Are teachers ready to go back to school after the long vacation? You really want to know the honest answers of teachers to this question, right? So here it is, as the research based on the teachers’ warm bodies may add up, most of them said NO. This is the honest answer you get if you are trying to ask based on their personal preference. But as professionals, they are bound to report to their respective schools as the need may arise during their vacation streak. Of course, this is after the uninterrupted one-month vacation. So, professionally saying, whether they like it or not, they should force themselves to be ready physically, mentally, and emotionally.
In the Philippines, teachers’ readiness in going back to school depends on different circumstances. Factors may include personal space and relaxation, professional growth and development, workload preparations, personal circumstances, and many more. We had the chance to interview some of our teachers, and most of them are not excited about the upcoming school year opening. What reasons may have prompted the teachers to feel this way?
According to them, they are duty-bound to feel the urge to prepare for the opening of the school year; however, at the same point, they are disappointed with the government. It is a fact that our teachers are still waiting for the promised increase, yet it was all in vain. This is one reason that seems to hold them back from being motivated for the opening of classes. They were promised but all the promises went down the drain. It is really evident that one individual human’s motivation is tied to the amount of compensation. In the Philippines, the poor are getting poorer, and only the rich stand out. Working people like our teachers have no reason to be motivated when they can’t feel the amount of their salary.
Another factor why our teachers seem not very eager to start the school year is the unknown future of DepEd, especially now that the current VP is resigning. Teachers have so many questions regarding their system. They are worried that new leadership will bring other adjustments that will surely affect them and the students. It is a fact that every time DepEd changes its administration, all the changes bounce back to the teachers and students. With all of the struggles, only the teachers and students are affected. Those in the higher ranks never get to share the part of the struggle.
If only the government and the Department of Education will honestly look out for their teachers and students. Teachers’ readiness needs a big motivation in order for them to fire up their enthusiasm in the upcoming Brigada Eskwela. They need more than just a promise of change; they need concrete proof to get motivated. How many decades have passed, and yet no one in the higher official ranks made changes to this urge? Most of them promised things during elections, but nothing ever happens after they sat in their positions. Is the Philippines really poor, or are there people behind pulling the rope down?
