The resumption of face-to-face learning is uncertain with the current situation of the pandemic in the country. The education system in this new normal made me really miss the usual classroom set-up.
I miss the interactive classroom set-up and my proactive learners. I miss being around students chit chatting while I discuss the day’s lesson while the others are intently listening. I am used to entering the class, starting it with a prayer, followed by formative activities and ending with a prayer of retention and gratefulness. But now, as I enter the empty classroom, a fervent prayer are my only words, that this pandemic would end, the soonest time, in God’s mercy.
Due to the pandemic, no physical interaction is allowed which created an immense adjustment in the learning system. In my opinion, this is not something to be distraught over, but something to challenge teachers.
As an educator in the time of COVID-19, I am a witness to the sacrifices teachers make to prepare for the school year. It requires a lot of effort, not to mention the expenses required to produce learning materials. Communicating through a virtual portal is also a huge challenge for most teachers, since some are not easy to reach and some don’t have access to the Internet. Much has already been offered to us, but I see that more is yet to be given up.
Every time I feel tired at the end of a day, I always keep in mind the thought that no mission is easy to bear, if it is, it’s not one. I will never retreat nor surrender in promoting quality and accessible education for all. I believe I am called to be a missionary who forms and transforms young minds—to help mold today’s youth into wise and great individuals who will be able to make a name for themselves in their chosen paths and leave their own legacies in the future. I am a teacher forever, no matter what happens, no matter what the situation is, I will stand firm for my vocation, for my passion, for my mission.
One day, I hope to hear again a familiar greeting.
“Good morning sir, welcome!”
And from there, all is fine, again.
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Den Mark Lorenzo finds satisfaction in a missionary life—to teach, to touch lives, and to be contented while making other’s lives happy. While being raised on a farmland, he advocates art which draws inspiration from the hardworking hands of farmers.
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Memento.
Stories and images in the time of COVID-19
An anthology of the struggles and hopes of Filipinos during the global health crisis of our time.