Home » Blogs » jacabardo's blog

Influence of Leisure Activities in School: Its Role in Upgrading

Academic Performance of the Pupils

In my 12- year teaching experience I observed that our students’ restlessness, noise and
inattentiveness were due to their misguided leisure and behavior. As a self proclaimed servant of the
academe, I conducted research about the influence of leisure activities at school and how to re-
direct it towards upgrading our students’ academic performance. This is an ambitious attempt to
minimize students’ noise, inattentiveness and unruly behavior inside our class to alleviate our
teachers’ hypertensions and to lessen wrinkles caused by daily confrontation with the so called
villains inside the class.
I remembered Bruce Lee’s maxims in his famous Jet Kun Doo, he said: ”To pacify an opponent is
to use his force against him”. Why not! We can also re-channel our pupils’ hyperactivity and
unruliness into a meaningful learning process. How to do it? Let me begin with identifying top
ranking leisure activities of our students at school while our teachers are delivering their lessons in
the class. I gathered 50 respondents at random representing the four sections in Grade VI. The
findings showed that the top five leisure activities our pupils engaged-in at school were: 1.
Interacting with classmates (making noise) 2.Drawing cartoon characters; 3. sports activities;
4.daydreaming; 5. Writing love letters;
Let’s dissect it one by one and we’ll try to give some tips on how to deal with these leisures.
 
Interacting /Playing with Classmates.
There is no doubt that interacting and playing with classmates while the teacher is teaching is the
number one problem in our schools. 47 out of 50 pupils admitted that they make noise. However, its
positive side cannot also be denied because it can also enhance value of friendship and motivation
to attend classes. It only shows that peers satisfy the needs to belong. This could be explained by the
fact that children are social being. They would like to mingle with other children of the same age
thus, cliché’ is very common among grade school children. With this, they can form an inner circle
of friends where they can confide with their fancy stories and jokes especially during vacant time.
This may explain why they are looking forward to see their classmates and friends everyday. These
friends according to them are their helping hands whenever they don’t understand assignments and
don’t know the correct answer for their daily quizzes and periodic examination.
Solution:
Teacher should maximize these leisure activities by using it to enhance value of friendship and as a
motivation to attend classes. Since they are always telling stories that causes noise, why not
integrate their stories in our lessons? Instead of growling as a tiger ready to bite its prey because
they are noisy, let them share their stories and use it as a content of your lessons. Lessons like parts
of speech, relaying information and telling stories heard are the best lessons to integrate their stories
in English. Teachers must always be observant and quick enough to find springboard lessons based
on their stories to maximize learning.
 
Drawing Favorite Cartoon Character
This leisure develops artistic skills provided that it is done during vacant time. This implies that
children, by nature are very imaginative and artistically creative persons. It is the reason why our
pupils wanted to draw during their vacant time and even during class hours. They can express their
feelings freely without inhibitions. Sometimes pupils draw their most hated teachers with horns and
fangs and a halo drawn above the head for teachers they admired most.
Solution:
Always remember our children are not just playing when making drawings. To them, they are
seriously at work! Instead of scolding , appreciate his work! Use the reverse psychology. Tell him
that his drawing is good, that he can draw better and can get more ideas to draw if he pays attention
to your lessons. We should be quick to reinforce it by using his drawings as picture representation in
one of our lessons. At the same time, use it as an assignment to develop our lessons in English and
Filipino.
 
Joining Sports Activities /School Programs
This leisure's enhances leadership skills and talents. It supports the important role of the school in
the total development of the students. The schools’ co- curricular and extra curricular activities
provides a venue for the discovery for teachers to nurture our pupils’ well being to the fullest.
Solution:
Some teachers are not cooperative with regards to the extra and co- curricular activities of our
students. The teacher’s role here is to clear-out lines between both extremes. Some students are very
active in sports / curricular activities but no longer interested in their studies. Some are so studious
that they don’t participate to any school extra-curricular activities anymore. The teacher should re-
direct this leisure activity by educating them to become a balance and well rounded individual.
They should be active in extra curricular activities and at the same time excels in their academic
subjects. Teachers should not deprive their athlete students to have especial exams and make-up
works during their absence while attending sports competition. We should be gracious enough to
consider the situation especially if our students are running for honor.
 
