People who think that the current state of general education in the country is in the pits should think twice. They have yet to see the real status of the country’s Special Education (SpEd) system and the condition SpEd teachers are in.

The real picture

According to Zenaida Concon, an Education Program Specialist II, Special Education Division of the Department of Education (DepEd), not all public schools are offering a special education program for varied reasons. "Many schools in the Philippines are still not considered as 'centers'— those that cater to children with two or more disabilities," she says.

To note, out of 17 regions, there are only 158 SpEd Centers and DepEd is still trying to double check this figure because there are those who merely claim to be SpEd Centers.

Concon says that the most common conditions of students with special needs that are accommodated in public schools are the visually-impaired, those with hearing impairment, mental retardation, the gifted, and those with physical disabilities. "We don’t have items for more complex conditions other than those."

The DepEd official says that SpEd teachers in public schools receive the same benefits as regular teachers, only that their salary is upgraded one or two notches higher depending on their item. SpEd teachers in public schools also get more training — both in local and international setting. "DepEd makes sure that SpEd teachers are given capability-building trainings that are held in higher institution level that teaches them how to organize classes, update, innovate, knowledge skills, and strategies through the modules."

However, Concon admits that these are not enough to cater to the needs of special children that grow by the number each year. Other than minimal increase in salary and seldom training opportunities nothing more is being provided to improve the status of SpEd in the country.

Teachers are considered the second parents of students. As such, they are expected to take care of the students. But due to the poor status of education and employment in the country, most educators are distracted by economic difficulties, thus, hindering them to give their best to their students. This sorry state leads SpEd teachers to join the exodus to greener pastures abroad. Pat Muñoz, a fully-trained and credentialed Filipino SpEd teacher in the US, says that one of the biggest problems that SpEd education in the country faces is the continuous exit of SpEd specialists. "It is inevitable because they have to earn for their living," Munoz says.

Being in the field of education for almost 14 years, Munoz thinks that SpEd in the country still has a very long way to go. Constant updating of information and knowledge about teaching strategies in SpEd should be taken seriously.

For Alternative Learning Resource School-Phils. (ALRES-Phils.) SpEd teacher Catherine Gajelonia, one of the biggest challenges in her job is adjusting to how unique each student is.

"Each student has different needs and learning styles so the teacher has to come up with methods to teach effectively," she shares.

Another situation that SpEd teachers have to deal with is the viability of their jobs. "The salary of SpEd teachers should be higher compared to regular teachers pero ang nangyayari ngayon, parang same lang or minsan unemployed pa," Gajelonia laments.

She agrees that SpEd in the country pales in comparison with that in other countries — especially in US — in terms of services available for children and for teachers as well.

"In the States, once the child is diagnosed with special needs, everything will be provided for him by the government. Sadly here, there is so little support coming from the government. Most of the establishments are private," says Gajelonia, a physical therapist with specialization in pediatrics. After two years of catering to the needs of kids from zero to preschool years who have autism, global developmental delays, learning disabilities, Down syndrome, and the like, Gajelonia says that there is so much more that can be done to improve the condition of SpEd in the country.

Yet Gajelonia doesn’t have plans of working as a SpEd teacher abroad — yet. "I may want to work as a SpEd specialist — a PT — abroad to seek greener pasture but I will definitely come back."

Although the country is hemorrhaging SpEd teachers, there are those who come to help uplift the status of SpEd in the country like Muñoz.

A regular teacher with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, majoring in English and minoring in Speech and Drama, Munoz shifted to SpEd because she found out that the number of special children was tremendously increasing. "From then on, I began to contemplate on my role as an educator," she says. The turning point in her profession was when a parent of a child with special needs practically begged her to accept the child in her school.

"That was the time that I realized that children with special needs should be given more attention in terms of education," she says. But her calling for SpEd did not push through at that time because she was given an opportunity to teach abroad — in Dominican International School in Taiwan in mid-2000. Yet all those years, the memory of that child was never erased in her mind.

"Teaching regular kids abroad was a great experience for me but my desire to help children with special needs kept nagging in my mind and in my heart so I came back and pursued a masteral degree in special education."

During her masteral, SpEd supervisors and coordinators from California came to Manila to recruit SpEd teachers. Munoz was hired and left for California in 2002. Until 2006, Muñoz taught at several schools in Southern California, handling children of various disabilities, of different ages, and academic needs. During that time, she was able to earn full credentials as a special education teacher with specialization in mild/moderate, and moderate/severe disabilities. After four years of teaching in the US, she decided to come back. "With the credentials I have, I felt that I was ready to share with special children — as well as with the parents and educators — the knowledge and skills that I have acquired." In late 2006, she put up Protégé SPED Center at Xavierville Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, which provides tutorial, physical, occupational, and speech therapy services to children with special needs. "My various interactions with special children in the previous years impacted my life so much that I wanted to devote the remaining years of my life serving them," she says.

She has since been conducting SPED seminar-workshops which have been attended by more than 900 participants. Some of her seminar-workshops involved becoming effective special educators and parents, preparing an Individual Education Plan (IEP), and utilizing effective strategies to serve the needs of special children. She currently works with developmental pediatricians and other SpEd specialists.

To alleviate the plight of SpEd teachers, Concon says that higher salary and support from the government are very much needed.

"I support those who are planning to go abroad to teach," she says. "If they are really committed and dedicated to serve children with disabilities and they are concerned about the future of the Filipino special children, hopefully, they will come back."

Gajelonia agrees that more attractive salary and support would make teachers stay. "If we get more support from various sectors and we have a decent salary, we will be more motivated to cater to the needs of special children."

Muñoz, on the other hand, believes that proper training should be conducted to replenish the SpEd specialists who work abroad.

"I found out that there’s a lot to be done especially in schools that accept special children because majority of their staff are not properly trained," she says. She believes that SpEd teachers should be given all the support and incentives they deserve so they won’t be tempted to leave the country. "Yung iba naman talaga, ayaw umalis," she laments. Muñoz believes that properly trained SpEd teachers will create a great difference in the status of SpEd in the country.

"I always tell those who have shifted to SpEd that it’s gonna be difficult because this is a more than a calling," she says. She tells them that before they finally decide to attend to the needs of special children, they should know within themselves if they are ready to render extra patience, dedication and faith — both in God and in the child. "To ensure that they will become effective SpEd teachers, they must be ready to believe that the child can achieve the goal that you have set for him or her."