[The Wide Shot] The test that only you can grade

A letter to my journalism students as we hold yet another online class Honesty is essential for journalists and is a test of character that impacts both academic and life success. Cheating in assessments leads to short-term gains but ultimately results in moral decay and failure. The goal of education is to develop good individuals, not just to excel in assessments; there is always hope for improvement. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. Dear Class, Reminder: Please strive to be honest. Honesty is the true test of a journalist. In online assessments where I cannot check if you are cheating or not, another type of assessment is at work. It is an assessment of character, a test that only you can grade. I hope you excel. If you pass the test of honesty, you will pass the test of life. If you don’t, you will have small wins now — but trust me, you are doomed to fail in the end. Strive to build your skills through honesty and hard work, and God will reward you with the fullness of life. Please stay honest in our online quizzes. If you cheat, you win some points now. But eventually, you lose your moral fiber, disintegrate, and become a monster unrecognized even by your own parents. We have been discussing corrupt politicians in class. You will be like them — reviled by the nation, abhorred even by children. Corrupt politicians started by cheating in class. Please also stay honest in our online writing exercises. I designed these writing exercises to help you practice for our major assessments. I also want to identify the students who need extra help, so that I can meet them where they are. It is useless to cheat in online writing exercises because I do not grade these articles for quality, only for effort. If you cheat in online exercises, you cheat only yourselves. Please do not mistake good writing for good journalism. A good journalist is not just a good writer. A good journalist is a truth-teller. I hope you can see the big picture: Our ultimate goal is not to ensure that you excel in school assessments. Our ultimate goal is to help each of you become a good person. Be good! And if you failed this test of life today, there is always tomorrow. There is hope. Paterno – Rappler.com Paterno R. Esmaquel II is a journalist specializing in religion and public life. A former Rappler reporter and news editor, he now writes for international Catholic news outlets, teaches journalism at the University of Santo Tomas, and runs a YouTube channel called The Religion Reporter. The author originally posted this to Facebook on September 10, 2026. How does this make you feel? Loading