Public high school teachers, students join workshops in DLSU

To uphold the Lasallian mission of serving the less fortunate, the Community Engagement Committee under the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Lasallian Mission (VCLM), in collaboration with F. G. Calderon Integrated High School, held two workshops last April 29, 2014 at the Enrique Razon Sports Complex and Br. Andrew Gonzales Hall.

Center for Social Concern and Action (COSCA) Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Coordinator Maria Lanada says that under the Lasallian mission, all DLSU units and offices unite and coordinate particularly among programs and events on community engagement. With this, several offices took part in today’s workshops.

The first workshop, entitled “Suicide and First Aid Guidelines for Teachers,” was facilitated by Office of Counseling and Career Services (OCCS) Director Susana Estanislao. Among the major topics discussed were about addressing the suicidal tendencies and providing first aid for the students of F. G. Calderon Integrated High School.

Lanada shares that eighty percent of the students in F.G. Calderon Integrated High School elicit aggressive behaviors, and that the school is one of the poorest schools in Manila. She also says that the comfort rooms are even being used as faculty rooms due to the school’s lack of facilities.

On the other hand, the high school teachers present in the seminar-workshop expressed concerns on how the students are often showing signs and symptoms on committing suicide, such as a student who texted one of his teachers during the workshop, “Wala na po kami ng girlfriend ko. Kita nalang tayo sa burol ko.” [My girlfriend and I just broke up. We’ll just see one another in my funeral.] One teacher also suggested having a referral system similar to what the OCCS offers to DLSU students.

The second workshop, facilitated by the Student Media Office (SMO) director Randy Torrecampo, focused on campus journalism for the staffers of The Vision, the student paper of F. G. Calderon Integrated High School. To teach the photography staff on the basics of photojournalism, former The LaSallian photographer Andrew Pamorada (CS-IST ‘13) was invited to the workshop. It was also discussed that there was a need to guide The Vision in order for it to be seen as a professional student publication.

“I want them to see the value of journalism, the role they play as journalists in their community. At the same time, I want them to learn the basic skills needed in carrying out that role, because, of course, the values and the technical skills go hand-in-hand in practicing responsible, ethical journalism,” Torrecampo said, when asked what he wanted to impart to the students. On the other hand, Pamorada said he wanted The Vision to take photos, so they could share their stories to their fellow high school students and to other people as well.

When asked how the seminar helped, senior high school student Cara Siojo said, “Siguro po mas magagawa ko na ang mga article na mas maayos tsaka yung okay na.” [I guess I will now be able to do my articles correctly and worthy of submission]. In terms of the insights gained from the workshop, senior high school student CJ Pangilingan said, “Parang nakatulong po talaga siya kasi, minsan po, mga article na hindi ko nagagawa, alam ko na po kung anong gagawin.” [It is helpful especially for the articles that I couldn’t do, because I now know how to do them].