The Team-Building Activity

February 8, 2010












There was a parents-teachers conference to talk about the incoming graduation and recognition day. The meeting was held in Grade II-J room, so we transferred to the other room.

It was a room for Grade VI students, elevated with high concrete floor, well-lighted by the rays of the sun and well-ventilated by the air which passed through the windows. Perhaps, you would think that the room was a very conducive learning environment. To tell you, the combination of the well-lighted and well-ventilated environment creates boredom making students sleepy, as if they were in there mother’s womb or they are going back to bed in smooth pillows of sleepiness.

Even me, I can easily feel the tiredness and the boredom. It affects my entire mood. Thanks to the team building activity I had prepared. It suits to the environment. Since the topic was ‘Bayanihan’, I used the activity I had introduced to my students during my In-campus teaching, Tower Building Activity. Instead of getting bored, they enjoyed the activity. During the discussion, they were able to grasp the essence of the activity because they were made part of it.

However, when I taught Mathematics subject, it was very difficult to get back those excitement again. Action songs can not relieve the boredom and even the loud voice to awaken the drowsiness of mind and body. It seems that we were in a field of struggling against the suppress boredom and tiredness. I could not resist getting my eyes wet by tears of sleepiness and my mouth widely napping to fight against this classroom monster.

So, what I did was I made myself filled with energy again. I thought, the fighting force must start from me. If I let myself get tired and sleepy, perhaps, my students would do the same. They would probably catch the negative energy.

The topic was division, how boring in the part of children who were nearly called truants. The first thing I did, I got a stick then beat it on the table making a blast of noise to catch the attention of the students. It was effective especially when I walked around and beat every armchair on my way, as if I was chanting to let the ghost of tiredness get out of their bodies.

In the afternoon, we went back to our room. What a funny experience in that classroom. I was really challenged to become the Senate President inside the classroom just to catch the attention of the students.

This is what I admired most to my students. They were very open to accept challenge and new experience because they know that they would learn a lot in this new information to be incorporate to their past knowledge. It helped them realize that learning can not only be achieved by them alone. It is a meaningful learning experience if they try to socialize to the other learners where they share their varied experiences, views and thought regarding a particular thing. This helps them understand the culture of other people around them