The flu symptoms enveloped me right after my online journalism lecture in the Journalism Talk Series of the Philippine Information Agency for Negros Occidental high school editors on Thursday afternoon.
I immediately sought my doctor’s advice for medication because I had another journalism training scheduled for the following Saturday — an activity that had long been planned. Cauayan DepEd District 1-A Supervisor Jazeel Delilan, a former school paper adviser, had invited me to conduct a training session for the SPAs (school paper advisers) in her district.
Appropriately called “Campus Journalism 101,” Ma’am Jazeel planned the whole-day training — held at Guiljungan National High School — as an occasion to upskill and nurture teachers’ skills in journalism.
This was particularly timely after the regional DepEd strengthened its campus journalism program by introducing classroom and school-based journalism in an effort to popularize it among members of the school community.
With the training operating on the assumption that the majority of the participants had little background and experience in campus paper management, the “Journalism 101” content served as an appropriate intervention. A total of 81 teachers attended.
The participants also included SPAs from two of the three other school districts in the town. If not for hosting the Cluster Meet, District 1-B would have sent advisers to the training as well.
I am thankful to my media colleagues — all of whom are my former students — for making themselves available to be part of this pioneering training: PIA Assistant Regional Director Easter Anne Doza; Marie June Pavillar-Castro, executive assistant at the Governor’s Office and a gender and development advocate; and my former Daily Star colleagues, Keith Brandon Carl-an of CHMSU and lawyer Joevel Bartolome.
We managed to cover through plenary and breakout sessions the nine topics included in school-based conferences.
While there is still much to learn about campus publication operations and editorial management, I believe that the Saturday activity was a major step forward for journalism and media education in southern Negros.
The pre-test and post-test results showed remarkable improvement in the participants’ understanding of the different aspects of journalism. The feedback in the evaluation was overwhelmingly positive, particularly regarding the overall organization, the knowledge of the resource persons, and the valuable content of the training.
Furthermore, the evaluation indicated that participants highly appreciated that “the training provided tools to better guide students and establish school publications on the right path.”
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Physically, I was frail when I made the trip. However, seeing the enthusiasm and attention the teachers showed, I felt somewhat rejuvenated. I even jokingly mentioned that I hoped I would not spread the bad virus literally… and also what is commonly practiced today as strategizing for the sake of pushing digital stories online to achieve maximum clicks, shares, and social engagement.
Instead, I trust that my team and I spread the good virus — the “germ journalism.” Or that spark and foundational impulse among participants to develop a deeper curiosity and interest in a rather novel field, one that could help shape the communication skills of learners for future endeavors and deepen the grasp of their role as young journalists.
What made it even more meaningful was that I was sharing it at home, where my own passion for journalism was first nurtured.
Thank you, Ma’am Delilan and the SPAs of Cauayan for the opportunity to share…
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As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. (I Peter 4:10) | NWI