Daydreaming
This is one of the most common things happened to our preteen- students. Almost every preteen
indulges in daydreams. Next time when we saw our student looking at us seeing nothing and
without response to our questions with regard to our lessons, let’s restrained ourselves from
picking-up the eraser and hurled it upon our students’ face. Remember, they are indulged in
daydreaming and fantasies. This is a normal process which could help the child deal with new
feelings that are not easily expressed.
Daydreams fill a need of the younger who is learning one world (childhood) and wondering about
entering another (the teenage years). He must deal with puzzling and unpredictable themes, and he
cannot deal with some of them directly because he would be punished by shame, guilt terror, panic,
fury, or rage, so he day dreams. The re- direction process here is to use their fantasies to inspire
them in their pursuits to learn.
 
Writing love Letters
Many preteen- girls want to get a boyfriend and many preteen – boys also want a girlfriend. But this
is only a game that seldom develops into anything serious. During these years, boys and girls still
consider each other a “closed group”. So, writing a love letter during class hour is very much
prevalent among our preteens student. They are done in secret. Since it is done in secret the teacher
should not confiscate it which we often do. Remember that secrecy is part of the normal preteen
trend. Partly, it is the preteens need to have a domain safe from adult invasion. The content of a
secret may be irrelevant. It is the fact of having one that counts. Our re- directing process here is to
re-channel their love letter into a project to be considered in making formal themes. By checking
the grammar of their love letter they unknowingly disclosed their secret to us and at the same time
learned some mechanics in writing a composition.
 
Recommendations
Now, knowing our student’s leisure activities engaged in at school we can now redirect them into a
meaningful learning process which could help them upgrade academic performances. To reinforce
more our knowledge in re- directing process, the following recommendations are offered:
1. The school should conduct training seminars on the importance of “guided Recreational and
Leisure Activities” for teachers and parents. This should be done at least twice a year before
the start of classes and at the end of the school year.
2. Teachers should incorporate recreation and leisure activities us a spring board to their
lessons in Mathematics. MSEP and Science.
3. Teachers should guide pupils on how to use management of time in order to enjoy their
leisure and recreational activities.
4. Teachers should guide pupils in the exercise of their freedom to interact with classmates.
However, it should be imposed with corresponding house rules to be agreed upon by the
teacher and pupils themselves.
 
The article was written by Juan Amormio Cabardo, Master Teacher I-Apolonio Samson Elementary
School

User Login

Username: class="form-required" title="This field is required."*

Password: class="form-required" title="This field is required."*

Log in

 Create new account

 Request new password
EduBlogs
My life as a Student Teacher 05.25.2011 

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.  ~Henry
Brooks Adams

 I’ve always wanted to become a...

Influence of Leisure Activities in School: Its Role in Upgrading Academic

Performance of the Pupils 02.04.2011 

In my 12- year teaching experience I observed that our students’ restlessness, noise
and inattentiveness were due to their misguided...

more

E-turo Encyclopedia
The Philippines' National Book Development Board (Filipino: Pambansang Lupon sa
Pagpapaunlad ng Aklat), abbreviated as NBDB, is an agency of the Philippine government under
the Department of Education responsible for developing and supporting the Philippine book
publishing industry.
Read more in Wikipilipinas
more

Featured Educator
Solita Collas-Monsod, popularly known as Mareng Winnie, is a Filipino broadcaster, economist,
professor, and writer. Monsod is best remembered for her role as Socio-economic Planning
Secretary during the term of President Corazon Aquino and as a co-host in the GMA Network show
Debate with Mare and Pare with former Pangasinan Governor and Vice Presidential candidate
Oscar Orbos.

Featured Partner
The Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE) aims to provide access and quality
secondary education to the Filipino youth. It is responsible for establishing secondary
schools where there are none; formulating policies, plans and projects, and maintaining
a complete and integrated system of secondary education with regards to curriculum, facilities and
teachers' in-service training relevant to the goals of national development.

New forum topics

 What are your views on the proposed 12-year basic education cycle?
 Do online activities such as website surfing, blogging and email improve the class
participation of your students?
 What Instructional Media Tool or Equipment do you usually use?
  How do you start your class lecture?
 How do you deal with disorderly students during a lecture?
more