Dealing with noisy people in a classroom in absence of adult supervision

Question

I was put in a top performing batch in my high school after management saw my academic performance. We are left to study on our own in a classroom.

Most students in the classroom are noisy; they keep talking during free/study hours, and they make it up for it by pulling an all-nighter which I can't do. Moreover, we are in the same place for about 10-12 hours and they are difficult people who won't listen to anyone.

So my question is: how do I deal with such people, make them maintain peace, so that I can concentrate on my studies?

Notes:

1. Half of them hate me, because I won't mingle and behave differently and other half are their friends.

2. My usual class has different lecturers, whose lessons I don't understand, moreover more leniency is given in new batch.

3. They are around 17 years old, 12th grade.

4. They keep using foul words while talking loudly.

Answer 1

Make them maintain peace? Class is a joint environment . You cannot ask everyone to be quiet just because you are irritated. When the staff are not there it is a student's right to use it anyway they prefer as long as they are not breaking rules. I suggest you not to try make them do anything. Unless you want other half to hate you. Control should come from inside not outside imparting them is a teacher's job not yours.

But I need to concentrate on my studies? You can argue that they are not letting you do what you want. Well for the free hour you can probably ask the management if you can move to the library or some other location, explaining your preference for a quieter environment. Considering your academic performance and it's a free hour they shouldn't mind.

How do I deal with such people? Classes or not only for learning academics but also for learning social interactions. This particular scenario will also happen when you move on to work. You can quietly study now and be a higher performer.But When you move on to work you can't be a high performer without managing people.you need to work on this.

My advice is you find like minded people. You will have to work with people you cannot avoid them, you can't ignore them fully also.People are tough to get along with especially in a classroom environment trust me I understand. Just find people who are like you, sharing the same mind set. Even one will do. Most groups have something they have in common find one who are at least a bit concerned with studies like you.

I hope you continue doing well in academics and be successful.

Answer 2

I'm editing my answer because I want to clarify something-

I read the question as:

1. I have a problem studying; since I was put in this group, I can't get my studying done
2. I think the solution is to get the other people in the group to work quietly, but there is no supervision, they hate me, etc
3. How do I get them to be quiet?

I see that the other 2 answers to this question think (3) is the question they are answering.

I don't. I think (1) is the real problem to solve here. (2) is an imagined solution to problem (1). It's imagined because it involves changing other people's behavior in somewhat antagonistic ways.

In most cases, in my experience, this is an undesirable goal. Often it is impossible, and even in "successful" scenarios it leads to unhappiness.

Reframing the challenge in a way that:

• involves fewer people
• is really only about your needs, not about your opinions of, or the behavior of, others

is, in my experience- take that FWIW- a vastly more-likely-to-be-successful approach.

In that context- it sounds like the direction to go is to go back to the management of the school and ask for their help in finding a location for you to study quietly.

If you don't have relationships with the other people in the class, then it doesn't really matter to you how they are spending their time. You also very likely do NOT want to frame to management that you have a problem with them or that you want to control them.

As a student, that's not your job. Your job is to make yourself successful. Management's job is to provide the conditions under which you can best be successful.

In that context, my suggestion would be to respectfully approach the school manager you have the most comfortable relationship with, say that you are having trouble maintaining concentration and keeping your performance high in a noisy room, can a quiet room be found for you or some other arrangement be made.

Be clear that you have no animus for the other students in the classroom you share, you have no right, no way, and no interest in controlling them, you only that you wish for help to find you a quieter place to conduct your studies.

Good luck!

Answer 3

From where I come from, we have saying:

"Se não os consegues vencer, junta-te a eles"
"If you can not beat them, join them"

Half of them hate me, because I won't mingle and behave differently and other half are their friends.

This is the biggest handicap to achieve your goals at the moment. Regular noise doesn't bother my concentration, but I totally understand that it can be annoying, I guess it depends on my mood.
You cannot win having 99% of the classroom against you. My strategy is a bit risky and will take some time to achieve. The goal is to change them from the inside.

Melt with the crowd, laugh, play along, don't study for a couple of days (I know this sounds crazy, but will help the melting process). After 1 or 2 weeks, you should have destroyed the invisible wall between you and them, and you'll be no longer the "nerd that sits on a corner", when that moment arrives, you'll have their respect, more allies and room to negotiate.
Life is a continuous negotiation, master that art!

Answer 4

deal with noisy people in a classroom ,in absence of adult supervision

You are being faced with the same problem a teacher is faced with. And the answer is divide and conquer.

In your description you describe the situation as impossible, yet the same people do listen to teachers ( assumption, else they would not be in school )

The school has an obligation to make sure the rules are being followed, for the benefit of all, so some occasional supervision is needed to set the tone. Some schools appoint pupils as prefects to bring this discipline.

So the avenue of exerting the school authority via teachers etc. is the way to go. A lot of schools also solve the problem by having a room that is supervised where silence must be followed, and has supervision all the time by someone.

If the school cannot exercise this level of control, you probably should change schools.