How to make your own student handbook

There’s probably no month more unlikable than June. We all groan, seeing those huge “Back to School!” billboards and promos. It’s goodbye, carefree days of television and hello, textbooks. It is farewell to the beaches of Boracay and greetings to the classrooms.

But this year’s first day of school was a lot different for me. It hit me that it would be the last first day of high school in my whole life. In a few months, I would be permanently leaving its halls and the people I grew up with. Instead of the anxiety of saying hello to my alma mater, I felt the fear of saying goodbye.

So as I am starting my last year in my high school, a pang of nostalgia struck me. I recalled all the memories I had in these 13 years of life in this school. 

I am 100-percent sure that I will not remember the parts of the respiratory system or the details of the Philippine constitution, but there are some things I know I will never forget.

1. Do not color with markers.

No one wanted to lend me their markers back in kindergarten. I had the tendency to get carried away and finish up all the ink of my classmate’s markers while doing my work. This was equivalent to a mortal sin back then. “If you finish my markers, you are not my friend.”

Bottom line? Respect the property of others.

2. Wear predominantly white shoes and socks that are three fingers above the ankle.

Every morning, our teachers ask us to stand up, to inspect if we’re wearing the proper uniform. There are a lot of rules in my school. We are not allowed to wear excessive jewelry, we are not allowed to have colored hair and we are not allowed to use our cell phones in the classroom. I’m actually looking forward to the day when I can finally use my ankle socks and get blue highlights (if my parents allow me).

These may not be regulations that entail life or death if one breaks them. But what if we disobey every rule in the world? What if we break every single one of the laws in the constitution? What if we break every moral standard and commandment? What would become of our society?

Bottom line? Follow the rules.

3. Do not talk when your teacher is talking.

I remember a teacher who would write in her beautiful cursive writing, “Silence!” before class started. I didn’t consider being noisy as something wrong until I went to school. I did not really understand why being quiet was so important.

The first time I had to speak in front of a crowd was in grade school. I sort of had stage fright so I could feel my sweat dripping and my heart was going to explode. But as I stood up in front of the class, everyone was doing her own thing but listening to me talk. Imagine that teachers have to face this every single day of the year.

Bottom line? Respect others.

 We students may complain non-stop about the long hours we spend in school. We talk about how we’re learning insignificant trivia each day and how we can’t apply these things to our everyday lives. But in reality, our world will be a much better place if we apply what we learn in school.

Love it or hate it, we have to admit school is the best place for learning.