A teacher shares the joy of learning through the Knowledge Channel Portable Media Library (PHOTO FROM DEPED TAYO SULTAN KUDARAT)The kids are back! On Aug. 22, we witnessed the reopening of classes and the official resumption of the in-person learning modality that we know of before the pandemic. The sight of pupils wearing their uniforms (though no longer required) and backpacks, with their fresh and excited faces, is really a delight to behold.

At last, with face-to-face schooling, our Filipino students will again be able to reap the benefits of in-person interaction with peers and teachers and its positive impacts on their emotional and cognitive development. They now get to receive the wide array of mental health, psychosocial support and health and nutrition services offered by schools. And, in general, there is a higher probability of experiencing continuous basic competency development and better quality of learning.

We acknowledge that the educational system in the Philippines still needs to work on a lot of things, and the support of everyone, not only the Department of Education, is needed in these times. The Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. (KCFI) is one among the various education stakeholders advocating and actively engaged in improving the quality of education.

We have taken several initiatives that could help in addressing the quality of education in the country and in ensuring that no child is left behind. KCFI does not only focus on the production and broadcast of educational television programs, but it also seeks to provide and create a holistic environment for learning by way of providing training and distributing learning resources wherever and whenever possible.

Just recently, KCFI teamed up with BDO Unibank Foundation and Huawei Philippines in facilitating a three-day online training, to equip teachers and principals with new pedagogies utilizing media and technology, for 100 schools nationwide through Knowledge Channel Teaching in the New Normal or KC TINN. This partnership includes the development of five video lessons on Grade 1 mathematics for teaching and learning early numeracy.

Our video lessons always receive positive feedback from our intended beneficiaries and have been utilized as essential tools in the learning experiences of students coming from far-flung and remote provinces. The “Kabayo ni Juan” program of the teachers from Sultan Kudarat featured the use of various learning resources, such as the Knowledge Channel Portable Media Library or KC PML (see story on page 6).

But we do acknowledge that what happens in the classrooms is only one side of the equation. After-class activities and parental support play an essential but underrated role in instilling the right attitude towards learning. Prof. Randy David of the University of the Philippines said that one of the most important societal factors in the shaping of learning outcomes is the state of our families.

That is why we in Knowledge Channel have been advocating early childhood development (ECD) programs and initiatives geared toward raising the capability of childcare providers in being able to complement the learning setup provided by schools. We are focused on two key stages: primary grade learning (kinder to Grade 3 or the 5–8-year-olds) and ECD (0–4-year-olds). We specifically embarked on a five-year program called “Basa Bilang,” which is the development of hundreds of video lessons in early language literacy and numeracy from Grades 1 to 3.

We ask for your support in our relentless pursuit of transformational learning to bring quality education to the country.

Every school year is an opportunity to recover, reset and reorient. Knowledge Channel is here to stay even back at square one, leaving no Filipino child behind.

Donate to Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. Message This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or liberty.reyes@knowledgechannel. org, call or text 0915-980-3474 or visit www.knowledgechannel. org. Through your donation, we can produce more curriculumbased video lessons, train and mentor teachers and other care providersof children, and provide our video resources to schools and community learning centers. Join us and volunteer in KCFI to help in fundraising, content writing, checking, video production, etc. (Story/Photos by: Rina Lopez)