Saturday, March 15, 2008

Iskul Bukol : A Trilogy

Episode 1. Grade School: Incredible Winner.
This story took place when I was twelve years old, when I was in grade six to be more particular. I represented my school, a public elementary, to the Division Level of the 5th Caltex DECS DOST Young Scientist Quiz. Most of the participants, totaling fifty, were from private schools and Montessori all over Cabanatuan. It's not really the typical quiz competition wherein sets of questions of varied difficulties are asked of each contestant and they get to answer in papers. It's a plain paper test of sixty questions that we have to answer in two hours. After that the papers would be checked and whoever gets the highest number of correct answers shall be declared winner. Moment of truth came, the third and second placers were already announced and I was ready to go back home. When the contestant number of the first placer was announced, no one was standing; I have no idea that it was me. I bested the best. I won the competition, I couldn't believe it and so were the organizers.

The following day, the Division School Superintendent for Science came to our school, not to congratulate me but to administer the same test that I took the other day. The same exam I have almost perfected and that made me won over a lot of students from different schools. I would have taken that re-taking against the organizers for it appeared that they were doubting the results and so my capabilities. Without malice, I retook the exam, right after; it was checked by the Superintendent herself. Proving that I indeed deservingly and honestly won the contest, I got the same number of correct answers as I did during the actual competition. There wasn't much to say after it, fairly and clearly, I won the contest. I was really the best. In two months, I got to represent the school in the regional Finals. I competed as a team together with the second and third placers though it was made to appear that I was the runner up. Glad we have lost. I couldn't take much of the discrimination. It has to end and it did.

I came from a public elementary school, but it doesn't mean I was inferior and less intelligent. I walked my way to school in slippers but it doesn't mean that I was incapable and incredible to win a contest of pure stock knowledge. I came from a public school, but it doesn't mean that I couldn't be the best

Episode 2. Forbidden School.
Oh my high school life! Would you believe that I didn’t attend my high school graduation? Just as everyone else’s excited to receive their certificates, I chose to excuse my presence in that once in a lifetime event. The reason: failed expectation. I landed on the 5th spot of the honorable mention, to my dismay and resentment. The culprit: the revised criteria for determining the honor list, 50% academic and 50% curricular. I might have excelled well ion academics but in participation with extra curricular activities, so it weighed me down. I felt it so unfair to have the two criteria combined. They could just have given the dumb but talented their some special awards for recognition and let alone academics determine the real honor list. Sad to say, some have to be pleased and some, including me, have to be sacrificed. I could have ruined the occasion by marching in protest, but I realized that the rest of the graduates have nothing to do with what has happened to me and so they deserved a memorable occasion. My silent protest was to be vindicated four years later


Episode 3. Dilemma.
My high school’s experience was a bit traumatic, so entered college, I didn’t stress myself out with too much concentration on studies, home works and assignments. I have found time to relax and focused on some previously unattended aspects such shabby dressing, making some friends, exploring outside school, etc. But soon enough I realized that I couldn’t afford to be lazy and lousy like the rest of my gangs because I have a battle to win and I have to prove something. Caught between the newfound joy of schooling and the ardent desire to get back the honor that was stolen from me in high school, I gave the former, with pain in my heart. Just as I was beginning to love and enjoy school, I was once again isolated from organization, from girls, from friends and from happiness so I could focus more on how to prove my high school wrong. It was a difficult choice. I could have at least as many girlfriends as I would have wanted. What I’ve got after four years was gold medal instead. I graduated at the top of my class. I was vindicated; just the same, I have missed some of the real thing.

1 comment:

  1. i too was from a barangay elementary school. i never also expected to win in the division, though i was only third. Fortunately, but nobody doubted the results (thank God!)..that was the third caltex decs dost young scintists quiz by the way.

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