OPERATION: FRESH BASIL AND THE TIGER LAO SHI

Literally growing up as a Campus Journalist, struggling at the age of 8 to cope with the superior talents of fellow student writers, hearing all kinds of criticisms, and carrying the great urge to climb the steps of the scholastic ladder for almost 20 years now has made me realize one thing- when you are a campus journalist, there is nothing impossible or insurmountable for you.

ASTONISHING. Champion, Sports Writing for
 two consecutive years.

As a Journalism teacher, this is the mantra I have proven time and again. When I look back on July 7, 1994, when I won my first essay competition, I have never even imagined that I will be here today, with writing as my ultimate bread and butter, leading an emerging school publication and even running a blog on my spare time. Being a Campus Journalist instills one with the right discipline to succeed in life. And like any one of my colleagues who are already in this field since God knows when, I am always on the look out of deserving students whom I can pass my torch in fervent hope that one day, they will create their best life with the passion they have inherited from me.  

This is basically how I can describe one of my students, Arnold Joaquin Canceran, who has been my trainee since he was in Grade 3. He joined the District Sports Writing Competition, and won first place, but I had him disqualified because I am the judge for the said category.

With my urge to find or formulate a theory that might help future generations of Campus Journalists, I decided to embark on a five-year study on discovering what are the factors that influence the success of a student journalist. And what better way can this experiment be done than to try to establish one.

SULAT UNDERGROUND. He blames his illegible
handwriting for ending up at 9th place in the
Provincial Level, wherein the top 7 qualify to the
Regional Finals.  

Like a fresh basil sprawling from fertile grounds, I have closely monitored Arnold’s progress through the years, and in the process, molded him with important Chinese values on ethics, work, discipline and balance. Arnold is Filipino, and he has no Chinese ancestry, but I believe that I can mold him the way my father and grandmother honed me when I was growing up so that he will look at success and life at a different perspective.

I am truly delighted with how he is positively responding to my mentoring methods. As a certified genius, it is inevitable that he tends to become conceited at times, and find utter disappointment if he does not top in his endeavors.

When he ended up as second place in a District Science Essay Contest, he posted in his Facebook, “Bad News: Second News sa Science Essay Contest”. It alarmed me in so many levels. I immediately sent him a message, “Arnold chat tayo”.

When his chatbox popped up, I congratulated him, and told him to remember one thing: THE EFFORT EXERTED IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE END RESULT.

Feeling bad about being second place is the early sign of intellectual monstrosity. I want to produce a student who will one day obtain the victor of an emperor and the humility of a servant. I do not want to create a monster, so as his mentor in writing, I immediately chopped off the roots possibly leading to such scenario. But I also do not want him to be contented being second. Instead of making excuses that his handwriting was not legible, I want him to find solutions and utilize his time wisely.

He is already being molded on fire, and we are just scratching the surface of his career in Campus Journalism. Before he graduates, both of us are dreaming that he will win as Most Outstanding Campus Journalist, a highly-illustrious award quite elusive to Lagunenos, including me.

Are we being too ambitious? No. We are just being positive.

In the coming months, I shall post his progress as he undergoes his training under his tiger lao shi. He shall be my experimental student as I try to figure out if Chinese mentoring is also applicable to children who grew up in a different culture.

As long as he trusts me, I shall reward him by:

LEADER. Arnold leading the Elementary Publication Team
in distributing relief goods for the victims of Habagat.

-Make him practice longer, with harder exercises

-Give him harder responsibilities

-Instill in him morals and check if he is applying them in his life

-Expose him to a wider world, and let him interact with new surroundings sans my guidance

-Give him better but occasional leisure time as a reward of his efforts so that he can appreciate hard work and enjoy the fruit of his endeavors

He faces the challenge of being the best. I face a greater challenge of making him the best that he can be. Through tiger mentoring, it is my hope that he will become a productive citizen one day, because fate has rolled out a different trail for him. If he will walk on it, only time, and tiger mentoring can tell.