am i going to have to replace my engine entirely or can i put in a short block?

What is your question?

the engine started knocking real hard on day i was driving to school i was starting to lose power once i made it to school it was about a 40 minute drive from costa mesa ca to long beach ca and i stareted about 10 minutes before i got there. i find out my oil dipstick was bone dry there was a squealing before the knock started, and it was knocking at engine speed. My school instructor told me it was rod knock and the engine was toast but i had to remove the car from the schools shop once i left so he threw in about 4 qts of royal purple synthetic and the knock obviuosly wasnt as loud now having oil in it again but when i made it home the oil had pretty much burnt and there was a fine silver in the oil not flakes not shavings but very fine silver that rubbed off on my fingers when i wiped the oil dipstick off so i guess to you my question is has the rod broken down so far that the engine is completely ruined? or is there a possibility i can repair this with a short block, considering the fact that the engine hasnt blown a hole through the block yet and still actually starts up but with a loud knocking nonetheless.im afraid to do anything to it until i have a solid answer. thank you very much for any help you might be able to give me Best Regards, Mario Hernandez