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It’s back to school season!

Now, before geeks and nerdist purist groups start hate-mailing me, let me at least say the reasons I’m revealing these tried and tested survival guide to cheating. Everyone is not great in math. And while most of these people who are struggling with their numbers are great with other things like English, music and the arts etc., those talents get totally ignored simply because that’s the way our educational system works. I can go on lengths to prove that most successful people are the creative ones but the fact is it’s the logical people that get the medals in school.

Another reason I’m making this entry is just for kicks. Well, not necessarily. When I get old, it would be good to have records of school antics.

Do the Da Vinci!
Here’s the ultimate in cheating. Feel it’s too risky stretching your neck to get that glimpse on your friend’s paper? Then start making your own ‘Kodigo’. Here are a few ways to create your own set of secret notes.

Post-Its
Write down your formulas on those yellow stick-ons and stick ‘em under the desk, the seat or your polos.

Invisible Ink
Invisible pens cost about $2.00. You can get them at any magic shop or gag shop. The way these things work is the pen writes with clear ink that’s virtually invisible to the naked eye. When a black light is lit over the paper or wherever the secret message is written, the ink will glow. Not unlike the gadgets CSI use to reveal body fluids in crime scenes. Just write your ‘information’ on the bench, your folder (which you are supposed to use as an exam cover), your scratch paper or even your whole arm.

Kneaded Erase
Buy a kneaded eraser. That’s the clay-like eraser used by artists. Just stretch it our flat and insert your secret note in the middle and fold the eraser thus concealing the paper inside it.

Masking Tape
Used as the Post-It method explained above. More secure and provides more writing space.

Do the Scratch
They usually allow scratch papers to be used on math exams. Before the exam, write down those brain busting formulas on your scratch paper to be using the same pen you’ll use and with just a very light touch. The written information should be almost invisible to the untrained eye. When you’re about to be done with the actual exam, be sure to write over your secret formulas with legit computations or mumbo jumbo numbers to cover them up.

Under Cover
Students are allowed to use some sort of clean folder they will use to cover their desks during the exam proper. Get a nice black cover and some black construction paper. Write your formulas/codes on the construction paper either in pencil or invisible ink then stick that written side to the black folder using a worn-out double-sided tape so you can easily un-stick the ‘secrets’ during the exams.

Right under Your Nose
Have one member of the class write down formulas and other information on the front of the teacher’s desk. This can be done with chalk, black markers etc. People tend to overlook things that are right in front of them.

Sign Up
I learned basic sign language (alphabets only) when I was in grade six. The class needed a way to pass messages discretely and quietly. This method is very useful when it comes to multiple-choice types of exams.

Now, no matter how good you are at making deceptive messages and notes, one thing is certain – you will not survive high school being an island. When you got friends, you got you’re back covered. So on the next entry, we’ll go through some more survival guides to surviving school
life.

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