Written by: Phoebe Carios
Visual by: Chiara Valenzuela
The geographical location of the Philippines is along the Pacific Ring of Fire which makes it one of the most hazard-prone countries in the world. About an average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines annually, five of which are usually immensely obstructive. A recent example would be Typhoon Ulysses, or Typhoon Vamco which occurred right after Typhoon Gori from late October to early November this year. Destroying thousands of properties and causing several injuries. It is considered the most fatal tropical cyclone the Philippines has ever experienced. The province of Cagayan suffered the worst flooding they have had in years, while millions of homes in the National Capital Region (NCR) experienced massive floods and power outages which, for some, lasted for days. Nonetheless, most of Luzon had to rethink their plans with the continuation of learning for students–both synchronous and asynchronous.
Parts of Marikina City were submerged in floodwater, destroying remote learning materials such as self-paced modules and other equipment, leaving remote students with little to utilize. Internet connectivity was also very unstable, immensely affecting synchronous students’ learning. Because of this, a city-wide suspension was placed on all classes in all levels in Marikina for a whole month. The local government will also consider extending the suspension period if deemed necessary. Governments in other regions differed with school suspensions in their cities depending on the amount of damage done in their respective cities. Calabarzon (Region 4-A), alongside Mimaropa (Region 4-B), suspended synchronous learning for two days encouraging students to take the time to rest, while many universities in Manila such as the University of the Philippines and the University of Santo Tomas placed a week-long suspension with their online classes. Their city officials also prompted school administrations to extend work and assessment deadlines for all students. However, some students and independent advocacy groups deemed the extensions not sensitive enough, calling out and urging schools to implement an academic freeze to allow everyone to recover from the destruction of the massive typhoon and focus on their mental health. Because many other households in Central and Southern Luzon lost their power, a hold on online classes was inevitable despite no initial plans for suspension.
The different responses to school closures highlight some of the challenges educators and students can face with both synchronous and asynchronous learning, such as coping and recovering due to the destruction that natural disasters can cause amidst distance learning.
Works Cited
“#AcademicBreakNow: Groups, Netizens Call for School Recovery Period after Typhoons.” Cnn, 2020, cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/11/16/Academic-break-now-universities-typhoon-Ulysses.html?fbclid=IwAR3BbyzXVDJcVMpPoRHD5QJZTkcGO1cKhfz1efbRI-o86oH3kKm2fbIJx0A. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.
Christia Marie Ramos. “Some Universities Suspend Classes for at Least 1 Week after Ulysses.” INQUIRER.net, Nov. 2020, newsinfo.inquirer.net/1361020/some-universities-suspend-classes-for-at-least-1-week-after-ulysses. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.
“Marikina City Suspends Classes for a Month Due to Typhoon Ulysses’ Impact.” Cnn, 2020, cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/11/16/marikina-one-month-class-suspension-ulysses.html?fbclid=IwAR0aaXQdiKWYm8XagwIThfdF_oKIf3CG2PkgUaKEgmvsUCrYknb4xXlHq7s. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.
“Philippines: Super Typhoon Goni (Rolly) and Typhoon Vamco (Ulysses) - Flash Update No. 5 (as of 17 November 2020, 9 p.m. Local Time) - Philippines.” ReliefWeb, 17 Nov. 2020, reliefweb.int/report/philippines/philippines-super-typhoon-goni-rolly-and-typhoon-vamco-ulysses-flash-update-no-5#:~:text=Region%2Dwide%20suspension%20of%20classes,injured%20and%2019%20still%20missing. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.
“Typhoon Ulysses Cuts Power to Half of Meralco Customers.” Manila Standard, 2020, manilastandard.net/mobile/article/339337#:~:text=Typhoon%20Ulysses%20lashed%20Luzon%2C%20caused,as%20of%205%20a.m.%20Thursday. Accessed 6 Dec. 2020.
Comments