MUSINGS OF A SCHOOL PAPER ADVISER

April 21, 2023 Educator's Corner

By: Teresita D. Estocapio

Journalism allows its readers to witness history; fiction gives its readers an opportunity to live it.

John Hersey

As I am teaching the students to write their articles and to produce a school publication, I am also
creating a history in their lives and in my life. However, producing a school newspaper is not an easy job to do. In some other schools, some teachers do evade becoming a school paper adviser. I, as a school paper adviser for how many years and in two schools where I was assigned, am a witness to this. It’s really hard to convince others to take the task.

As a school paper adviser, I’ve been through challenges and opportunities. As part of the challenges, I had to endure the sleepless nights just to edit and finish the articles and the school paper; I had to stay late at the printing press to make sure that the paper will be printed and be finished on time; I had to stay late at school to guide my school paper staff in editing the articles and in lay outing the paper; I had to dole out my penny to feed my staff if the given budget is not enough; I had to negotiate with the needed budget so that we will have something to use for the registration and for our expenses; and I had to coach all my individual and group contestants despite the tiredness I felt while preparing our paper and working as one of the technical working committee in the press conferences.

I usually had the never ending whims of complains because of these taxing tasks that I had to do.
After these ordeals that I have passed, I was given the opportunity to widen my horizon in
journalism through listening to the speakers and trainers during the journalism seminars and trainings and during the press conferences. Through listening to them, I really learned a lot.

Through these trainings and seminars, I was given the chance to be a speaker and trainer to my colleagues. As a school paper adviser, winning in the events and in the newspaper pages really mean a lot to me because I know that I did not only made myself proud of being able to teach the child, but I also boosted the skills and the confidence of the students and made them a pride of the school and their family.