The Education students' FS saga

Education students are the future teachers of society. But are they up to the challenges of teaching? How will they handle a class of 70 to 80 students when they’ll teach in public schools? Can they make their class interesting given the limited resources?

The training before
Education students before are oblivious to what awaits them in the actual field of teaching, owing perhaps to the fact that their training gives them little opportunity to see the realities of teaching.

Like cloistered monks whose lives are devoted to a life of prayer inside the monastery, education students spend most of their training inside the comfortable confines of the classroom, learning different principles and strategies of teaching.

Like cloistered monks who have shunned the world of men, education students only have an iota of knowledge on the real world of teaching—a world fraught with unexpected twists and turns.

But that was before Field Study (FS) came into the fore.

Enter Field Study
FS is an extended practicum program spearheaded by Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM), a project initiated by the Department of Education (DepEd). BEAM is jointly funded by the Philippine Government and the Australian Government through a grant of AUD$36 million from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), according to BEAM’s website.

The entire FS program comprises six stages: FS 1: Learner’s Development and the School Environment; FS 2: Classroom Management Skills in the Teaching and Learning Process; FS 3: Micro-teaching and Use of Technology; FS 4: Team Teaching: Exploring the Curriculum; FS 5: Learning Assessment Strategies; FS 6: On Becoming a Teacher.

FS is one of the major activities of BEAM’s Pre-service Teacher Training in which future teachers, while they are still having their training in Teacher Education Institution (TEI), are already deployed to different schools, especially public schools, either to observe or to practice teaching, depending on what particular stage of FS they are in.

This model, according to BEAM’s website, is consistent with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memo. Order 30, s. 2004, which says, “the deployment of student teachers should begin in second year rather than in their fourth year.” The institution of FS aims to give opportunity to future teachers “to more fully develop their teaching skills through a developmental and sequential approach.”

The FS experience
At first, Education students were clueless what FS is all about. It was as strange to the Education student as Coca-Cola was to Xi, the playful character in the film “Gods Must Be Crazy.” What they knew was that FS is just one of the new subjects in the Education Program’s BEAM Curriculum.

“Prior to enrolling FS, I do not have any idea of what it is all about and what am I going to do in this course,” said Mark Jason Diaz, a senior BSED-Social Studies student.

So when the first batch of FS students, half-jestingly called “The Experimental Batch,” was deployed to their cooperating schools—Bangoy National High School, Sta. Ana National High School, Davao City National High School, etc.—it was only then that they discovered what FS is like. And succeeding batches of FS students soon realized that FS offers opportunities like never before. Some find it exciting. Others find it enriching. Still others find it enlightening.

“Having the FS on the field was a very exciting one,” said Mark Jason Diaz who is now on his FS 5 & FS 6. “I got to meet other people with different personalities.”

Lou Tarranza, a senior BSED-English student, recalled how the members of the school community cordially received them. “I was amazed with the ambiance. The teachers were very approachable and at the same time, I really appreciate their hospitality,” Tarranza said.

Problems, problems
But everything does not always go well for the FS students. Among the problems they experience is how to balance their limited time. It is even doubly difficult for working students. “Being a student assistant,” Mark Jason Diaz said, “it’s really difficult since I need to make some adjustment on my duty hours so that if would fit my FS schedule.”
Though not a working student, Ismael Oledan, a senior BSED-Social Studies student, also experienced juggling between his class schedule and FS. “One of the difficulties I encountered while I was having my FS was how to manage my time between FS and my class schedule,” Oledan said.

Other sources of complaints are the requirements: Portfolios, Lesson plans, FS manuals, visual aids and a host of other requirements. And accomplishing them just eats a great deal of their time, including their precious time for sleep. “We sacrifice many sleepless nights just to finish them,” said Ginalyn Vistal, a senior BSED-English student. “It is really a burden on my part as a student because I also have major subjects, which are equally taxing.”

Not for the faint-hearted
But then, “These are the times that try men’s souls,” said Thomas Paine centuries ago. He was of course referring to the tumultuous times of the American Revolution. But the saying applies as well to the times when Education students are struggling to finish their FS.

Frankly, teaching is not for the faint-hearted. Only those who have the right blend of passion, commitment, altruism and competence can survive in this, well, unglamorous profession. That is why FS is there to expose future teachers as early as possible to the realities of teaching, so it would make them ponder whether they have chosen the right profession or if they deserve to be a teacher to begin with.

Call it a hassle or anything, but no doubt FS taught Education students valuable lessons— lessons they can apply in the actual field of teaching. “In FS, I learned that patience is indeed a virtue,” said Jidelyn Lobino, a senior BSED-Physical Science student. “Some learners are really hard to handle, but keeping your composure and controlling your emotions really help a lot. Patience helps you to not get disappointed of yourself.”

‘Crossing the Rubicon’
“Despite the difficulties, FS courses had given me a lot of learning experiences that I could surely apply once I become a full-fledged teacher,” said Jed I. Bete, a graduating BSED-Social Studies student. “Through FS, I was able to experience and witness the real scenarios in the world of ‘public education’. I also came into a realization that in teaching, it’s good to be idealistic. However, it is better to be realistic.”

Having gone through all the six FS courses, Jed I. Bete knows whereof he speaks. Asked if he was dissuaded by the sorry state of ‘public education’ and of the teachers in the Philippines, Bete replied in the negative. In fact, he is “even more encouraged to fulfill” his dream of becoming a teacher, which will be a dream no more as he will graduate this March 2009.

“Despite those terrible realities,” Bete said, “I still believe that there is happiness and satisfaction in the profession of teaching. Aside from that, being an agent of change, I know I am needed not only by my future students, but also by the society at large. How could I introduce change to the system? I am crossing the Rubicon. I am becoming a teacher.”