038 In Suspense (2)
“Anong balita?” What’s in the news?
I made it a point to start the civics class the same way I did the previous day and as I would in the days to come.
It was in part stagecraft. I wanted my students to have that déjà vu feeling so that they’d connect the current experience with their previous one, which, I assumed, was not at all pleasant for most of them. It was my way of telling them that they should come to class prepared.
It was also for continuity. I wanted my students to get the message that this graded recitation on current events was to be part of regular programming, at least in the foreseeable future. Again, they should come prepared.
They did. At the very least, a lot of them absconded with their dad’s newspaper even before the poor chap had a chance to read the funny pages.
And so it began. From of pile of cards bearing each student’s name, I drew out one random victim after another. At least, that’s how they may have seen it based on the way they looked.
Of course, the “usual suspects” of book readers and honor roll wannabes gave excellent answers (For the win!). As for the others, well, let’s just say they got to deliver the headlines. Some managed to understand and explain the leads. Seldom did they go beyond the first paragraphs.
I made it a point to keep the atmosphere light, knowing that this was difficult enough a task for most of them. It was enough, I thought, to make them know that this whole exercise was graded for them to take it seriously. And they did.
They were all kept in suspense, which, as it turned out, made me realize was one good way to get students to pay attention.
Within days, I saw drastic improvements.
It helped that we used their news stories as springboards to more detailed discussions on the topics they presented.
Their fear of grades was also replaced by confident smiles whenever they’re called to share their selected news stories. They eventually understood that the grades—in the greater scheme of things—really didn’t matter. What was important was that they were actually learning.
In a matter of days, they were well-versed with current events. In a matter of weeks, I got my biggest compliment when one of my student’s parents visited me to say hello.
She opened with this troubling line: “Sir, I have a complaint.”
“What’s wrong, ma’am?”
It turns out, her opener was said in jest. With a smile, she explained, “My son has shown a lot of interest in current events lately and he’s getting good at it.”
“So what’s so bad about that?” I asked with a puzzled look.
She replied, “Nothing really. It’s actually good, sir. Except that my son has been debating with his father every morning about these current issues.”
With much excitement, I exclaimed, “That’s great! Don’t you think that this should be encouraged?”
She replied, “Oh, yes. We’re happy that he knows a lot already. But sir, the problem is that his dad is annoyed that his son is winning these debates.”
And with that I knew that it was a job well done (and yes, I’ve created a monster).