Classroom Management and Child Friendly School System Essay

I. Background The Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other minor agencies works in collaboration to attain the goal in implementing the Child Friendly School System (CFSS) in connection to the protection of children in school. Their aim is to protect the pupil in all aspect of abuses whether it is from peers, parents, community and even from cruel teachers. Protect the child from physical, mental, emotional and verbal abuse. DepEd Memorandum No. 73, s. 2006 dated February 28, 2006 mandated the program of the Child-Friendly School System. Trainings were done afterwards to fully grasped the aims of the system. DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012 was re-polished and mandated the Child Protection Policies and Guidelines on protecting school children to any form of abuse, such as violence, exploitation, discrimination, bullying, and the like with the full support of Secretary Bro. Armin A. Luistro, FSC. In connection to this, Presidential Decree 603 of the Child and Youth Welfare Code, was passed last 1974, and still adopted until now which further supplements that our Philippine government supports the goal of the following agencies to ensure children’s safeties and guarantees that the rights of the children are properly impose by all men and that the children enjoys every rights they have. However, this DepEd Order, Memorandum and Proclamations were one or another misinterpreted, overused and misused. There were problems met along the way especially in the relationship of the teacher-pupil-stakeholders. These mandate also put a â€Å"wall† between them which seemingly affects the teaching-learning process inside the classroom. II. Statement of the Problem Studies show that the children now a day have short attention span than of those children in the ninetieth century and below. Children’s behavior and discipline is one major problem of teachers. Classroom management’s affectivity will only last in a short period too. Why is it so? Does DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012, DepEd Memorandum No. 73, s. 2006 and Presidential Decree 603 has great impact to children’s misbehaviors? How agencies promoting child’s protection do affect the classroom management? If there were loopholes in the guidelines and policies, how will the teacher implement discipline without violating any rules? III. Review Related Literature (RRL) †¢ Bible (Proverbs 3:11; Proverbs13:24; Proverbs 23:12-13) †¢ â€Å" Towards A Child –Friendly Education Environment†, PWU-CWC-UNICEF for Plan Philippines in 2009 †¢ Family Code †¢ Presidential Decree 603 †¢ DepEd Memorandum no. 73, s. 2006 †¢ DepEd Order no. 40, s. 2012 IV. Discussion & Analysis The oldest book in the world and the most reliable one is the Bible. The book also expressed the issue about disciplining children. It was written in the scriptures in Proverbs 3:11; 13:24; 23:12-13, it said that parents should not spare the rod when giving discipline so that children will know that they have done wrong and that every misconduct they have committed there is always a punishment for it. The Bible also teaches us to disciple our children in order for them to choose the correct values which eventually mold them as they grow. As our government supports the anti child abuse laws, there were pros and cons to this issue. Disciplinarians didn’t agree such provisions because it makes a child brat, selfish and disrespectful. When Filipinos embraced the western culture, our new generation changes their way of life. Filipino values were deteriorating. Eventually, teachers to this extent, have hard time in managing their pupils in the classroom. Here are the questions asked to the respondents done in random, regarding the issue for the purpose of gathering data, information and insights: 1. What do you think of the Child Friendly School System program of the Department of Education? 2. How will you access the reliability of the Child Protection Law? How about the Juvenile Delinquent? 3. Are you amenable in respecting the rights of the child? Why? 4. What is your point of view in disciplining a child? 5. Being a parent/teacher, how would you like to discipline a child? 6. Do you think there is a need to discipline a child with a â€Å"rod† in order to have good learning? Why? Traditional educators were not sold out to this because they said and have experienced that teaching children is never without punishment. Punishment became an option to pupils who doesn’t want to learn and follow instruction as well. As to Modern educators, learning among children is easier if done with fun. Both generations of educators have one common goal; to teach the children to learn and mold them to become a good citizen of the country and eventually to the world. But what is happening to our society today? Why even young kids were involved in crimes? Does the Department of Education have to do with it? If so, In what area of learning and molding does educators failed? Are educators solely to blame? In some area, YES! Here are some possible reasons: 1) Maybe because values taught did not penetrate deeply to the conscience of their pupils. 2) Maybe because teachers are just teaching the subject for the sake of teaching the subject. or †¦. 3) Maybe because the teacher himself is not an effective values teacher. Can we also blame the parents? For a great reason, YES! A child learns his entire â€Å"first† at home. First word, first vocabulary, first love, trust and respect, and the like. Parents’ genes run through in the blood of the child too. Therefore, parents must take their part to sustain the good learning of their children. Because surveys found out that home environment has a great impact to the child’s values formation and how they create their out look in life. In molding the child, parents, teachers, and as well as the government would definitely take part in molding the child. But of all the collaboration, why are children hard to handle in the classroom? Why does teachers keeps on finding ways and means, apply learning styles and strategies to manage the pupils in the classroom? To the point that if the teachers cannot handle them longer, even to the extended patience, teachers will rather choose to just sit down and wait for dismissal than to reprimand, â€Å"punish† and discipline the learners. Teachers don’t mind anymore bad attitudes of the pupils instead of disciplining then because of the child-friendly system. Why is it so? Parents now are concern more on how much money they can get/ask for moral damage if their child were scolded instead of working together to show respect to authority. That’s why teachers push themselves away to manage the classroom because of this kind of situations. But in fairness to parents, they are only protecting their children in this case because there were instances of abuses done by teachers or in the school premises. Here are samples of abuses: A. physical, verbal and sexual abuse and violence inflicted by Teachers & Other School Personnel: a. 3 out of 10 children in Grades 1-3 and almost 5 out of 10 from high school experience physical violence (such as pinching and hitting) committed by teachers; b. Approximately 4 out of 10 children in Grades 1-3 and 7 out of 10 in higher grade levels have complained of verbal abuse by their teachers; c. 36.53 % of children in Grades 4-6 and 42. 