One of the most anticipated celebrations in a person’s life is the school graduation or Graduation Rites. Earlier of February 2020, students thought about their graduation and they were excited for a new chapter of their lives in high school. You can see various scenarios in schools were many of the pupils are answering their Slam Book so that they will have some remembrance with their classmates during grade school. Some are having a glance to their crush, some are cherishing their friends through laughter and some are having a glimpsed to their alma mater that sheltered them for several years as well as to their teachers who raised them as real parents.
Everyone is also eager to rehearse the graduation song, preparing the costumes to be used on the stage, as well as planning for a simple celebration. But all of a sudden it was stopped when a nightmare arrived – the Covid19 pandemic, which changed everything.
This includes an estimated 1.3M young people who would have been able to make proud on their achievements in the field of education through Graduation Rites. This sacred celebration was supposedly colorful and exciting yet suddenly had been replaced by Virtual Graduation wherein it is a program that all graduates will attend through various platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet in their respective homes.
Although the traditional Graduation Ceremonies have been suspended, still educators think of possible ways on how to recognize the efforts of all learners. In collaboration with the Department of Education, our respected leaders come up with various methods to please students and parents in conducting Virtual Graduation Rites because it is still important to maintain good health while patiently pursuing the dream.
Whatever method the graduation celebration is, what matters is how we have taken the steps to effectively have an education despite the pandemic we are experiencing. If there is an end there will be a new beginning. We will not be confined to this nightmare forever, with the cooperation of each other we can be free and we will appreciate every ending in our lives more.
By: Alice T. Mapanao | Teacher 1 | Cataning Elementary School
