On my way to school back in the 70s when I was in elementary, I always stopped in front of the Baldemor residence. The second floor window opened wide to the street, revealing a wall that heaved from frames crammed with medals of the Baldemor kids.
The House of the Baldemors emboldened me to aspire for greater honors. During my time, I coveted medals because they were true badges of mental prowess as only the valedictorian, the salutatorian and the first honorable mention deserved them; us lesser mortals only got ribbons. Year after year, during closing ceremonies, I made a pact with myself to do better next year, if only to know how rewarding it would feel to have a medal sparkling on my breast.
But all that has changed!
Last year I had the chance to be a commencement speaker. And I was aghast to see that over two-thirds of the graduating class received medals for this and that award! The school had to reward worthy students, yes, but it was taken to such extreme that the significance of the medal as symbol of excellence had been diluted.
To be meaningful, awards---or medals---have to be carefully thought of and given with enough restraint. But in that occasion, one couldn’t appreciate fully his medal because almost everybody got one, earned either as “band majorette” or “number one solicitor” of the year. There was even one for “general services.” Go figure!
Some awards were superfluous. One student received five medals for winning either second or third place in the unit, district, provincial, regional, and national table skirting contest.
As I sat restless and bored, I felt sorry for the valedictorian who received so many awards that all her family members, including a cousin who was just starting to walk, had to mount the stage nine times. By the time the last award was given, the valedictorian had turned osteoporotic from the medals’ combined weight. And because some of them were the size of saucers, I imagined her smelling of Efficacent to soothe her aching neck as she welcomed her guests during her “blow-out” that evening.
This award system, which obviously panders to parents and students, has to be evaluated because aside from trivializing the medals as symbol of excellence, giving them all out eats up a lot of time.
I waited for about three hours just to deliver a 7-minute speech.
They either give apples to each and everyone in tow or they give multiple recognition to a single feat(why should the Valediction be given 8 gold medals from so much number of sponsors for being, well, valedictorian). If the purpose is to give a toast to those who excelled in certain endeavors, they should have de-listed Ms. Congeniality and Mr. Hardwork from the program and should have institutionalized instead awards for Mr.Flash (the quickest to jump out of the back door of the rickety Bautista Eatery after being caught smoking and downing Tanduay shots) and Mr. Suave (having three or more girlfriends in a Grading Period). These are by no means inconsequential as they are, in fact, indicative of what the future holds for our prodigious students. Mr.Flash by his quick-thinking in getting out of a bind could well become an overworked government lawyer or a magician. Mr. Suave by his topnotch social skills could well become a businessman,a business scammer or a practitioner of the oldest profession. Indeed, our reward system in schools is off-tangent and archaic.
ReplyDeletehi, anonymous.
ReplyDeleteyou could've knocked me down with a feather. and because you got me speechless there, all i could say for now is---touche!
but please grant me this one: if you think "our reward system in shools is off-tangent and archaic," how best to revamp it? do you think the school administration and recognition-hungry parents (who, i heard, offer to provide medals just so their children get an award or two) will welcome, or let alone, allow it?
and hey, does the "baustista eatery" allusion make you a JPEHS alumnus/na?
thanks for leaving a comment.
Should be Valedictorian not Valediction,mes yeux de défaut.Some private schools here in MM should teach us something: only the top three in the graduating class,the best in every subjects and the best in non-academic fields (best sportsman, not best in basketball or in tabletennis or in figure skating or in room-sweeping) are given recognition. The system promotes competition--in a constructive way, of course--and accords no false sense of immortality to those who will not be most beautiful and most courteous. In the end, it's not always a linear odyssey to college, and later, to real life. Most beautiful may well become Ms.Stress and Ms. Courteous one's dragon- tongued supervisor (bad, bad).On the other hand, a good friend, our Best in Carabao-Plowing, is now a fearsome litigator in Davao (tells us that, indeed, the beast of burden imparts a lesson to those who are keen to perceive). I miss Bautista and Ermer's (lomi and coke litro)of old. I will still insist my innocence and will neither confirm nor deny that I am a JPEHS alumnus/na. I will be home though on May 14.
ReplyDeletehi, aNONYmous.
ReplyDeleteto everything you said, i fully agree. in fact i told cynthia orozco-acevedo (am assuming you still remember her, she being once your teacher. hahaha just guessing) about this before and she encouraged me to write about it so school administrators would start rethinking their merit system.
haha. that's true. medals and ribbons are no guarantee that you'd make good in real life. but they (medals and ribbons) don't hurt either, given that our society puts a higher premium on kids who go home "saddled" with them. but they don't have to overdo it, right?
please don't start on lomi and coke or i'll do a litany of my comfort food: cozy nook's halo-halo---or before that, Timberland's---and Jocris's siopao.
methinks you have a gag order not to divulge your identity. but, is it mere coincidence that your going home jibes (?) with the scheduled homecoming of JPEHS? ^_^
let's meet up when you get here. we'll have lomi and coke litro. it's on me. ^_^
Hehe, I'll still neither confirm nor deny. Let's just say I'm just one of thy fans; I even showed your winning prose on the inimitable Tago pudding to some writer-friends if only to say, go figure, my hidden town can write this grand! I'll be lurking still in this portal. I'll approach you and say hi the next time I can. Best regards to Mam Cynths, too.
ReplyDeletehi, aNONYmous.
ReplyDeleteyou don't need to invoke the Miranda Principle because i think i gotcha. ^_^
please say hi to me so I can thank you in person for this lovely comment, which made my day.