06/09/2023
#๐๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐๐: ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ซ๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐จ. ๐๐?
Barren and almost insignificant: these very definitions would describe the walls of Filipino classrooms after the Department of Education (DepEd), under the helm of Vice President and Secretary Sara Duterte, recently released a department memorandumโ the DepEd Order No. 21 s. 2023, with one of its provisions mandating โclassrooms and all its walls, and other school facilities are clean and free from unnecessary artwork, decorations, tarpaulin, and posters at all times.โ While remaining gallant and all-knowing, Inday Sara and her provocations seemed to become reliable to the eyes of those seeking reform in the already-strained classroom management of the country, but removing these materials, much so their entirety, can only worsen such a condition. Problems such as the absence of learning reinforcement, under-stimulation of studentsโ necessary skills, and the conditionโs precursor to other issues hounding the department speak highly about Duterte-led DepEdโs bare and hollow mission for Filipino learners.
๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒโ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น โ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐:โ ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ข๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ
As Filipino classrooms are accustomed to having a spectacle out of these posted materialsโ presumably rooted in the token economy and incentive programs that prize teachers who can design the best classroom before the opening of classes, things can definitely get out of control. The dilemma of overdesigning classrooms or not putting anything in it, however, cannot be blamed on teachers. From school administrators up to the education department, there certainly is a pitfall in holding this incentivization process. Regulations are not even placed explicitly in their guidelines if there are any. Thus, teachers are left with no distinct benchmark of a well-maintained classroom. This confusion led to some classrooms donning unnecessary materials, hastily prompting the incumbent DepEd administration to the latest provision.
VP Indayโs scheme to โremove the decorations, things that are posted or what is written. Everythingโ looked like a makeshift solution, more than anything else, as education specialists and experts are expecting a backlash from this decision. This mandate may have attracted people who wish to advocate for educational reform by shifting the focus to the teachers, books, or activity, as Duterte reasoned out, but such sentiments just went astray from their intended objective.
Education professor and clinical psychologist Merimee Tampus-Siena remarked that an overly monotonous classroom environment is not advisable, and so is an overly decorated one. Siena, in connection, underscored the importance of these materials, seemingly comparing them to becoming a โmissing pieceโ if completely removed from the classrooms. โWeโre a part of this learning environment. And weโre not in a place where I only see four corners and walls,โ Siena said during an interview with Rappler. Researchers from Tanzania, a third-world country like the Philippines, conducted a study regarding the effects of visual aids in enhancing the teaching and learning process. Guided by the tenets of B.F. Skinnerโs instructional theory, the findings nod in approval to the positive effects of visual aids, which are said to simplify the concepts taught in classrooms.
๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐-๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐: ๐ข๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐
VP Saraโs DepEd may have gotten out of the glaring eyes of the general public, most of whom are her blind supporters, but not with the receiving end of the torments she and her department inflictedโ the preschool, visually-dependent, and special education learners. Collectively, these students require special treatment in regard to their learning, including the need to have these visual materials posted in their learning hubs. Ms. Jahaziel Guinto, a Kindergarten teacher from Pinagbuhatan Elementary School is straight to say that these materials are not distractions. She reasoned that these materials sparked excitement among students, furthering that they have enough already of these visual aids when they go regularly to school. A dissertation by Grace Rebecca Jones investigated the use of visual aids for children with Autism Spectrum disorder in classrooms in Dublin, Ireland. Their teachers unanimously remarked that they have significantly improved their skills and knowledge by having their visual aids with them.
This, in return, invalidates VP Saraโs assertion that teachers must be the โmost important visual aid in the entire classroom.โ Although it sounds promising and groundbreaking, Filipino teachers have already suffered for the longest time and this idea of shifting the entire foundation of learning to our educators requires more resources than anyone would imagine.
๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ฑ: ๐ช๐ฎ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ โ๐ช๐ฎ๐น๐น๐โ
Albeit not invalidating the entire problem of these โbareโ walls, this seems to have been regarded as both the โleading placeโ and โdistractionโ to other issues in which DepEd is their firestarter. The former is best explained in Saraโs state of leadership in DepEd. Her outright incompetence and indifference to the complexity of the education department, as reflected in the issues affecting teachers, students, and other stakeholders, led to this mandate at hand. The absurdity of Department Order No. 21โs provision about the removal of learning materials on walls will not be the last straw of Saraโs ineptitude but rather a saddening showcaseโ and even a forecastโ of how DepEd will run for five more years: one that is self-serving, insensitive, and immune to public criticism.
Graphics | Chyrrin Avielle Dizon
References:
ANC 24/7. (2023, August 18). Sara Duterte orders classrooms to be stripped of decors | ANC [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_BK_nkvjg8
Cruz, J. P. (2023, August 30). Will bare walls help students learn? Itโs for teachers to say โ specialists. RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/nation/experts-reactions-department-education-sara-duterte-order-bare-classroom-walls/
Duterte, S. (2023, August 3). 2023 Brigada Eskwela Implementing Guidelines [Memorandum]. Department of Education.https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/DO_s2023_021.pdf
Jones, G. (2014). The use of visual aids for children with autism in preschool settings: A teacherโs perspective [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Dublin Business School.
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