Another quarter has already come to an end, students moving forward as they survived a month flooded with deadlines. Students celebrate their achievement, receiving praises from their teachers. But, the atmosphere seems different in the world of campus journalists. I should be proud to be a student journalist representing my school—General Santos City National Secondary School of Arts and Trades (GSCNSSAT), yet I feel very shameful to be one. I was confused and shocked, holding my report card struck with a straight line of seven. Do my rights to quality education still exist?
Despite representing the school’s name, it is heart-breaking to hear that some teachers aren’t considering such extracurricular activities. As a student journalist who spent nights weaving stories that would later bring the school pride at the Division Schools Press Conference. Imagine, I learned to interview different people, verify facts, and seize community issues with clarity far beyond what any classroom activity can teach me. Yet still, all I received was the report card with the irrevocable line of 7.
Normal students researched for hours and did investigations, wrote under pressure, and represented the school the same as what student journalists like me do, but none of this will count on the system. The very basis of the problem lies in the fact that a child’s right to quality education promotes growth beyond the walls of the classroom.
Read More:Beyond the Classroom Wall: Community Engagement Instruction | Wang | World Journal of Education
Earlier, Mr. James B. Lomocho, while at the press conference, reminded campus journalists that quality education means that no student would suffer fear in exposing his or her talents. Education should empower and not intimidate, he maintained. But how can I be empowered while even representing the school’s name becomes threatening to our grades?
According to the research, quality education is not just about quizzes and reports, it is creating thinkers and leaders, shaping young minds who are willing to ask questions, investigate, and be the voice of the voiceless. Student journalists learn things most people struggle with, such as dealing with fake news, time management, and having courage. CJs learn beyond what is taught inside the classroom, but the system refuses to see it.
Read more:Right to Education | Education Above All Foundation
This is why something must change. Schools cannot keep demanding excellence on the competition stage while refusing to reward it in the classroom. Grades should reflect holistic learning. Effort should not be invisible. And students should never be forced to choose between academic standing and the passion that makes them better individuals.
The experience of mine is really upsetting, student journalists like me do not just write to skip classes, rather, we write out of passion. We write to inform the public, to give service to the community, and to be the voice of the voiceless. And for that, we should earn support, acknowledgment, and a proper understanding of what education is. Campus journalists deserve more.
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