left behind, or does it seem like no one has even moved forward? 

When the COVID-19 pandemic entered the scene in 2020, the world came to a standstill. But like we always do, we get up and rise. With so much resiliency and optimism, we deduce we cannot just put everything at a halt. Everything – including our quest for education. So, with unripe deliberation in coping with the sudden crisis, schools reopened at a new normal with its modular and blended distance learning.

The modular system works by distributing SLM (Self-Learning Materials) to students then returning them at drop-off points in schools. The routine seems simple: teachers will print, parents will guide, outputs are returned. Sounds easy, what’s the big deal with that? Well, no one cares about the whole tiring process wiring it in between.

The backlash on erroneous accounts in the module is among the most challenging part of the system. From time to time, blunders would pop up. So, the Department of Education (DepEd) established the DepEd Error Watch where stakeholders can report the gaffes for correction.

But why with the errors?

According to Education Undersecretary Alain Pascua, that’s because they “are not perfect” and that they need more time. The first reason is lousy, but the next one can be remedied. We have so many talented teachers for the job. And if they need more time, perhaps they can lessen the workload to prioritize more important things – correcting errors for once, training the editorial team next.

Every SLM has a writer, editor, and at least three reviewers. But how come none of them hear the scraping sound of grammatical errors before affixing their signatures. Teachers are also printing the modules but no one noticed substantive errors that will jeopardize the information the students will learn.

But watching how my teacher sister-in-law goes through the learning material before printing, I realized it is a case-to-case basis. It was tedious, but she feels accountable for sharing unchecked SLM. She says it is wavering on her part as an educator if she let erroneous information get into the hands of students and parents.

This brings us to the essence of accountability. If we can hold all the signatories accountable, wouldn’t they be more cautious with the writing, editing, and reviewing process? But for the DepEd, raising such accountability even through social media platforms is offensive as it will not solve anything. Maybe. But maybe, it will also bring the magnitude of the situation to the attention of the officials who fancies outputs.

The institution fails to see the bigger picture. With piles of workload, the teachers may be complaining. But they will still get their five-digit salary even through the delayed dole-out of payrolls. The parents cannot sit by their children all day with a bulk load of papers hoping to be salaried. We do not have all the time in the world to wait when teachers would respond to our questions in group chats because they are busy – like we aren’t. We cannot adjust to their changing schedules like we don’t have our own bosses.

And we certainly cannot expect the student to learn at the pace they cannot even cope. A good majority is not learning anything except swindle their way, letting others do the grease work. The lectures are few, some materials do not contain discourses. It’s up to the readers to figure it out because most of the time you cannot even reach the teacher for questions, so parents stopped asking.

Did anyone assess the learners if they learn anything at all? No. They only need the outputs for reporting.

Where did the institution fail? Prioritizing.

If they can lessen the teachers’ workload and scrap off unessential subjects, maybe the slow-and-steady pace will move us from here. What we only yield are overworked teachers, overtired parents, and disinterested students.

Modules cannot replace teachers, that is the cold-hard fact. They spent years in education and training with their elective majors. Our parents came from various fields. We are school drop-outs, blue-collared workers, or white-collared ones rolled up in one.

Is it essential to teach the child subjects in the local dialect only our senile great grandmother recognizes? Will they remember harmonic intervals and Ostinato like it is a major life skill? Who did we left behind, or is it fair to say, who only have moved forward?/WDJ