“Strengthening Language Skills of the 21st Century Learners”

                A tweet here, a selfie there, a million of post, like, share & comments everywhere, everyday of our lives, technology especially social media is a big part. If there is one thing people can’t let go, it’s their mobile phones, tablets, laptops & other more. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and many other more is considered as part of our daily routine. Gone are days of taking time to talk w/ each other personally just to be updated of what’s going on for you know what is happening on everyone’s life by just checking their post. You know who’s happy or sad, who’s vacation, what’s new & old and a lot of other stuff. Human interaction is no longer physical but rather online. As Albert Einstein once quoted, “It has become appallingly obvious that technology has exceeded our humanity. He feared the day that human interaction will be defeated by   technology and the world will have a generation of idiots.” So I ask myself and you my fellow pupils, is Einstein right about us being dumb because of today’s advances?

                With this issue in mind, I tried to think and search for answers and proof for what I believe is true about today’s society. I know that I’m not alone in my stand that no one should be considered a moron in a time where education is free for everyone. Besides, I do believe that learning does not end in the four walls of our classroom.  Every moment is an experience where one is taught and left w/ a lesson. It is a common knowledge that there is nothing constant in this world except for change. As time passes, people vary and situation must be transform in order for things to work out. We must know what works better for the present, this is by learning from our past and accepting that alteration might happen in the future.

                “Knowledge is power”, a famous quote first said by Francis Bacon. By learning, we get the proper weapon on battling life. We have the necessary tool to make sure that the ups and downs of our adventure can be totally handled. This is all possible through education, the most vital thing in one’s life, a precious treasure such as gold and diamonds but could not be stolen by anybody. Through learning, we get to be the person we’re meant to be or we wanted to be. The possibility is endless but most of all through the wisdom we gather, we build a better community. A world which understands and this is through proper communication.

                Communication is a skill that you can learn, it’s like riding a bike or typing, if you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.       In order for it to be developed, we are taught about Language Skills, commonly known as listening, speaking, reading and writing.  These are basic ability that we require in order to form connection with other people. Not only to hear but understand others, not merely talking but to be able to explain oneself, it’s not just about being able to utter words but to comprehend what it means and of course being able to express oneself by transforming your thoughts to words.

                We are in school to learn and be the individuals that our society needs. Learning should always be considered a fun thing to do and not the common thought of boring classes spent every day for eight hours from Monday to Friday. With today’s modernization, education should be at the peak rather than the bottom. Teaching is no longer just the teacher explaining lessons but pupils are encouraged to discuss topics they researched, to share their thoughts and to be able to help their fellow ones in learning. When reporting is done by preparing visual aids, now we just make use of laptops to prepare power point presentation. Pictures, voice and video recording is now obtainable and can be shared to everyone. A classroom discussion is not merely the teacher talking & students listening but the pupils could speak up their thoughts & share their ideas. We have the power on affecting growth in other as we mold our own development as well. Gone are the days when our only refuge for research and additional knowledge are books, we no longer require to carry bulk of books, we don’t need to spend multiple hours in our library for we have the power of technology, the internet is our online library, books are now converted to pdf’s which allow access using our phones, tablets & etc., a single query will provide you a million of answers, articles & websites. Spending part of our time in classes for writing notes, a lot of pen and pencil and pages of notebooks to be used and for others who don’t feel to write, we have photo copiers that allows us to have duplicates. That used to be the situation but now w/ a click of your phone, you have already taken down the lessons or you can ask for a soft copy of the discussion by the use of your flash drive.

                This is technology at its finest if used right in boosting our academe but let us not forget that it is a double sided sword. The effect is on our hands, depending on our choices and the actions we make. For the old fashion, they may think that it teach people to be lazy and depend everything on devices. Well when was the last time kids talk about games and they mean hide and seek, kick, tag of war and other old time Filipino Games? A long time ago for all we talk about now are DOTA, LOL, COC and other online games. No wonder, people end up being obese, sickly and less sociable. Sad to know that what could be great, could also be bad thus before I bid farewell, I want to challenge each and every one of you, especially my fellow pupils to choose wisely! Remember, it is not what technology does to us, it is what we do to technology. Get smart with it, choose cleverly and use it in a way that benefits both you and those around you. 

Writing 1-2-3

It is turning your thoughts to words, a way of expressing oneself for others to understand. Wherein silence is a way to turn ideas into an article and things that meant to be spoken are written in a way you believe is right. If there is one thing I find solace to, it’s writing stuff, a moment of peace, it feels like being a painter, turning a canvass to a masterpiece through words to a piece.

                As far as I can remember, it has always been a passion. Since my elementary years, I have loved writing, it started with regular things like essays and stories and English has always been my favored language. I find it liberating to be able to express myself though words. Every time I feel so happy or sad, I find a piece of paper and a pen on hand then write all my emotions, worries and view.

                Although it was only in college that I had given effort on my writing, I was a sophomore then when I joined our school’s publication. I did the application process which is writing different kinds of articles with varied topics in cringe time. I like being stressed and that is how I felt but waiting for the result is scary, not knowing how you did. But waiting is rewarding, the moment I have received the result, I was in cloud nine, a proof of me being truly a writer and being chosen to be the publication’s Assistant Magazine Editor is an icing on the cake.

                That was the moment I believe I became a mature writer and it’s no longer just expressing myself but writing with a purpose, being able to touch people’s lives through information. I was introduced to different articles and styles. From stories and essays, I learned news, feature, column, editorial and poem. Thus, allow me to share with you easy steps of determining each classification and how to make sure that you are writing the right type of article.

                News writing includes sports writing which is the same only that the second focus on the world of athletes and their games. I’m never a big fan of it for you need to be familiar with sports jargon and as non-athletic as I am, I decided to get away from it. Writing a news articles is easy for it came from facts and all you need to remember are these easy pointers:

·         It should follow an inverted pyramid format which means, data should be written from the most important to the least.

·         It is a one sentence, one paragraph.

·         Make sure your headline is as appealing as it is and complete with most details in order to catch your readers attention.

·         Your sub-headline should support its corresponding head to show flow.

·         Make it informative and interesting on the same time.

Writing a feature is like an essay. You have a certain topic like people, places, events and other interesting stuff. It’s the easiest thing to do but facts and research are needed to be done as well. Simple things to remember:

·         It follow a pyramid format which means data is written from the least to most important or you can have your own way with it.

·         Just like an essay, it has an introduction, body and conclusion.

·         Mostly, it’s about human interest story so it’s more on interesting with supports of facts.

Column writing and editorial is the same only that a column is an opinion given by the writer while editorial is the stand of the publication. This is a chance of sharing your views about certain topics. To let others read what you believe is right on certain topics. It can affect people views or demand for others to express their mind as well. You must remember these:

·         It also has an introduction, body and conclusion.

·         You can state your own principle but supporting it with facts will help your view stronger.

·         It should be informative and interesting on the same time that could awaken one’s mind of opening up as well.

Stories and poems are the entertaining types of articles. Here, a writer can have their own way on what to write and how to write it. The main thing to remember is to make sure that it is amusing to the reader. It can be interesting and informative as well. I’m more of a story writer than a poet, I don’t feel like I have the sophistication to write a poem. I think it requires a great deal of emotion and finesse.

Writing is not scary, it’s a big world of possibilities and creativity. You just need to give time, read a lot as well to be inspired and learn and keep on writing. Let your pen be your sword, your ideas your armor and your writing your shield in fighting a life full of battles.