Module 4
Analyze and Apply Activity
Reflection Paper
10 points
The year of 2020 felt like opening the Pandora’s box. Tumultuous and
devastating events occurred one after the other. From local disasters such as
Taal eruption to global COVID-19 pandemic, our lives had been radically and
drastically affected. My life has never been the same especially when COVID-
19 happened. But like what Anna and Olaf said in Frozen 2 (2019), some
things never change just like how social institutions continuously influence
our daily lives even if majority of our lives are situated in the comfort of our
homes.
One of the social institutions that greatly shapes who I am today
secondary to family is education. In fact, I realized that majority of my
existence is being a student since I have been schooling for 16 years. Before
the pandemic, I used to attend my classes in the humid rooms of Palma Hall
and Benitez Hall wherein, I could interact with my professors and hang out
with my classmates and friends face to face. Now, my classrooms are inside
my gadgets in the form of Google Classroom and Drive, ZOOM, and UVLé.
Interactions are limited to emails and messaging apps. Indeed, this shift to
remote and online mode of learning seems unthinkable at first; however, as
the COVID-19 cases spikes and community quarantine are prolonged, we
must traverse this unfamiliar territory of education. Consequently, educators
must condense the essentials of their subject matter and students should
learn to facilitate their own learning. Nonetheless, this change of educational
landscape comes with a compromise and a cost- the worsening of
preexisting inequalities concerning accessibility and quality of our
educational system.
For example, nearly 3 million Filipino children and youth have dropped
out of school according to the data of DepEd regarding enrollment
(Agoncillo,2020). It is easy to regard this just mere statistics, but it is
significant to realize that behind these numbers are real children who have
been deprived of their right for education. As for those who are privileged
enough to continue their education, worsening mental health become their
realities. In a study conducted by Rochas and Cleofas (2021), they found out
that majority of the students had high levels of disease and consequence
related COVID-19 anxiety in which consequence related COVID-19 anxieties
are commonly about educational needs such as gadgets and internet
connectivity. Furthermore, these hardships are not limited to students but
experienced by the teachers themselves. Sadly, instead of support and aid,
the government had done nothing but exacerbates the bleak situation of
online education.
By and large, government holds probably the most power among other
social institutions. Before this health crisis, I perceived the influence of
government in my life in the long agonizing commute I must face everyday
when going to UP campus. Then, COVID-19 happened. It becomes evidently
clear to me how powerful government is as I personally feel its influence
permeates beyond the public sphere but even in the private realm of family.
When the COVID-19 statistics became a loved one or when the economic loss
turned into an unemployed relative, fear and anxiety flooded our family and
home. Therefore, the inefficiencies of the COVID-19 response of the
Philippine government such as the late closing of borders at the initial phase
of the pandemic brought rippling effects to other social institutions such as
education and family.
Overall, the global health crisis brought by COVID-19 pandemic forces
us to face the harsh reality that we are interconnected as humans and
societies no matter how much we distinguish ourselves from one another.
Therefore, I personally believe that navigating through this crisis also
requires us to rethink of our old paradigms about individual and the social
institutions that shapes every aspect of our individualities. But one thing is
certain, change is needed in our social institutions for the better.
Bibliography
Agoncillo, Jodee A. 2020. “Enrollment Drops More than 25%.” [Link].
Retrieved May 14, 2021
([Link]
Buck, Chris and Jennifer Lee. 2019. Frozen 2. Disney.
Cleofas, Jerome V. and Ian Christopher N. Rocha. 2021. “Demographic,
Gadget and Internet Profiles as Determinants of Disease and
Consequence Related COVID-19 Anxiety among Filipino College
Students.” Education and Information Technologies. Retrieved May 14,
2021 ([Link]
Rubric for Grading
Category Description Max Student Score
Score
Quality of Information clearly 4
Informati relates to the main topic
on and adds new concepts,
information. It includes
several supporting
details and/or examples.
Consistently establishes
source documentation
for ideas.
Quality of Enhances the critical 4
Reflection thinking process
s Shared consistently through
reflection and
questioning of self and
others; is a quality
response that advances
thoughts forward;
furthers discussion by
contributing new points
of engagement or
alternative ways of
looking at things.
Professio Professional vocabulary, 2
nal writing style, and
Language references are used
consistently throughout
the discussion.
Total
Additional Comments, if any: