Cacophony of Fridays

The plight of DepEd’s Catch Up Fridays

By: Clint G. Acevedo

How’s your Friday?

Just four days after the program’s National Kick-off, Catch-up Friday received backlash as
Francisca Lustina Castro lambasted the program implementation highlighting the unpurposive
reading of the learners. This TikTok video of Castro has erupted a lot of reactions and comments
in the social media platform with 4759 reactions as of writing, gaining sympathies in both pros
and cons.

Nothing can match the intensity of DepEd Memorandum 001 s.2024, not even the 7.2 magnitude
earthquake. Gasps on every breath as the Central Office rolled out the memorandum emphasizing
the designation of normal fridays as Catch-Up Fridays. This initiative envisions to ameliorate the
learning poverty as reported by the study conducted of World Bank in 2022.

Castro, the representative of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Party-list, raged the social
media as she directly addressed the program’s lack of assessments prior to the implementation. In
her words, “Literally pinagbasa yung mga bata ng kung ano-ano lang so dapat meron tayong
diagnostic test kasi iba-iba yung skill ng bata sa reading.” with this I beg to disagree.

Three points I would highly express to counter some attacks toward Catch-Up Friday
implementation:

1. PRACTICALITY. Frankly, and cliché as this sounds, numbers won’t lie. It was a blatant
slap to everybody’s face as we ranked 77 th out of 81 countries who participated in the
Reading Test of the 2018 OECD-PISA. This means that to curb country’s illiteracy, it is
fitting to go back to the Foundational Skills of the learners – TO READ.

More importantly, these Fridays aren’t for reading alone. Important disciplines such as
Values, Health, and Peace Education are embedded to address the pressing concerns on
learners unpleasing behavior and even their love for their country.

Catch-Up Friday has allotted teachers to devise strategies and facilitate reading session half
the day. In addition, this has become the answer to the long-time clamor of teachers about
not having enough time to remediate learners. Half the day is given to solve the issues of
the “time-constricted class programs” that restricts the teachers in performing remedial
classes.

2. PEDAGOGICALLY-SOUND. To defy the statements of Castro, it must be noted that

reading classes are carefully and systematically planned prior engagements. Pre-emptive
class profiling was done, action plans were crafted, instructional guides are structured fit to
the reading levels, and collaborative expertise sessions are conducted to amplify the best
practices that are beneficial to the sustainability of the program.

These further attests that any reading engagements are anchored to the benefit of the
learners who fell short in the levels of the Reading Assessment Tools e.g. Phil-Iri and CRLA.
 Those measures are more than enough to debunk the statements of Castro. Hypocrisy and
lack of professionalism it is to mention that the undertaking happened without scrutiny of
the concerned authorities.

3. HOLY GRAIL. With only two months since the implementation, let us give the program the
chance to function its purpose. Indeed, no program is perfect but with obedience and
optimism – this program becomes our opportunity as educators. The opportunity to foster
the agency’s tagline: Bansang Makabata, Batang Makabansa.

Moreover, to guarantee its substance and sustainability Catch-Up Fridays are always
monitored and checked. All processes in the conduct are supervised to secure full effect of
the program’s visions- the holy grail of any programs.

Neglect the numbers, for once. Look at the reality. See for yourself the high school learner who
stumbles on the word “tongue”. See for yourself the Senior High School learner who skip classes
just to avoid reading sessions. They fear school. They fear reading but they listen to us, their
teachers.

With the cacophonies of Fridays, how is your Friday going to be this time?