Teachers honored for going beyond call of duty

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu City Council has acknowledged teachers for going above and beyond their call of duty amid the restriction of face-to-face classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The council said it expressed its support and utmost gratitude to the city’s teachers in all levels.

“This Sanggunian would like to express our utmost gratitude to our selfless and seeming tireless educators who have remained dedicated, passionate and committed in delivering education to our youth despite the countless odds,” read the resolution sponsored by Councilor Jessica Resch.

Resch is the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation president.

She said the city government should do all possible ways to assist the teachers in mitigating learning gaps by giving the necessary support in the form of additional funding, equipment, reliable internet service, and transportation, among others, and by pushing for legislative measures that will protect their rights and provide for their needs.

“This pandemic has given all of us a full view of how vital our teachers are, and that their role in nation-building is not just something that is often said but given no concrete meaning — the people now know and acknowledge that the quality of our children’s education and how learned our children would become depends largely on the ability and qualification of the teaching staff. Hence, this sector must be given our fullest support,” said Resch.

Resch said the teachers have gone above and beyond the call of duty to fill in the gaps of the system, finding solutions for remote teaching even as far as exposing themselves to the dangers of the pandemic to get a better internet signal, distribute learning materials, and visit students who are having difficulties with the current learning set-up.

“All while having the singular goal of making sure that education continues and its quality is uncompromised despite a seemingly unfamiliar set-up,” she added.

She stressed that teachers continue to play a significant role amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Resch said with education being severely impacted by the crisis, the educators showed leadership and developed ways to create a new learning environment for their students.

She added they even formulated ways to ensure that no student will be left behind while education in the country continues. — KQD (FREEMAN)