88% of high school students surveyed indicated they have experienced verbal sexual violence in school and 11.95% of children in Grades 4-6 and 17.60% of high school students have experienced inappropriate touching. B. Physical, Verbal and Sexual Abuse and Violence Among Children , (i.e. Bullying, etc.) a. 73.58% of children in Grades 4-6 and 78.36% in high school surveyed in urban areas have suffered verbal abuse violence from their peers; b. 30.17% of children in Grades 4-6 and 37.57% in high school surveyed in rural areas have experienced physical abuse or violence committed by their peers; c. 26.74% of children in Grades 4-6 and43. 71% in high school in urban areas surveyed have experienced verbal sexual abuse committed by their peers and9.65% of Grades 4-6 and 17.71 of high school students experienced inappropriate touching. †¢Source: â€Å" Towards A Child –Friendly Education Environment†, PWU-CWC-UNICEF for Plan Philippines in 2009 Who would want to experience such abuse? Nobody! So, with these trending phenomenons, as parents, the safety of their children is a must before preventing it to happen to them. With regards to teachers, cruel teachers, are now aware of their conducts inside the classroom or in the school premises and also in the style of disciplining their pupils. Even community today, is concern of these laws that surely helps it become possible. It is all known to men that every law made are for the benefits and the good of the concerned, and yet, there is no perfect law except the law of the Lord written in the Holy Bible. Hence, here are some good side of this Child Protection Law and the Child Friendly School System: 1. abuses among school children are minimize; 2. bullying were controlled; 3. everybody, especially the media are concern of the rights and privileges of the child which was not given emphasis before; and 4. Parents are comfortable enough that their children are covered by the government through pursuing the laws. As part of the saying â€Å"†¦there is no perfect law†¦Ã¢â‚¬  there are also loopholes in these provisions which unknowingly created bad outcomes and new problems in the implementation, such as: 1. created ill-mannered pupils/less values/misconducts; 2. teachers were abused by the parents and not respected by children and even the community; 3. privacy of teachers were not kept; 4. biblical quotes in imposing discipline were neglected; and the worst, 5. teachers seems to detached themselves in the very purpose of why they are teaching children in their classroom to avoid conflicts and cases filed against them in the long run. With this kind of attitude among teachers, the teaching-learning process is not delivered well. Teachers will only recognize those pupils who will follow his/her instructions. He/she will favor those who are not naughty. Teachers will no longer try the best of their ability to teach and mold young minds because they are afraid they might not control their temper and unfortunately â€Å"touched† a child, but the aim is to disciple alone, resulted conflicts and problems among him/her with the stakeholders. Because according to the law, a child is never wronged and would never tell lies. Is that so? How about children making stories, are they reliable? There are children getting involved in crimes. There are children using drugs. There are children killing children. Are these kinds of children exempted by the law? Law makers should give a second look at this. Who is wrong then? Is it the teachers? Is it the parents? Is it the Law? Everybody is after for the good and the betterment of the children, but what is happening today in the real world of learning, children now a day are hard to manage because the child friendly school system adopted and bench marked by the Department of Education from other countries’ educational project, which was supported by our Philippine government. V. Conclusions & Recommendations I strongly believe in the Holy Scripture in the teaching about disciplining our children. If we spare the rod, we tolerate their mistakes. But, we won’t hit them in such a way that it will create problem and hesitation for them to learn. Disciplining our children, our pupils, with love having the goal to let them realize their mistake and eventually regrets for doing such. No human being would like to see children suffering from any harm. No one in his good state of mind would abuse a child. Children are gifts from God so we have to nurture and give the best learning we could give in order for them to become a good citizen, with good moral values as they grow up. However, as they grow old they need to be scolded, reprimand and even be punish if needed so that they will not depart themselves in the teaching which was given to them. It will guide them to choose good over bad. I am in favor of giving punishment to school children especially in lower grades and should be carried on, because it will help them become lovers of truth and peace. BUT giving punishment should not go beyond what the law provides. Parents and teachers should work hand in hand in order to produce young minds with concern for fellow men and for the good of our country as well. I just hope that the laws and provisions in promoting the welfare of our youth and children will be overused or misinterpreted. I also hope that our government will also provide protection to teachers who were abused by the parents because there were some cases where parents are using their children to make stories against a certain teacher. Finally, classroom management is easier to handle if there is collaboration between the parents and teachers in giving JUST and FAIR punishment to the learners to assure more learning in a managed classroom learning situation.