AMID challenges in delivering education during the Covid-19 pandemic that forced the Department of Education (DepEd) to implement distance learning modalities, Teach for the Philippines (TFP) Teacher Fellow Juvhan Rebangcos accepted the deployment opportunity from TFP to travel to Negros Occidental in 2020.

Primarily, adapting and responding to Covid-19 protocols and restrictions were obstacles that TFP and other teacher fellows had to overcome, but he was grateful for TFP’s efforts to ensure their physical and mental well-being and the support from local government units (LGUs) by accommodating them in bringing education services to learners.

“Education changed because of the pandemic — we were used to having children in schools to learn, but we are not able to see what happens in their homes and how they learn under these circumstances. I really had to practice empathy, not just with the students but also with their parents, relatives or whomever they were with,” Rebangcos said.

He noted that this shift in learning delivery made him understand that effective teaching is a product of parents’ and guardians’ support for students’ education and properly communicating instructions to learners and their families for the school lessons and tasks.

“Practicing empathy was the first step in addressing the challenge of distance learning. I have to understand where my students are coming from — their situation at home, their ability to access technology, education [as] I also had to consider contextualizing how to get my point across in a way that will work in their circumstances. I had to continuously innovate ideas to ensure that they understand what I am teaching,” the TFP teacher fellow added.

He said that the language barrier was also another challenge he had to overcome, but recognized that it is his responsibility to learn the language and that he was lucky to have the support of the community and he was able to get more acquainted with the local language in less than a year.

Rebangcos emphasized that education is not only an individual effort of delivering learning but relies on the power of collective action.

“Teachers are modern-day heroes, but it is not just a singular effort. Teaching a child is a collective effort to work with parents and village officials, and tap my own network to maximize what I can do as a teacher in the context of a pandemic,” he said.

Despite the challenges to deliver learning to students, he recalled a fulfilling experience in how he was able to see students’ development in terms of literacy and numeracy and seeing their happy smiles after a hard day’s work.

Prior to being a teacher fellow for TFP, Rebangcos was a practicing engineer for five years after graduating from De La Salle University. He said that he has always been passionate about teaching and seeing others grow and learn which led him to this path.

“During those five years as an engineer, what I really liked the most about my job is being able to teach, being able to share knowledge, and help people understand. When I had that eureka moment, I wanted to explore teaching and I saw a post from Teach for the Philippines and learned about the Fellowship program,” he reminisced.

Teach for the Philippines is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, continuing its advocacy to improve the local education system and bring inspiration and impact to children.

The two-year Fellowship Program of TFP will open its application for the 2023 Cohort by October 5 this year, in line with the celebration of World National Teachers’ Month, and will run until April or May 2023.

“When I was still applying as a teacher fellow, I saw a sign in TFP’s office that said, ‘Education is everyone’s responsibility’ and that sparked something in me. Entering the fellowship program and actually finishing it unboxed what that meant for me. It opened my eyes to the realities of the education sector. Regardless of your background, as long as you have that passion, drive and commitment to serve the greater good, you can do something to help the learners,” Rebangcos said, inviting others to apply for the 2023 Cohort as Teacher Fellows and bring impact to the lives of the students.

He recently joined TFP as a data and assessment associate where he will be working on ensuring that their projects are relevant to their stakeholders and promoting a data culture in the organization.