In the continuous pursuit of providing the best possible learning while still prioritizing everyone’s safety from the current pandemic situation, a Virtual Parents’ Congress was held last July 10, 2020; catering to two sessions (one at the morning and another batch for an afternoon session) with the main focus about “Understanding Distance Learning in the New Normal”.
Building a strong connection with students and parents has always been what Batangas Eastern Colleges aims to deliver. And through the years, annual Parent’s Congress was held at the BEC gymnasium to provide the necessary information and academic support aligned with the fundamental efforts to present the school policies ensuring the quality education for their children. However, this year’s Parent’s Congress has been shifted online with Pastor Jeff Eliscupidez as guest speaker. Even though in a virtual sense, the entire BEC community (parents, students, and teachers) may still come together with the hopes to overcome the challenging times.
Parental Involvement in the “New Normal” of Learning
Adapting to the “new normal” is something that every one of us has recently been struggling and battling about. No one had imagined, that in a twinkling of an eye, the world will change – our lifestyle and everything we used to know. We are indeed caught off guard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Kaya naman, this is something that all of us make a choice which is to adapt or mag-papaiwan po ba tayo?” says Pastor Jeff Eliscupidez
(Speaker for the K to 12 Department’s Virtual Parent’s Congress of S.Y. 2020 – 2021)
With the pandemic happening and affecting many around the world, it is quite understandable for parents to have the desire to test the waters; whether if they should enroll their children for this school year or not. The defining academic outcomes that parents have for their kids are drawn primarily to the contextual factors correlational with their children’s future. As such, the desired outcomes they hope starting from the very moment their child was born were to finish school, get a high-paying job, and overall succeed in life. Hence, creating a notion for parents to establish the goal for their kids as simply put “So you can make it in life”.
According to Pastor Eliscupidez, being successful is indeed one thing to aspire for, however, it must be balanced. In fact, it is NOT ONLY THE ONE THING parents should aspire for their children. Yes, being successful in life is indeed a great goal. But then again, what is the defining point for the word “it“? What type of standard meets that particular goal wherein you can say your child has indeed made it in life? It is pretty easy to be infected by the world’s criticizing eye where people tend to find fault or denounce other people’s worth; equating their success based on their ability to earn money. And relatively, that is what makes “it” quite a problem – creating a sense of discontentment and a never-ending pursuit for what a person considers as the “it” for their goal in life.
Parental involvement in a child’s learning is a great contributing factor in establishing their life’s purpose. As parents, we must be careful about what we encourage our children to pursue. At times, parents tend to motivate their children to aim for competence and as a consequence, forgetting the importance of character. That is why before anything else while being driven by the desire to seek a higher sense of purpose, we need to know how to fix first the heart. Parents need to be careful in setting their children’s goals and life purpose.
The Heart of Parenting
What is the greatest challenge for parents today? We have a role to play towards child development as a learner, as a responsible citizen, and as a believer of Christ. And the ability to play that part is being tested during this pandemic.
“Being a Provider is good, but that is not the totality of being a Parent”
– Pastor Jeff
According to Pastor Jeff, the parents’ job description is categorized into three: Builders, Watchmen, and Providers. These are validated through the actions and way of thinking developed into your child’s character.
More than being builders of your child’s bio-data and motivating them to build their fortune, parents should be “Builders” of:
- Spiritual Foundation
- Relationships (Connection and Affirmation between Parent and Child)
- Character (Who You Are When No One is Watching)
- Good Memories
Parents are also the so-called “Watchmen” for any imminent danger that may befall on their child’s path. To do so, you must use the following senses:
- Sense of Sight (How do you see your children?)
- Hearing (Do you hear them out with compassion?)
- Voice (What are they saying? Be reminded that the mouth speaks what the heart feels)
Lastly, parents should not be caught up with their role as “Providers”. We must learn to never sacrifice the family at the altar of success. Don’t allow the pursuit for any achievement to hinder the joy of the people you love. By putting these lessons into practice we can produce the younger generation with skills and significantly, someone with integrity of the heart.
Batangas Eastern Colleges, in partnership with DIWA Learning System, is ready for the latest education trend. However, what makes the combination complete is by having parents as partners hand-in-hand in guiding their children as an extension of the school. With the transition to online learning, we have to learn how to embrace the new norm while being guided with these three components. By doing so, parents can acquire the right perspective in motivating and encouraging the children most especially during this time of the pandemic. And therefore obtain a clear understanding of distance learning at its fullest potential.
To know more about Pastor Jeff Eliscupidez, you can visit www.pastorjeff.ph and get a dose of inspiration, motivational messages, and counseling.
