TES: Where it is now, where it needs to go

Teachers should spend more time on instruction. Children should be given enough time for reading comprehension so that they can easily learn, read and understand what they are reading. Teacher training is also key to quality education.

These were just some of the highlights of the evaluation conducted by faculty members and students of the Tanapag Elementary School in assessing the school’s strengths and weaknesses.

The results of the Tanapag Elementary School evaluation were presented Thursday during a Public School System presentation of the Student Academic Achievement report at the Taga Room of the Aqua Resort Club.

In its mission to achieve more quality education and a conducive learning environment, Tanapag Elementary School principal Frances Ulloa said the workshop gave them a clearer picture of how the school should go about student learning, which she believes has been taken for granted.

“But now going through the data gives us the picture of what our weaknesses are and where do we need to go from here,” she said.

In coming up with the school’s strengths and weaknesses, the school’s teachers and students gave inputs on the current situation they have observed, as well as the recommendations and suggestions that they believe would help them achieve better learning.

One commonly shared point was that adequate teacher training is key to quality education. Teachers from Tanapag said that trainings will definitely enhance and improve the quality of how they impart knowledge to students.

“This will not only upgrade our knowledge but improve our teaching skills,” they said.

TES faculty also saw a weakness in teaching strategies. It was observed that teaching strategies should be improved to achieve a more effective learning process between the teachers and the students. More training and workshop should be included in their program for the year.

Other groups focused on classroom management and maintenance because to them learning is positive when the environment is conducive to learning.

They also discussed the time that teachers spend teaching students and a possible writers’ workshops for students. Elementary students who participated in Thursday’s presentation expressed interest in the writing workshop because they believe this will enhance their writing abilities and skills, if not their talents in writing.

The teachers also pointed out that the school’s learning resources are inadequate. They said resources allocation such as computers and audio-visual equipment can enhance student learning, and should also be provided.

The report will serve as a guide to TES’s actions and decisions in accordance with standard-based instruction, particularly since TES is up for accreditation with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges this year.

Ulloa said she was satisfied with the recommendations of the teachers and students. “That’s why I’m alerting them now. I want them to be prepared because these are ideas coming from them,” she said. “They are going to be held accountable for what they suggested. My role here is to support and make sure that the professional development that they are asking for is going to be provided for them.

Public School System associate commissioner Rita Sablan and the Curriculum and Instruction Assessment staff facilitated the workshop.