The Nerve...

I am furious, I am ballistic, I am ready to explode. It has been a bad day. I am suddenly inclined to voice out my grievances.

Last Saturday, the teachers from Lit 102 or World literature organized a Greek fest. There were various contests within the event such as the Greek God and Goddess of the night, the best drama, and the best table preparation. I was absent in this event because of some personal reasons I would rather not disclose.

A few weeks ago, the teacher explained to us that attendance to the Greek fest would merit us a grade not below 90 in the finals.She implied that attendance was not compulsory. As the days progressed, the class was divided among several groups such as the props and the food committee. I did not attend a single meeting/practice for the Greek fest. The reason was I did not feel that I would be of any assistance in the props committee which was the committee I chose to join.

My dilemma begins when this Greek fest sort of catapulted itself to a higher state to take the place of a final exam. So this is where my yakking and whining would begin.

I enrolled into the class of lit 102 or World literature. My impression of the class was a rather good one. I thought we would be studying various forms of world literature in the level I could compete in. But alas, I was bombarded with several different teaching techniques (if they could even qualify it as one). There was the immortal role playing, the pointless reporting, and of course the grand productions which the Greek fest qualifies as one. My problem is when the reporter begins to just read what is being flashed on the OHP or begins to read the text as if in an explanatory tune. My goodness, I don't need a reporter who is condescending and acts as if she should get a passing grade for reading. I mean sure the reporters do their research, but I also know my way into Google, yahoo, and altavista.

As much as the words Greek and fest sound relevant to world literature (as there are many Greek literature which are quite popular), something does not fit. I did not enroll in an arts class, nor did I enroll into a home economics class. What we were asked to do for this Greek fest did not have anything to do with World Literature. Sure the script writer would get to analyze the story real well as well as the director of the play, but what about the others who were asked to do a table preparation (complete with food and decorations)? What about the people who were the designers of the costume? What about the actors and actresses? What about the people who went there simply to sign their name on the attendance sheet?

It is not only in our lit class that this happened. And I am only talking about this semester. In our history 104 class, which was about the life of Jose Rizal, there would be an excursion to Dapitan. While it is not compulsory for us to go as the trip carries a huge price tag. However, the teacher said that those who would be going on the trip would be exempted from taking the final exam. I am not against field trips as they tend to enrich our understanding of the lessons we take up in the four corners of our class room, but will going to Dapitan make you an expert on Rizal's life. I am specifically bothered here about the fact that the teacher exempted the people who would be going to Dapitan from taking the final exam. Going to that place will not make a difference on our understanding of Rizal's life.

The system in the Ateneo de Zamboanga University is a funny one. It is ridiculous coupled with disabilities such as mental deficits and defeatist viewpoints. I as a student feel strongly about this but what can I do? I am but one person in this sea of people. But I will not give up. I will rant and rant until the day comes that I get heard. After all, it is 30 something thousand which is at stake here.