by Kyle Andre Caber
Do you ever wonder how challenging it is for a SpEd teacher to teach their students online during enhanced community quarantine (ECQ)? Jonellyn Elzbeth Buenaventura is a public school SpEd (Special Education) teacher, who shifted to online classes due in light of the implementation of ECQ.
Before COVID-19 came into the picture, and before ECQ has been applied, Buenaventura would arrive at school ahead of time to clean the classroom and prepare the activity sheets and materials needed for the day. But when ECQ has started, classes were shifted online since and face-to-face classes were no longer possible.
She is now working from home, messaging her student’s parents, and communicating regarding her student’s requirements and classes.
It is quite challenging for Buenaventura for she has no proper workspace to conduct her classes. She always wakes up early due to her past time management, “it’s a routine for me to wake up early” she said. Missing her chairs, tables and the smell of her room while looking at the smiles of her students is the big thing for her, but thanks to the internet she was able to keep in contact with her students, though it is very unfortunate that others do not have access to the internet. For those who do not have an internet connection, she communicates with the parents through SMS or phone call. She sends activities for the students to work on while also staying at their respective homes.
There are advantages to working from homes, such as being able to handle and manage her own time for which she is very thankful for and being able to spend quality time with her family and loved ones. She is also able to spend time with herself and do things that she wasn’t able to enjoy because of her busy schedule before. “Now I have time to bake a cake and do more cooking” she confides. However, there are also disadvantages to this new set-up such as not having sufficient engagement with her students which is very important, given that she is a SpEd teacher, and her students may be deaf, autistic, or has intellectual disability.
Giving lectures through video calls and sometimes using sign languages to communicate is proving to be a struggle as some of her students do not have stable internet connection so there’s a tendency that the video may lag which may hamper the learning process of her students. Her work environment as well as the home environment of the students may also pose a challenge and not be conducive for learning as it may be very hot compared to their regular classroom which has air conditioning.
“I miss seeing my student’s smiles while singing together. Every time I tell them stories they are always smiling and responding with some questions. I’m glad that they are interacting with each other and making them happy is my happiness too” she said. Working from home as a SpEd teacher is somewhat nice but also the top priority is to teach the children with disabilities properly through face-to-face classes. “I hope that the spread of the virus will soon stop so that everything will be back to normal again,” Buenaventura concludes.
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