Kamustahan Tayo!: Teaching in the New Normal
By: Maria Nadine Roman
Arellano University conducted its "Kamustahan Tayo! :Teaching in the New Normal" webinar last Sunday, October 4,2020 at 4:00 PM via Facebook live on the Arellano University Official page as a way to celebrate this year's World Teachers' Day. The event was hosted and moderated by Mr. John Jesus Manuel, a Senior High School teacher of Arellano University.
With the resources like the Learning Management System (LMS), and the guidance provided by Arellano University, the teachers and students of the institution bravely faced the challenges of the new normal set-up starting last August 2020. The stories of various encounters and scenarios on how they face these challenges since August were told by the guest teachers of this webinar who were from the different campuses of Arellano University around Metro Manila. These guest teachers include Mr. Lemuel Ritchie Cervantes, Ms. Camille Enriquez, Ms. Jessica Briones, Mr. Kim Asturiano, Ms. Mary Ann Camitos, Ms. Reiou Regie Manuel, and Dr. Rose Dedace.
The guest teachers who came from various departments of the different Arellano University campuses mostly narrated how the new normal set-up has tested their capabilities in facilitating their students. According to Mr. Lemuel Cervantes, being a professor in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM) is hard especially because the lessons are more hands-on, and skills applications are almost impossible to conduct without face-to-face instruction. As for Ms. Camille Enriquez, the first two weeks of the school year has been full of adjustments not only for the students but also for the teachers. She, for instance, adjusted her teaching strategies so she would be more effective in imparting the needed knowledge to her students considering their diverse intelligences and capabilities.
Just like Ms. Enriquez, Ms. Jessica Briones, being a graduate of the pre-COVID educational system, she experienced a lot of sudden changes and had to adjust in teaching methods and techniques to effectively utilize technology needed for online learning. Ms. Briones was followed by Mr. Kim Asturiano who narrated that his dedication in preparing and conducting his lessons, his patience on the never-ending inquiries of his students and his time management skills in finishing both school and household chores were being tested every day. For him, these every day routines have been taxing because the thrill of being with his fellow teachers after a stressful day was gone.
 On the other hand, Ms. Mary Ann Camitos shared that her patience in dealing with her students as well as her time management skills in imparting the lessons were tested. Next up was Ms. Reiou Manuel who narrated that she was experiencing the so-called passion of a teacher for his/her students which she has been observing her mother do since she was a child. She would now make sacrifices and adjustments for her students just like what her mother did for her students. As for Dr. Rose Dedace, she shared that College professors, just like her, have been experiencing the same scenarios and have been undergoing the similar adjustments that the Elementary and High School teachers have been undertaking. But luckily, even with these struggles, the faculties of Arellano University have a very conducive and supportive environment where the teachers have been helping one another in adjusting to the new normal set-up of the teaching-learning process.
As concluding messages, Mr. Paulo Manuel Macapagal, Program Chair of Arellano University's School of Psychology, Ms. Belen Chu, the ETEEAP External Assessor of Arellano University, and Mr. Peter Romerosa, a College professor in Arellano University, expressed their empathy to the guest speakers as well as to the other teachers who were watching the webinar in their struggles with this new normal set-up. Ms. Chu referred to teachers as “modern day heroes,” and also said that teachers “deserve a lot of praises and even commendation.” On the other hand, Mr. Macapagal acknowledged teachers as the second parents to their students for they are the ones who guide, comfort and support their students who are also having a hard time in adjusting. As an ending note, Mr. Romerosa encouraged their fellow teachers to continuously be a guiding light to their students in this blurry road that everyone is traveling right now.
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