FLEX Programs: Reinventing Education
by Ivan Andrew C. Combalicer, Thames International Undergraduate Student
The pandemic has proven that we are living in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world. Many educational institutions are still struggling to cope and adjust with this “new normal”. Thames International has always been committed to create a new order of entrepreneurs and professionals by equipping them with the essential skills needed to survive in this VUCA world.
The official training arm of the Department of Education for public school teachers, the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), has authorized Thames International to implement the FLEX programs. This includes three programs: FLEX2LEAD (for school leaders), FLEX2EDUCATE (for Master Teachers), and FLEX2LEARN (basic course for all educators). All of these programs are being conducted online to train and teach school leaders and teachers to adapt to 21st Century Education.
The first batch of FLEX2LEAD happened on May 24 to June 4 and gained 650 participants. The FLEX2LEARN Batch 1 gained 3,070 participants when it was implemented last June 16 up to June 18. On the other hand, the FLEX2LEARN for K-3 Rollout to the rest of NCR will happen this July, and is estimated to have 23,000 participants.
Although these programs are still on-going, it has received a lot of positive feedback from the participants. Many were thankful for the knowledge and experience they gained from the programs. Participants shared the following feedback:
“This course has greatly helped us to gain new learnings and meet optimistic people in the field. The platform used was great, I enjoyed doing the activities and was guided well in the accomplishment of outputs. It was a great learning experience! Kudos to the Thames team and God bless! Hope to be involved in more courses with you!”.
“Flex2Lead reminded school leaders the importance of being proactive with change. It encouraged us to revisit our current processes and to figure out how they may be improved. Ideas shared by the speakers and the participants allowed us to consider as well to be truly in touch with the realities of the schools we run and to start taking actions so we could respond to the challenges at hand.”
“A million thanks to Thames for this one of a kind training. In every activity you prepared for us, we really did a lot of self-reflection on the kind of leaders we are, and certainly, we are now more confident on the decisions that we will be making in the future considering all the takeaways from this FLEX2LEAD. With all the thoughts the experts shared during the live sessions, we will never go wrong. #ParaSaBata”
Other participants were also happy as the programs gave them the opportunity to reflect on how they can improve themselves as leaders and the education system as a whole for the benefit of our younger generations of learners.
In the end, DepEd NCR Regional Director Wilfredo Cabral mentioned in his message to the participants, “I am positive that whatever learning you can gain from this training will be put into a concrete plan of action for next school year and hopefully the mindset will be more proactive and sensitive to the needs of our learners, parents and other stakeholders.”
This pandemic is one of the toughest times every institution was put into. With the commitment and help of Thames International, we will all rise together from this difficult situation. If you are interested in making a positive impact on society, contact the school via inquire@thames.edu.ph.
Thames International is committed to building a new order for the world by giving talented students and entrepreneurs the tools to thrive and lead the way in a world beset by rapid change. If you’re interested in augmenting your skills and making connections with some of the brightest minds in business education today, please take a look at our future-proof undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
