The speech that was not even

Krisel Mallari during her welcome remarks at Sto. Nino Parochial School's commencement exercise. In the middle of her speech, Mallari was stopped from giving her speech that hinted unfair grading system and favoritism.

The social media picked up one of the most relevant education-related buzz in the past few weeks. A recent graduate of secondary education, a salutatorian, I must add, was stopped in the middle of her speech. Krisel Mallari was just supposed to give welcome remarks in front of her co-graduates, teachers and school's officials. In the midst of her address, a school faculty member stopped her speech. This prelude alone has most, if not all, of the ingredients of a sensational story in this new age: curiosity, novelty, issues to spark passion, David and Goliath. But reading on, this story reflects more than just a girl deprived of freedom of speech.

Yes, I am taking this issue personally as this is one that is very close to my heart and personal experiences. Yes, I'm also riding on the popularity of the story for the reason that angles on this must be spoken at the time it is most relevant to the generation of short attention span and memory.

But let's look at it objectively and break down into pieces. First, whose idea is it to give the salutatorian a speech? It is the school's discretion but from where I came from, it's the valedictorian who gives a prepared speech as an address to the graduating class. Welcome remarks (or even closing) are given by school officials. The other graduates can lead the class in reciting school creeds, city creeds, national creed - god, there's even a regional creed - but the prepared speech is given by the leader of the class (not counting, of course, inspirational speeches by the guests of honor). It may be a blessing in disguise for Mallari but knowing there is a tension, the school should've expected something like this from her even if she submits a copy of her 'speech' beforehand. So did the school give her a bit more freedom and made itself vulnerable or was my alma mater too restrictive?

Ok, given that it is the school's ritual or staple or something, what led to the content of her speech? The school, in one of its statements, said that Mallari and her parents have consistently questioned the computation of grades every end of academic year - sometimes, to the point of harassment. It said that computation of grades is computerized and cannot be changed. Mr. Ernesto Mallari, Mallari's father, has been shown the computation of his daughter's grades but the former insists also on seeing the computation of the valedictorian's grades. On the other hand, some sources say that Mallari has been your typical hardworking student. She never cheated on an exam and never sought for help while there are allegations that the valedictorian did. So when the announcement of honor graduates came, many were shocked that Mallari, presumed to be the top graduate, was named salutatorian. She mastered her exams yet got a low grade while the valedictorian, while sometimes getting help from friends and even boyfriend, was allegedly preferred to receive the first honors.

Now I may have decorated that last paragraph with the word 'allegation' and its family, literally and subliminally. That is because this is a classic '(s)he said, she said' case. But what's so obvious here is that there is a reasonable doubt on the validity of the grading system - and more so in determining who gets recognition. It doesn't matter if it has been consistently questioned; it just adds to the doubt that has been raised to the validity of the grading system. Yes, the Mallaris may be competitive but that's how you thrive in this life. Survival of the fittest. Do you see giraffes with short necks? Do you see malnourished 90-year olds? Have you seen any competition - in any form - where you don't have to be competitive? Where you don't have to bring your A-game and up your skills? If the school did not have anything to hide, why did they not clarify the grading system even before the graduation? Why didn't they explain why the valedictorian is the valedictorian when there was doubt raised to the grading system? If I was the head of the school, I would've instructed the faculty involved to declare visibility on the grading system until everyone's wonders are satisfied, whether to their liking or not. I don't want other parents losing confidence to the grading system, and by extension the school, by letting unanswered doubts afloat. The school said they cannot do this without the valedictorian's parents' permission and it is against the school policy. First, why do the school need the parents' permission to discuss the school's valedictorian and salutatorian - a prerogative recognition they give. Second, if the valedictorian really deserved the recognition, wouldn't the parents want to clear the accusations? And why in the world would it be against the school policy to address with the truth an issue that threatens its very integrity? Sounds too familiar.

