I've already forgotten the Mallari issue but I was reminded when I read at the social media that she was interviewed at The Bottomline which is one of my favorite shows. I was so sad I wasn't able to watch it live. Based on the comments posted online, some were really disappointed to Krisel. Some also said she's just doing the right thing. I don't take side on this issue because I don't know what really happened.But, granting without conceding that what Krisel said in her speech and interviews were true,here are my points at the issue:
Krisel and I did not come from the same school so I don't know how it REALLY works in theirs but in OUR school, in OUR CURRICULUM it works like this.
1. The basis for honor students' grades will only be their grades in their fourth year in high school and not based on their Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) since they were in first year.
2. Tranferees are qualified to be Class Valedictorians even if they came from the Science School or schools with different curriculum than ours. In case of tie, all students who got the highest score will graduate as class valedictorians, if there's two, then two of them will receive the award. But it never happen in the history of our school yet that there was a tie.
3. All honor students should take the final exam simultaneously with the other honor students from other year levels in ADVANCE in preparation for the deliberation.
4. During the deliberation, parents are invited so they could see how their children's grades are computed.
5. Parents, students, and subject teachers are allowed to raise questions during the deliberation.
6. The academic coordinator (a representative of the school admin ) was there to attend the deliberation.
7. The final grades are solved like this: 30% extra curricular activities (SSG President, student writer, winner at competitions, etc.)and 70% curricular or academic grades (Math, English, Science etc.).
8. We have guidelines from DepEd of the valid extra curricular activities to be included in solving grades.
9. We have index cards for the list of our extra curricular activities signed by our coaches/ advisers. We also have certificates as proofs.
10. After the deliberation, all grades are deemed true and correct. Reports are made and signed by the authorized personnel.
11. Most important: We are taught how to solve our grades.
I've known someone who has a similar story with Krisel. Know her story HERE
What a competitive student should do? It is shameful to fight that you must be the rank one if you don't have proofs to show. Hence, you should:
1. Keep all your quizzes, exams, report ratings and test papers.
2. Not absent, unless, otherwise NEEDED.
3. Participate in the school activities as much as possible.
4. Make sure you excel in both curricular and extra- curricular activities.
Some might say Krisel can't accept defeat. She's just too competitive. But why some student work hard to be class valedictorian?
Being Class Valedictorian matters because:
1. It gives you full scholarship (100% tuition fee disc./ entrance scholar) in college without acing the entrance exam.
2. It gives you privilege to take college entrance exams for free. (UP gives it for top 20% of graduating class)
3. It gives pride, honor and confidence to you, your family and your friends.
4. It's the fruit of your labor.
It's so frustrating that you will not be able to harvest the fruit of your labor because someone stole it from you. However, we should not dwell so much on our school grades, since:
1. Anything SO MUCH is not good. We should know our limits.
2. There is more to life than school. Like making friends, having fun, enjoying your age.
3. We go to school to learn not just to have good grades.
4. Some academicians (good in school/have high grades) are not really good at work or in the real life. Some are poor in decision making.
5. It's more important to be life smart than bookish.
I cannot imagine myself experiencing what Krisel is going through. As class salutatorian, you are only tasked to give welcome remarks and not address of thanks which is the role of class valedictorian. If I were Krisel, maybe I will also speak up about the matter but in a different way and not in the whole world. After all, if the school has a questionable deliberation system the community will know it even if you don't disclose it to social media. I can't also afford to put the school to shame because of my experience. My siblings also went to my school and they were also honor students. What would other people say to them then? That they just got the medal because the school favored them?
I cannot judge Krisel for what she's done. After all, it's her life. She should live it according to her will. I admire her bravery for making such decision. I just hope she won't regret it. Because it's very difficult to live with so many eyes looking at you.
Even if you're the smartest in your class, when you go to the university, especially to UST, there will always be students who are smarter or dumber than you. You should know how to deal with it. Her future professor might have high expectations of her. She'll be pressured to prove herself in every way because her classmates will expect her to be THAT smart. If she apply for a job some might also remember her expecting her to be good at her job. She made a major decision at an early age. Good thing is, there are lot of trending topics everyday so some might forget her story anyway.
I remember my friend saying, "sa college makita ang katag (in college, you will know who truly excels)".I know, it MATTERS to be a Class Valedictorian especially if you worked hard for it. It truly hurts if it's stolen from you. But, there's more to life than school and grades. After all, our worth isn't measured by our CGPA.
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