marlyn go,
The school is often called a second home. It is where new things are learned, friends are met, and schoolwork is finished. It has places for everyone to use, from classrooms for various learning sessions, to faculty rooms where teachers stay in, to the library that houses the information you need, and to bathrooms which are there when you have to do personal business.
The problem is that people, usually students, take these facilities for granted. They are left behind littered and in disarray.
For example, chairs are removed from classrooms and not returned to their original positions — instead of being in neat rows, they get scattered all over the place. Chewed bubble gum can be found stuck to the recesses of armchairs, along with bits and pieces of paper and plastic. Electric fans are also commandeered by various individuals, with the sole purpose of cooling themselves, disregarding the discomfort of others.
Vandalism, such as vulgar comments about various people, rude jokes, and messages aimed at faculty members or students can be found on the walls of bathroom cubicles. Toilets are not flushed after use, sometimes being left with various objects floating around in them. Cubicles are locked up for practical jokes, causing inconvenience for others.
Pieces of trash also litter the rooms, corridors, and field, even if there are trash bins nearby.
Numerous complaints can be heard from students, teachers, and custodians alike, oftentimes directed at the people who pay no respect to the facilities they use. However, these are ignored, and the school facilities keep on getting disrespected.
These actions show the lack of respect and gratitude of students. They leave the facilities without returning them to order. This is caused by the mindset that someone else will clean them up or fix them.
More than just showing a lack of respect, however, these actions are also rule violations with corresponding punishments. For example, Rule 4 of the School Rules and Regulations, concerning the care and protection of school property, includes sanctions for vandalism and littering. It states that the violators are to clean up and restore damaged school property, while serving a set amount of hours of school service, and in certain cases, in-school suspension.
However, despite penalties being laid out, they are not heavily enforced. Students who litter go off untouched. Sections which leave rooms cluttered can just go on to their next class without being sanctioned. Proper waste segregation is blatantly disregarded.
At home, we have been taught respect, cleanliness, and gratitude for people and our surroundings — cleaning up after we play, washing dishes after we eat, being careful with everything we touch whether or not it is ours, and respecting our surroundings no matter where we are. These values should be brought everywhere we go, and this means they should also be brought to school.
Even if there are janitors in school, we should not forget to still be responsible for the messes we make. It's not hard to flush the toilet, throw garbage properly, clean up the facilities used, or do other things to maintain the facilities’ cleanliness. These values should be practiced everyday by students to make staying in school as comfortable as possible.
The values learned and observed in our households should likewise be observed at school. A more disciplined people will encourage a better and healthier environment that all will benefit from. There will be fewer problems regarding the maintenance of facilities and the comfort of the users.
A home should be inviting, cozy, and livable. Let's make our school as such, not just for ourselves, but for future students who’ll hopefully love our school as much as we do.//by Storm Gatchalian, Marlyn Go and Philip Jocano
Opinion: Cleaning Up Our Act
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| Photo Credit: Gail Clemente |
The school is often called a second home. It is where new things are learned, friends are met, and schoolwork is finished. It has places for everyone to use, from classrooms for various learning sessions, to faculty rooms where teachers stay in, to the library that houses the information you need, and to bathrooms which are there when you have to do personal business.
The problem is that people, usually students, take these facilities for granted. They are left behind littered and in disarray.
For example, chairs are removed from classrooms and not returned to their original positions — instead of being in neat rows, they get scattered all over the place. Chewed bubble gum can be found stuck to the recesses of armchairs, along with bits and pieces of paper and plastic. Electric fans are also commandeered by various individuals, with the sole purpose of cooling themselves, disregarding the discomfort of others.
Vandalism, such as vulgar comments about various people, rude jokes, and messages aimed at faculty members or students can be found on the walls of bathroom cubicles. Toilets are not flushed after use, sometimes being left with various objects floating around in them. Cubicles are locked up for practical jokes, causing inconvenience for others.
Pieces of trash also litter the rooms, corridors, and field, even if there are trash bins nearby.
Numerous complaints can be heard from students, teachers, and custodians alike, oftentimes directed at the people who pay no respect to the facilities they use. However, these are ignored, and the school facilities keep on getting disrespected.
These actions show the lack of respect and gratitude of students. They leave the facilities without returning them to order. This is caused by the mindset that someone else will clean them up or fix them.
More than just showing a lack of respect, however, these actions are also rule violations with corresponding punishments. For example, Rule 4 of the School Rules and Regulations, concerning the care and protection of school property, includes sanctions for vandalism and littering. It states that the violators are to clean up and restore damaged school property, while serving a set amount of hours of school service, and in certain cases, in-school suspension.
However, despite penalties being laid out, they are not heavily enforced. Students who litter go off untouched. Sections which leave rooms cluttered can just go on to their next class without being sanctioned. Proper waste segregation is blatantly disregarded.
At home, we have been taught respect, cleanliness, and gratitude for people and our surroundings — cleaning up after we play, washing dishes after we eat, being careful with everything we touch whether or not it is ours, and respecting our surroundings no matter where we are. These values should be brought everywhere we go, and this means they should also be brought to school.
Even if there are janitors in school, we should not forget to still be responsible for the messes we make. It's not hard to flush the toilet, throw garbage properly, clean up the facilities used, or do other things to maintain the facilities’ cleanliness. These values should be practiced everyday by students to make staying in school as comfortable as possible.
The values learned and observed in our households should likewise be observed at school. A more disciplined people will encourage a better and healthier environment that all will benefit from. There will be fewer problems regarding the maintenance of facilities and the comfort of the users.
A home should be inviting, cozy, and livable. Let's make our school as such, not just for ourselves, but for future students who’ll hopefully love our school as much as we do.//by Storm Gatchalian, Marlyn Go and Philip Jocano
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