Classroom distractions

CEBU, Philippines - How many times have you heard people say focus is the only secret to getting high grades in school?  And how many times have you somehow resolved to finally keep this piece of advice?  But how come you only remember a little of the day’s discussion as soon as you get home? 

And most times nothing really stays in your head so that when the teacher gives an oral recitation the next day, you hide behind your classmate’s big head or thick hair or wide shoulders.  You pray hard so your name won’t get called but God must have been so busy that day your name fills up the acoustics of your classroom.  Everyone waits as teacher looks at you hoping you’ll blurt out the exact answer, but realizes she doesn’t have all day with you.  You apologize to the teacher again for not knowing the answer. And then the entire class bursts into laughter.

You try to take in the ridicule by also laughing yourself.  Truth is, you laugh because you feel bad about yourself.  Looking at your classmates laughing, you give out a sad smile because you can already feel the weight of the whole thing pulling you down a foot deeper into being worthless.  Do you really want to be the laughing stock of the class from June to March?  Do you want to be a loser?  If you say YES, well that’s it, end of story, end of you.  I tell you there are millions of teens out there right now who really want to study but are financially short.  Unfortunately some of them just did not make it to school, married early instead.  But some of them just got lucky enough to end up in school and graduated.  Some even finished with honors.  All because, in every person’s heart and mind, there’s always a drive to win which means that, no matter how hard the situation or problem, there is always a way out.  That is, to face the problem and solve it whatever it takes. 

Now, if you say NO, I would be so honest you just put a smile on my face.  It’s because that way you can get a little help from your friend— ME.  So now let me tell you first your problem.  Your problem is you do not know how to FOCUS. In short, each time you have quizzes or oral recitations or exams you get low marks because you do not know what to do to get a high mark.  Well, you may have tried to focus once but you failed.  Why do you think you failed?  Why do you think you’re no better than you were last year?  Why do you still get failing grades?  Well, YOU ARE NOT CONSISTENT.  You study today; you don’t study the next day.  If you want to be on top, you have to promise yourself to study from DAY ONE onwards.  Second answer is, YOU HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO FOCUS.  You may ask me: How on earth am I going to focus in a classroom that’s filled with different problematic personalities?  How on earth am I going to focus in a home where my parents always quarrel over money and dad’s alcohol problem?  How am I going to focus in a city where there is more bad news than good news?  How?  Well, listen to me, brother/sister: YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO FOCUS IF YOU TRIM DOWN THE DISTRACTIONS.  Are you ready? 

Let’s start in your classroom.  Here’s a list of distractions you need to trim down if you want to focus on the lesson at hand so that hopefully you give the right answers during oral recitations, quizzes, and exams:

The talkative seatmate.  You can ask your teacher to transfer you.  If she doesn’t approve it you can tell this seatmate not to talk to you especially when the teacher is discussing something.  Even whispering is a distraction not only to you but to your teacher because she would think there’s dirt on her face. She’ll stop discussing and leaves you all to study the lesson on your own and prepare for a quiz.  You can also suggest to your class mayor to find a way to muffle your very talkative seatmates.  Maybe start an English campaign. 

The daydream.  Normally this occurs when the teacher all of a sudden becomes very boring. So be always on guard with this very common classroom phenomenon because this will bring you miles away from the lesson being discussed at the moment.  When you get back, you can’t relate anymore.  Then you beg your teacher to repeat only to be ignored with a cold stare or a very long homily.  I suggest you keep looking at your teacher’s face so you won’t fall into another excursion to dreamland.  But don’t fall in love with her or him because that would be another very big distraction.

The crush.  What’s wrong with having crushes?  That’s alright, brother/sister.  Nothing’s wrong with that.  But when your crush becomes the object of your attention while in class that’s wrong.  I suggest you sit beside your crush.  Because when you’re sitting side by side, it would be very awkward to stare at her or him.  However, with your crush just inches closer you would be tempted to spend more time admiring her soft hands resting on the arm of her chair than the beauty of a poem being analyzed by the class at the moment.  This is very dangerous because you would daydream again.  If you can save all your admiration until dismissal, that would be better.  Careful if you’re in the Chemistry lab because you might end up with all the acid spilled on the floor or on a classmate.

The bullies.  They are the ones who would say you’re doing pretty hard already.  That is, you’re pushing yourself too much already you might end up in the mental hospital.  They’re the ones who would laugh at your mistakes and tell you things like you’re already trying to be the teacher’s pet when in fact you’re not.  I tell you, you believe them and you’re done.  Be tough like a rock when they prick you with their foul words and lies.  They will never succeed, even in the movies.  When they’re offensive already, you can report them to your adviser.  One way to fight them is to really choose your friends.  Befriend the library girls or boys maybe and never feel you’re weird or nerd because you’re just trying to focus on why you’re in school in the first place— to study.

The cheaters.  In a way, they’re part of the bully group but they’re different because they have a specialty— cheating.  Never be tempted to follow their cause because right from the start they’re already doomed— doomed to fail.  No matter how tempting at times to just copy the assignment of your classmate very early in the morning, please don’t.  What did I tell you?  Focus, man!  Focus!  If you cheat, you’re totally distracted.  You mess with every conceivable purpose of studying.  You study and you’re evaluated by way of quizzes, tests, and exams so that the teachers would know how far you have learned from the lessons they give you.  But when you cheat, even if you get high grades, it’s very clear that you have not learned anything at all.    What kind of company will employ somebody who does not know how to get the job done because he cheated in school?  Study hard!

Let’s go to your house.  Do not let any conflicts at home interfere with your studies. All things have endings.  Stay focused.  On the other hand, if you think your household chores are distractions, no they aren’t.  There’s always time for everything.  Budget your time. Time to study is time to study.  Time to work is time to work.  Of course, add a little time to play so you won’t get burned.  Chill every once in a while.  Watch a movie or go eat some fries.

As for the city that has more bad news than good news, don’t worry much about that.  Let the officials and authorities think about that.  Of course, your solutions are always welcome.  But just focus on your studies for now and surely everything will turn out fine for you and for the world around you.  Remember: stay focused by trimming down the distractions!

I’m excited to see your first grading grades.  I’ll wait.