How to Survive in the Classroom ( Pinoy Style)
By : Ormon

Each day in the class of M.1-M/3 is a battle for me. I find it difficult and mind-boggling how to tame 40 students with different learning styles. If you have been to a market, you know what I am saying. I always ask myself the following questions before I prepare my lesson plan.

How can I teach a class of noisy and unafraid young smokers? How can I get the attention of five ladies who are very conscious about their look? How can I tell them to stop writing on their desk? How can I teach them not copy their seatmates answer or convince the class not to tell the answer if someone is reciting? How can I inspire them to study? How can I let them feel that I am dead serious in sharing what I know? How can I show them the importance of learning independently? How can I let them feel that I like them?

So many questions, yet few of us are taking these matters seriously. This comes down to a very important question: ARE YOU IN THE CLASSROOM TO SURVIVE A 50-MINUTE CLASS OR TO DO YOUR JOB? In this article I’ll try to give you a list of classroom survival tips and a guide how to do a job and avoid the feeling of “ just surviving the class”.

I hope I am not corny with my list of surviving a 50 minute class. Here it is.

1. Be numb. If you got hit by an unidentified flying object from behind, ignore it. If you react, they’ll be doing it until they succeed in disrupting the class.

2. Don’t allow student-feeling-supervisors in the class. Be very strict about this.

3. Be patient. I mean tons of it. Trust me or else you’ll get a heart attack.

4. Be ready with your flashcards. You’ll need it if the plan that you prepared turned out to be sleeping pills.

5. Drink vitamin C and do the 8-hour sleep religiously. If you enter the classroom sleepy, expect that they’ll be sleepy too. It’s contagious, believe me.

6. Don’t drink too much coffee or else you’ll get nervous breakdown if you see flying chairs at the back.

7. Swallow your pride. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

8. Don’t check attendance for 20 minutes. This leads to a boring scenario.

9. Don’t talk too much. They don’t care. Let your best student explain the activity. Good luck.

10. Walk around. Don’t stay in front for 5 minutes. Always check what your students are doing. Don’t be surprise if they are staring at their cell phone or reading a porno.


How to avoid the feeling of “ just to survive the class.”

1. If you are going to use flashcards, do it for 5-10 minutes only. Don’t spend the entire 50 minutes doing the flashcard. I have seen some teachers did this.

2. Prepare a lesson plan everyday. Tailor it according to the needs/level of your students.

3. Always be ready with an emergency plan. If you feel like your plan is not working or effective because you wrote it 10 minutes before your class, an emergency lesson plan is the answer. Emergency lesson plans are reserved plans that you keep in the drawer for centuries. I mean for later use.

4. Write legibly. Thai students are not that good in decoding script writing.

5. Don’t forget to motivate your students first before you proceed to your lesson. Do some ice breaker. After that, do the meditation process. I mean your students should know the signal that you are now in the lesson proper.

6. Don’t be a robot. Don’t speak in monotone. If you’ll going to talk to them, do it like you’re story telling. You know what I mean. Flex your muscle and show some energy flowing out of your body.

7. After the class, talk to the unruly and naughty students. Make it a heart-to-heart talk. Caveat: Make it private.

8. Arrange your desk in groups of four. There must be four students in a group. Assign a leader. If the group is noisy, just call the leader and he knows what to do.

9. Be systematic in checking the paper. Peer checking is always good in a class of 30 or more.

10. Finally ( after drinking 10 cups of coffee) put in mind that “ amor con amor sepaga”. Love begets love. Let them feel that you enjoy teaching them. I am sure your students will also feel the same.


N.B. If you feel like you got a better idea, then for God’s sake post it here. If you feel your English is better than mine, then post an article. Showcase your talent. I am disappointed with MP’s comment. What do you mean by that sitting ducks thing? I barely understood what you mean. Well, after reading your comment I raised my eyebrow and uttered the ever famous “ Look whose talking”.