Francesca - Week 4: Three Ways to Talk to Your Friends in Class (without your teacher noticing!!)

Ok. So you’re sitting in your classroom, done with your work, bored as you could POSSIBLY be–and you just want to talk to your friend about the latest school gossip. But it’s silent work time. And even though you’re LITERALLY DONE and not bothering anyone at all, your annoying teacher is still telling you to be quiet. 


…No? This is high school, not sixth grade? Well, I don’t care. Listen to my methods anyway; I think you’ll still find this enlightening. 


Scenario 1 - No Chromebooks


Method 1: Whispering (5/10)

Note: This method only works if you’re seated next to your friend in class. If you're not, see this guide on How to Make Your Teacher Like You. 

  1. Wait until the teacher is on the other side of the room or turned away. 

  2. Turn towards your friend–not too eagerly. 

  3. Whisper in short sentences. 


This method is pretty good for quick little statements that don’t require lengthy conversation. Stuff like “cute outfit!” or “meet me at lunch.” The only problem is that it doesn’t leave room for in-depth expression; we just don’t have enough time to tell each other what we really want to say. Nothing feels like enough when the time we part ways gets closer with each bell. But fear not–that’s where our other methods come in.


Method 2: Passing Notes (7/10)

Note: Encoded notes are especially effective. I was going to attach an example, but I couldn’t find my old code sheets. Guess my old messages are lost to time. Here’s something similar, though. 



  1. Rip off a small piece of paper and write your message.

  2. Pass it to your friend, using your desk to conceal the motion.


High risk, high reward. Finally, you can speak your mind!– but you risk the contents of the note being exposed. Always be careful and make sure to only pass notes to the people you trust. Luckily for me, my friends would never turn around and spill my secrets to everyone. If yours would, you should probably find some that wouldn’t before it’s too late.


Scenario 2: Chromebooks

Method 3: Google Doc (9/10)

Note: We have phones now, so I guess my guide is outdated. Sorry–these things change pretty fast. 

  1. Create a new Google Doc and share it with your friends. 

  2. Use the document to chat during Chromebook time.

  3. Important: Delete EVERYTHING on the document when class is finished. The teacher might open your Google account, and non school-related content could elicit suspicion.


I just need to emphasize the importance of the last step. I promise that whatever reason you have to hold on, it’s super risky and could get you AND your friends in trouble. I know it’s really hard to get rid of something you really wanted to keep, but it’s not worth it. 


Besides, you can always just talk again tomorrow, right?

Comments

  1. Julia H.October 8, 2026 at 5:01 PM

    Francesca, I liked how in this blog, you switched to a different voice. You changed up the story-like structure into a list format, making it interesting to read. Also, it was such a great personal touch of adding in your rating of each method.

    I can relate to method one of whispering, I think I do it pretty often compared to the others; I mostly use it to ask a short question. I would say that passing notes is very much more difficult; I saw that you rated it as higher, but I feel that for me, it is not worth it. It takes much planning and action; I like how you put it, “High risk, high reward.” For the Google Docs method, in middle school, I did it quite often since fate precluded me from sharing classes with friends. I liked how you pointed out that we always have the urgency to talk with our friends, even though there’s always tomorrow.

    It was interesting how in this blog, you utilized more capitalized lettered words which helped bring character and energy into your writing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JocelynOctober 8, 2026 at 7:10 PM

    Hi Francesca! I liked how you experimented with a different style of blog format and how it read like a field guide with numbered steps. I also liked how you included your own personal notes and experiences with the different methods and ranked them out of ten.

    This really took me back to my elementary and early middle school days where I would always be dying to talk with my friends during class. I have had my experiences with passing notes, but I have never thought to do it using a code, which I find very interesting. I remember when people wanted to pass a note across the classroom, they would use a stick note so others couldn’t read and expose the messages. I also like the Google Docs method, but prior to that I would actually email my friends, especially if we were not in the same class together. This worked decently well since we would receive notifications but is obviously not very private from the teachers or administrators. Thank you for your blog post, I found it very entertaining to read!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Connie LuOctober 8, 2026 at 8:26 PM

    Pspsps–hey Francesca! Thanks for the guide. Now I can send you encoded love letters without everyone knowing. (Oops, I guess I just told everyone... 😳😳)

    Anyway, I know we've only got one class together (two? band and band), but I'd love to hear your "latest school gossip." I promise I won't tell anyone your secrets 🫰

    Looking forward to hearing from you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Francesca MacapagalOctober 9, 2026 at 1:25 PM

      Hehe, okay... Stop, you're making me blush in front of my ENTIRE cohort! 😖

      Alright, here's the scoop. *is visibly nervous* *takes deep breath in* *exhales loudly*

      Kaitlyn has a girlfriend. And she's a drum major. From Irvington!! It's totally crazy, right?! Keep this on the low though...they'd KILL me if they knew I told someone! 🤫

      Delete
  4. Aadi BhojwaniOctober 8, 2026 at 9:24 PM

    When I was writing my blog, I decided to see how many people in my cohort were already done, and saw the draft for your blog. When opening it I was really confused at first, as the format seemed completely off. I thought maybe you copied something wrong, but after reading it a little I figured out that it was definitely intentional. Basically, I really like the creativity behind the idea and appreciate the freshness.

    Thinking about it now, just in ninth grade I was still up to these types of shenanigans, but lately, like many, due to junior year I barely even THINK about interacting with my friends across the room. But this really brought back memories of my bored days in health and other classes I shall not mention by name.

    I really like how you present your ideas in your blogs, this one especially. You’re able to talk through different perspectives and voices really well, and it really feels like each blog showcases a completely different style of writing that you excel in. In this one I guess it was a lot more methodical, but your paragraphing throughout is done really well. In fact, I feel my attempts on paragraphing better in my recent blogs are highly inspired from reading your first blog and obviously the others in our cohort.

    Although I did enjoy reading the blog, Mrs. Smith is going to read these yknow… why’d you go leak all the strategies to the enemy…

    ReplyDelete

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