PLAY YOUR STUDENTS’ GAME

Written by MARK JASON T. PEREZ

Head Teacher III, City of Balanga National High School, City of Balanga, Bataan

Date posted: January 23, 2020 | 1:44 PM

Defense of the Ancients 2 (DOTA 2)? Rules of Survival (ROS)? League of Legends (LOL)? Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS-GO) Minecraft? Players Unknown’s Battlegrounds? Fornite Battle Royale? Hearthstone? Apex Legends? The Division 2? Splatoon 2? Are you familiar with these terms? These are the TOP 10 MOST POPULAR ONLINE GAMES today according to Sourav Das based from his article dated August 15, 2019, of Sports Fact and Trivia. For sure you know some, may be because our leaners today talk about them even during our class discussion. Sometimes we scold them because they are more inclined talking about those than attending to their lessons.

If these kinds of stuff are the interest of the majority of our students today, why don’t we include them or relate them to our lesson? I bet sure it will be more rewarding relating to them than insisting our “old-school” ways.

I remember when I was teaching way back 2007 – 2014, and even up today when I am teaching some of my tutees, whatever updated games that my students talk about, I engage to it to connect and converse with them during break time. I find it undemanding to motivate them when you use it for your lesson. You have a common denominator when you relate your lesson to what your students enjoy. Holaa!!! It is indeed effective! They are participative and energetic. The motivation is not an issue or problem anymore because it’s their interest.

Now, I see some teachers do the same to maximize the teaching-learning process of their students. They use the character of League of Legends in plotting coordinate points in Math, some use DOTA characters in English and in their history class and many more that boost the interest of the students.

I am glad that some of our teachers are up- to- date with what our students are interested in. Teachers teach, touch, communicate, collaborate, play and learn from students also. Sometimes it is a two-way process of learning to attain the goal of the department in students learn in a child-friendly, gender-sensitive, safe, and motivating environment. Teachers facilitate learning and constantly nurture every learner to maximize the teaching-learning process and most importantly, enjoying and learning the lesson that they need.

I remember one quote from George Bernard Shaw and it goes like this “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing”. Playing may be a form of recreation but it can be a powerful tool to connect with our students these days.