Ok, let's say that it was inevitable. Did Mallari have the right to give her speech? The speech she used is different from what she submitted and was approved. Maybe through the guidance of parents or guardians, Mallari did submit a speech that would be palatable to the school and did make a different speech suiting her camp's sentiments. But why would there be a need for two speeches? Had the second speech been submitted, would the school approve it? The obvious answer will be no and Mallari's camp knew this, thus the first speech. In that, good faith is eliminated. After all, the school owned the program - spent pesos on putting up the commencement exercise - and thus, should have a knowledge of everything that will happen on the event. This now dates back to the old argument of education being a right or privilege. Whether the school is private or public, the money the school spends - the very fund they use to continue operations and pay faculty salaries - comes from the students themselves. Education is a right just like it is your right to learn from a tutor whom you are paying honorarium for. If submitted, should the second speech be approved by the school? Yes. Maybe check for grammatical errors, consistency of language or construction of sentences. But the content? The student studied four years and performed above average - she deserves to air her content. Admittedly, one of the main motivations I had when I was aiming for valedictorian was the valedictory address I can give at the graduation rites. Was the school right in stopping her from giving her speech? I believe not. If there was a baseless accusation in her speech, the school could've filed a defamation case after. Or should Mallari have submitted her speech, the school could've advised her that this speech can warrant a suit against her. Mallari should have not been sly about providing two speeches (after all, honesty and truth are what she's standing for) but what choice did the kid have?

Which leads me to the next item: Was the graduation the venue for her speech? Ok, there was unfair treatment, claims the Mallari camp. To whom should I escalate this issue if I want justice? The school division office? The city hall? The Department of Education? The attendees of the rites - students, faculty, officials - must've heard about the Mallari's claims already. After all, in the transcript of her speech, she quips, "Chismis, isang piyesta ng chismis ang inabot ko ng pinagmukha nila akong masama." Without the uploaded video, Mallari's audience would just be the same audience who already knew the issue. Why did she have to cap her sentiments about the school in an event where everyone is looking forward to celebrate? Again, what choice did the kid have? Is there a clear cut guideline on how to address issues with the school? If so, is it well communicated to the students and parents? Is there a proper venue to settle these issues? If you are an aggravated student, like Mallari felt, what are the actions you can take? Before the video was uploaded, Mallari is just a regular student with no power or venue to air sentiments outside the school - those that can take action about the issue. Had there not been a video uploaded available for social media consumption, there wouldn't be an issue. But how many Krisels are there? How many of those are given a chance to speak? And how many of those speeches were recorded and uploaded? 

But was this story really just a student complaint blown out of proportion? Should Mallari just let it go, after all, according to the school's alumni, there are other things more important than grades? These points of view on this issue are what made me write this. Character is more important than grades, they said. Just accept what happened and move on, they said. After all, grades are not important when you have your career. It's more important to have an attitude to accept failure.

Eh, wag na lang kaya tayo mag-aral. Numbers run the game because it is an absolute and objective measurement. Ever since the start of the timeline we knew, we have been told that good education yields greatness. Education is the only wealth that can never be taken away. When you study hard, you'll be successful. And how do we know that the student got a good education in a quick glance? It's not because his or her name was never included in the 'noisy' list. It's not because his or her parents were never summoned to the principal's office. It's not because he or she always helps the teacher with her things. It's because he or she performed well academically. And that's measured through grades. Why do parents reward a child who got high grades? Why do we laud the student who has the highest score in the exam? Why do we make fuss of the bar topnotchers? It was grueling four years of sleepless nights and all she could get was 'humility award'?

What is the general measurement of working hard? Hours on the time record, performance evaluation, salary. Why do we have high regards for graduates from UP, ADMU, DLSU, UST? Because these schools are top ranked. How do we define success? It's when a person finally changes the status of his or her life for the better. And let's face it, it always comes with a higher figure. Have we ever announced a successful garbage collector or pedicab driver? We don't elect a public official because he's 'nice'; he or she who receives the highest number of votes wins.

And 'just accept what happened'? How many times in a lifetime can you graduate from high school knowing that you can be the top of the class? You know, given the chance, I would've done the same. I would push more to correct. I would speak louder to agitate. I want to set a precedent that when the time this happens again: (1) the aggravated student has something to pattern to in deciding what to do and (2) the school cannot rest on the issue again. That's what Mallari did. You can't just accept that it happened. It's not a death in the family or natural calamity - it is something in which you can do something about. It's almost a sin of omission if you do not.

This is exactly why we can't properly move on and progress. We tend to divert away from the issues by providing the seemingly 'larger picture' point of view, sometimes just to sound off as a better person. When people argue, we often tell them 'there are bigger issues that we need to address than that'. When lawmakers debate through media, we often say 'there are bigger issues than that'. And are we able to address those 'bigger issues'? Moving on to bigger issues does not address the small issues. And not being able to address the small issues should be a 'red flag' when trusting them to address the bigger issues. The inspirational quotes about being good cannot solve the problems we currently face; it makes us lazy to attack the problems head on as they make the problems seem less important.

In the end, wouldn't we be able to discuss this had this not been an issue?