Our childhood is a stage in our life that builds up our personality as a human being. Childhood is very essential for happiness and contentment. Many adults, when asked about why they were acting the way they are shared that it was because of their experiences when they were young. Children's experiences can shape their mindset and reality in the future. Hence, childhood can be one's blessings or sort of misfortune.
Out of several applicants which i interviewed, two of them stand out in my memory. It was not because they got high scores in the assessments but because I felt touched by their stories.
1) Girl from Rehabilitation Center (Grade 8)
I called her name to get interviewed and she smiled at me as we went to the adjacent room. I asked her to introduce herself and gave her some stuff to read and explain, after a while, I asked her to try expressing herself in English, but she said that she was having difficulty because she stopped for one year and could not focus on studies because she needed to go through rehabilitation sessions for 3 months. She said that she needed to undergo the sessions because they were caught with their friends using drugs. She insisted that she did not take any intoxicants that time, but since she was sitting beside her friends, she was also held up. Her parents were so disappointed with her and she felt so depressed and hopeless. She was turned over to DSWD to undergo rehabilitation. She felt like giving up and lost appetite to studies. Several months after her release, she thought that she was no longer normal. Eventually, her family got pity on her and lift her up. She tried to continue her studies, but her previous school could not accept her anymore. She knew GLC due to some of her acquaintances, and when her parents asked her where she would like to study, she never gave a second thought but to mention Golden Link. I asked her why she said that and she said that it was because she knew that she will be accepted in GLC and she can feel okay. She also added that GLC gave her new hope. I smiled at her and told her that I am happy that she considered the school like that.
However, I have to do my role, and due to her low academic competency, it will be very difficult for her to catch up. My decision was to give her a failing mark, but it was not easy for me since I heard her story. I told her that whatever will be the result in her application, it should not affect her thought and hope about education. I told her that I admired her for being strong to handle disappointments in life and all she needed to do is to keep going. She smiled, but I saw a glimpse of sadness on her face. I couldn't help but send her good thoughts that she will be okay and courageous.
2) The "Belt" Learning (Grade 5)
After a few applicants, a boy came in and showed me his almost blank sheets of assessment papers. I remembered him because this is his second chance to take the admission exam of the school. We told his grandfather to review him on several areas we stated and be ready for a retake. He needed to get higher points this time for him to be admitted. However, based on his examination and reading comprehension, he will not pass again. I asked him about his ambition in life, and he told me that he wanted to be an engineer and help people. While he was speaking, I noticed that his chin has a mild blood clot and I asked him about what happened. Initially, he lowered his voice but when i insisted, he told me that it was because every time he reviewed with his grandfather and he committed mistakes, he was always hit by a belt, and was suppressed to cry. The hitting will not stop until he understood the lesson. After hearing that, I felt pity for the child. I felt disturbed that this boy needed to suffer such kind of tragedy to learn, when in fact, learning should be natural and should not be imposed or pressured to children. Sadly, I have to give him a failed mark and it was again very difficult for me to do.
After my interviews, I cannot help but rethink about these two applicants. I felt pity for them that they could not study here in school because of some reasons. I have to do my role and so I needed to let them thrive in other schools. But what bothered me the most was the thought that at an early age, these children do experience these struggles in life. While other students or children enjoy, there are some children who are experiencing mean things and violence. I know that this experience will have very big effects on their lives, and I hope that they become strong and wiser adults in the future.
DearJohn
nosred
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