Benjamin Alves says he hopes children will be allowed to attend face-to-face classes in classrooms soon./SCREENSHOT
MANILA, Philippines — Kapuso actor Benjamin Alves expressed his appreciation for teachers who are grappling with the challenges of providing education to their students at a time when face-to-face classes are restricted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the quarantine measures have limited learning to online platforms only.
“Kudos to the teachers for finding creative ways to teach. They are entering a platform that they weren’t necessarily trained for. I can see their passion for education,” Alves told the Inquirer at a virtual conference held recently for his primetime romantic-comedy program “Owe My Love” opposite Lovi Poe.
Alves also found it unfair for adults to demand so much from students, who are struggling with an unfamiliar method of learning.
“We are demanding from young ones an amount of discipline and focus that not even adults can do,” he explained.
For Alves, children should have access to education, and the government must provide enough resources to invest in the “future” of the country.
“I could not accept the reason that there is not enough money for this. Our leaders have to move our country forward,” he said. “One person not getting education is one less person reaching his or her potential,” the actor added.
The actor values education, earning Latin honors (summa cum laude) from the University of Guam where he studied English Literature. He was also chosen as the ambassador for the GMA Excellence Awards launched before the pandemic hit the country.
“It saddens me. We are not able to do with the initiative. We were supposed to travel around campuses, promoting ways to attain excellence,” he explained.
But given the situation, Alves acknowledges that learning does not only take place inside classrooms. However, he also hopes that the situation changes soon.
“I don’t think it’s up to the kids to adapt. It’s really up to the people who are supposed to take care of this. It’s not the kids’ responsibility to find creative ways to learn. Education should be accessible,” Alves continued.
The actor appears in “Owe My Love,” a romantic-comedy series produced by GMA Public Affairs that aims to teach financial literacy to its viewers. The program airs weeknights on the GMA “Telebabad” bloc.