It's been more than a year since Teacher Lyka didn't go home to her hometown.

It is a vacation of SY
2018-2019, having this opportunity to visit her home from being a mobile teacher in their region. Upon
arriving home….

Neighbor(Karen): Oh Lyka, it's good to see you here. Kamusta?

Lyka: Mabuti naman po, it is good that I have this opportunity to visit home.

Neighbor: How unfortunate noh, until this time our government still lacks in providing establishments
and supplementary educational materials. How can you even handle teaching there?

Lyka: Actually, it's not an easy yet fulfilling job, especially I chose to.

Neighbor: What grade level do you handle now?

Lyka: I am handling a multigrade class, auntie.

Karen: Multigrade? Until now, our government is not fulfilling its promises to have that proper
establishment and teaching. How can it be possible to have that, by the way?

Lyka: Auntie, the multigrade we have has started after we gained our independence. Remember,
different countries have colonized us. That was our past government methods or beginning steps for us
to educate. Sadly, we have far more goals on striving to have this progress in our educational system
until now.

Karen: Eh, how can you have that assurance you are not just doing it in your own ways? It might
because you are a licensed teacher and deploy there because school here doesn't absorb you?

Lyka: Auntie, I aimed to be a mobile teacher in the first place. Thinking that we have a lot of kababayan
who live in far-flung areas and do not have this access we have here in the city. And besides, we,
teachers, don't execute things that have not been mandated. We have this legal basis; The Multigrade
Program in Philippine Education ( MPPE) was launched in 1993 through DECS Order no. 38 then
subsequently supported by D.O. # 96 in 1997. The policy declares the construction of building in school-
less barangays where enrolment and population growth trend warrants the establishment of new
schools and to organize multigrade classes to offer complete elementary education. We hope that in
coming years, it will fully be accomplished nationwide.

Karen: Oh, well, it is only a department order? Not an act?

Lyka: Ah, all the educational legal bases were anchored or related in 1987 Philippine Constitution, the
right of all citizens to quality education at all levels was protected. Likewise, it declared that the State
shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all. The preceding legal provision
instituted the State to take necessary steps in giving equal chances to all learners to quality education,
using any method available and convenient including multigrade education.

Lyka: In addition, auntie, with the implementation of RA 10533 known as the Enhanced Basic Education
Act in 2013, the State affirmed its commitment that every graduate of basic education shall be an
empowered individual who has learned , through a program that is rooted to sound education principles
and geared toward excellence, the foundation for learning throughout life, the competence to engage in
work and be productive, the ability to coexist in fruitful harmony with local and global communities, the
capability to be involved in autonomous and creative and critical thinking, and the capacity and
willingness to transform others and oneself.

Why, auntie, do you have a plan to enter your son in law school?

Karen: Maybe, whatever he likes. I hope that we can provide that. Education field can be good, though.

Joanna: I want to excuse myself, I also want to share about the legal bases of multi grade education:

1.DO 96,s. 1997-policies and guidelines in the organization and operation of multi-grade classes :it is a
declared policy of DECS to build a school in school-less barangays where enrollment and population
growth trends warrant the establishment f new schools and to organize multigrade classes to offer the
complete six (6) grade levels to children in the remote barangays.

2. DO 81,s. 2009 ,strengthening the implementation of multigrade education - Dep-Ed order to address
recurring issues in the implementation of DO. no. 96,S. 1997

"I learned it from our class."

Karen: So, Joanna, you are into Education program too? What year are you now?

Joanna: I'm in 3rd year auntie.

Joanna: Ate Lyka, what are the unique feature of multigrades class, by the way?

Lyka: It is obvious that a combined class of students differs a lot from the conventional type of a
student class of a single grade. That means that the way that the students of the multigrade
class should be taught must be different as well. It is true that the function of the teacher in the
multigrade classroom is multidimensional or to be more accurate it is much more complicated
and demanding than the role of the teacher in the monograde school respectively.
“I will discuss later the other feature inside, ok?”

Joanna: “Ok, ate.”

Lyka: Ok then, auntie. I will excuse too myself, I need to prepare some chores inside, though.

Karen: ok

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Lyka: oh Joanna, glad I found my old notes when I am in college. Here, you might need it. By the way,
here it is the one you asked before about the unique features of multigrade class. You might be like me
in the future ah?, hehe

Joanna: either way, ate. I will be glad to teach.

Lyka: keep it up, be a life-long learner and educate.

