On December 1-3, I attended the 2008 Isabela Division Schools Press Conference at Dona Aurora National High School, Aurora, Isabela.

Apart from the chance to enjoy the Christmas breeze in my beloved province, I was glad to be an evaluator for this year’s DSPC. I missed being a high school student who participated with all sorts of contests. I am sharing with you some of the insights I have gathered as a result of this experience.

The Schools Press Conference remains as one of the biggest gatherings for elementary and high school students in the provinces all over the Philippines. The regional level is also a big gathering. There are already three DepEd divisions in the province of Isabela: Isabela, Cauayan City and Santiago City. The combined number of attendees of all the division-level press conference would be about 1,500 to 2,000 students and coaches.

This gathering is a big help in honing the writing skills of high school students. As they compete in various contests such as Editorial, News, Feature, and Sports Writing, Editorial Cartooning, Photojournalism and more recently, Radio Broadcasting, the students learn what it takes to be a successful journalist in the Philippines.

One thing lacking in Schools Press Conference though is the lectures or inputs that could help the students hone their skills. Most schools train their student journalists through their school papers and their campus paper advisers. While some schools are more effective are others, I say this is not enough.

There should be a writing workshop for these students so that they could really bring out the best writing they could muster. Of course, we can always point to the lack of funds and lack of time during the Press Conference why this does not happen.

But if there is a means to gather potential high school (and college) writers and bring them together for a writing workshop, it would be a great offering to the development of journalism and even literary writing in the provinces.

Another thing that is sorely lacking in the province is the promotion of Internet literacy and how to use Cyberspace for educational and social reasons. While students in Metro Manila and other urban places are getting more “high tech” in using Internet applications such as Wikipedia, email, blogs, Youtube, and other applications, those in the provinces tend to lag behind.

What could we do?

What should we do?

We need to empower those in the provinces to use Information and Communication Technology more effectively. There are a number of bloggers in Metro Manila and all over the country who boast of earning hundreds and thousands of dollars.

Even writers in Ilocano, Filipino and English can do their part.  Communication is crucial to national development. When we empower the students in using ICT, we help them become better citizens who are more aware of their responsibility in upholding the truth.

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