Since COVID-19 emerged, everyone was subjected to stay home. Everything was abruptly stopped because of the pandemic. The manufacturers, construction workers, laborers, local shops, malls, higher grounds but not education.  DEPED announced that despite of COVID-19, education still continues in an online platform for both private and public schools. Many people, both parents and students, have different reaction towards this ‘new normal’. Some of them want it to stop and others want it free. However big the issue became, it still continued by the command of the government.

COVID-19 became a larger problem, the months have passed, modules kept coming and sadly the students and teachers are dying (not literally). Dying because of the activities, performances, power-points, grade review, and checking that keep on stacking up day by day while parents screaming for a break because they aren’t well off to support the students and its academic materials. The students are now getting shaped into working with the new normal. However, some aren’t just fit for a new normal. Lower class families can’t even work properly and maintain their livelihood because of the growing pandemic and now online class. The middle class families aren’t all ok for sustaining day by day livelihood and some of them keep getting worse. The higher class families are ok but their children aren’t easily coping up. The schools have settled for easier way of coping up for teachers, parents and students. But because of the growing COVID 19 problem, unsustainability for livelihood and the lack of materials can’t seem to walk side by side with the others. COVID-19 is not the only barrier for good education and sustainability of living. The world we live in is the greatest barrier. The society we live in and the natural disasters are also our enemy. When Briones stated that "you can just dry the modules and iron it after" made the nation break out. They were outraged by Briones' statement. Two typhoons happened, Rolly and Ulysses. And they were another barrier for online class. Many houses got wrecked with belongings and pets with it. and Students who came back for their module never came home. One particular student even got killed on the way to seek a signal for her gadget to send a message to her teacher for her module. And after months of stress, unhealthy sleeping routine, lifeless living, they demanded an academic freeze.

Academic freeze is the suspension of the academic calendar. It means no classes. But to think that we are now half way through the year of classes, we can’t just stop now. When an academic freeze happens, teachers, administrators and those who work for our education will lose their jobs. And that’s not ok. Not only that they will lose their job but also some of them will lose the ability to feed their family because not all teachers have other sustainable jobs. As such, we can have another way of not only keeping the teacher’s jobs but also decreasing our work loads. Academic ease is basically the lessening of academic work load without fully suspending the academic calendar. 

With academic ease, our activities, problems, work load, and stress will lessen. Not only does the student’s work-load lessen but also the teacher’s. Academic ease will also help lower class families to cope up bit by bit because it means that their child/children will have lesser duties to do and it means lesser expenses. Those families that isn't even living fine can be more sustainable. 

So by signing this petition, we can help anonymously to push academic ease and NOT freeze.