The notes……
For children to learn effectively in multigrade environments, teachers need to be well-trained, well-resourced and hold positive attitudes
to multigrade teaching. Multigrade teaching in many views represents a more demanding teaching situation and special attention should
be given to it. However, many teachers in multigrade environments are either untrained or trained in monograde pedagogy; have few,
teaching and learning resources; and regard the multigrade classroom as a poor cousin of the better-resourced monograde urban
schools that are staffed by trained teachers. In addition, at the majority of the cases, the multigrade teachers are very young without
significant experience, "chosen" by the state to teach at the specific rural areas. These teachers are left alone without resources and
support to handle the demanding multigrade classes. The former has serious negative impact on teachers' psychology and attitude
towards the multigrade class, and affects in a negative way their teaching performance.

As Teacher 
The main function of the multigrade teacher is to teach students by imparting knowledge not just follow a curriculum. Teacher must be
able to develop skills and inculcate desirable values and attitudes among pupils. The teacher is expected to be versatile and utilize
different strategies to make learning meaningful and effective for all students in his or her classroom, no matter what individual
differences may exist among the students. In the following section of this web training content you will be able to get informed more
specifically on teaching and learning strategies referring to the multigrade setting.

As Facilitator
The teacher should be able to understand differences between pupils, be able to motivate them to learn and guide them though their
learning materials. The teacher should be able to do this for all grade levels in the classroom, no matter what curriculum subject is
being studied. The teacher should not only be a provider of knowledge but should also be   a facilitator of learning both at a group level
and on a one-to-one basis.

As a planner
Planning is a critical function for the Multigrade teacher. Appropriate planning by the teacher will result in classes which are more
productive for the learners and easier for them to follow. Planning in the multigrade school classroom is much more important that in a
monograde one. The teaching hour must be spent productively for student groups in grades of the class and thus accuracy on time
spending is crucial. 

Suggestions for activities of a good planner. For each grade level for which you as multigrade teachers are responsible you must
determine the answers to the following questions:

• Whom do I teach?
• What must I teach?
• How do I teach?
• When do I teach?
• Why do I teach this?

As Evaluator
Another role which the multigrade teacher must carry out is to monitor the progress of pupil's learning so as to ensure quality of
education.
Therefore, assessment should be considering a continuous and integral part of the teaching process. Usually, this requires teachers to
determine the educational levels of pupils when they first enter schooling, during the school year and at the end of each school year.
Therefore, assessment should be considered a continuous and integral part of the teaching process.

As Materials Designer
Although various curriculum materials are usually prepared by national educational authorities, multigrade teachers still need to
develop their own additional materials. These additional materials serve the purpose of meeting actual and concrete needs of
Multigrade teaching within the local context. You should also try to make the national curriculum more relevant to the local needs of the
community. Examples of such curriculum materials include the following:

 designing and making small boards, flash cards, etc. to save time in the classroom and to maximize the time which pupils
spend on learning tasks
 using local materials to develop instructional materials and to encourage students to make their own
 designing workbooks which are suitable for student use within the local context and conditions
 including within these locally designed materials and workbooks activities and knowledge which are relevant to the local
culture

As Action Researcher
Teachers are not usually trained to be educational researchers, since their main task is to teach. However, it is through research that
improvements in teaching take place. In schools where access to other resources is easily available, it is not as critical that individual
teachers be researchers since they can easily seek the advice of more experienced educators. However, in Multigrade Teaching schools
this advice and resource is not as easily and readily available. Therefore, the Multigrade teacher must also be a researcher, that is, a
person who asks questions in order to understand better certain phenomenon. Such research questions include:
owhat makes instructional materials and aids useful in teaching and learning in the local context?

 how can the enrolment rate be increased and the drop-out rate reduced?
 what types of games and sports should be played in the school?
 what useful extra-curricular activities can be arranged and when?
 why certain students are not learning as well as might be expected?
 how to use local resources, including students and monitors, efficiently and effectively?
 what classroom strategies and management enhance learning for different activities?

It is not an expectation that the multigrade teacher become an expert in research methods but, rather, is able to formulate appropriate
questions in the classroom setting, seek and obtain the information necessary to answer these questions and be able to put into action
those changes which are necessary - all of which is caught up in the term "Action Research". In summary, the teacher must always have
an enquiring and evaluating mind.

As Contact with the Community

In many situations, multigrade teachers, because of their training and position, assume an important position in the local community.
This is the case, not only in the eyes of the pupils, but also from the parents' perspective. Thus, the multigrade teacher is the critical link
between the school and its community. The nature of many situations where a multigrade school exists is such that the co-operation and
assistance of the local community is needed to improve the quality of educational services that Multigrade Teaching schools provide.
This may include community involvement in such diverse activities as building and maintaining classrooms, assisting in the preparation
of curriculum teaching aids and acting as a paraprofessional teacher.
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It's not end, be a life-long learner!