Questions · Teachers

Questions to ask your teacher about life outside the lesson plan

For students who want to know their teacher as a person, a class interviewing a teacher for Teacher Appreciation Week, or a student newspaper profile. Friendly questions about school days, habits and the people who taught them, nothing too personal.

  • 19 questions
  • EN + TL on every card
  • Free in the app
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Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.

Getting to know№ 19

If you had one free hour every week, what hobby would you go back to?

Kung may isang free hour ka every week, anong hobby ang babalikan mo?

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A note

A hobby you miss can point to a part of you that still wants some space.

Yung hobby na nami-miss mo minsan tumuturo sa part ng sarili mo na gusto pa rin ng konting space.

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The questions

19 questions to ask a teacher

Every question in English and Filipino/Tagalog, word for word from the Kumustahan decks. Open “Back of the card” for the reflection printed on the other side.

How they work

5 questions

Easy ones to ask after class or at the start of an interview.

  1. When you enter a classroom, meeting room, or café, where do you usually choose to sit?

    Pagpasok mo sa classroom, meeting room, o café, saan ka usually pumipili umupo?

    Back of the card

    Seat choices can reveal comfort, strategy, or pure habit. Somehow we all have a spot our body chooses first.

    May sinasabi rin yung seat choice: comfort, strategy, o habit lang talaga. Minsan katawan na ang pumipili.

  2. Which kind of task makes you lose track of time?

    Anong klaseng task yung nakakalimutan mong oras kapag ginagawa mo?

    Back of the card

    The tasks that make time move fast can reveal what absorbs you, energizes you, or quietly fits how your mind works.

    Yung tasks na nagpapabilis ng oras pwedeng clue kung ano ang kumukuha ng focus mo, nagpapagana sa'yo, o bagay sa utak mo.

  3. If someone worked or studied with you for one week, what would they notice about your style?

    Kung may makakasama ka sa work o school for one week, ano kaya ang mapapansin nila sa style mo?

    Back of the card

    Your style may show in pace, focus, questions, breaks, or how you handle pressure. People notice more than we think.

    Pwedeng lumabas ang style mo sa pace, focus, tanong, breaks, o paano ka humarap sa pressure. Marami palang napapansin ang tao.

  4. If you had one free hour every week, what hobby would you go back to?

    Kung may isang free hour ka every week, anong hobby ang babalikan mo?

    Back of the card

    A hobby you miss can point to a part of you that still wants some space.

    Yung hobby na nami-miss mo minsan tumuturo sa part ng sarili mo na gusto pa rin ng konting space.

  5. Give yourself a funny award for something you are surprisingly good at.

    Bigyan mo sarili mo ng funny award para sa bagay na surprisingly magaling ka.

    Back of the card

    A funny award makes small talents official. Some skills may not belong on a resume, but they still deserve a ceremony.

    Ginagawang official ng funny award ang small talents. Hindi man pang-resume, deserve pa rin ng ceremony.

When they were your age

5 questions

Teachers were students once. Most love being asked about it.

  1. Back when you were a kid, what game or activity could keep you busy for hours?

    Nung bata ka, anong laro o activity ang kaya mong pagkaabalahan nang ilang oras?

    Back of the card

    Childhood focus has its own sweetness. It remembers a time when getting lost in play was enough.

    May sariling saya yung focus nung bata tayo. Naalala nito yung panahon na sapat na ang maglaro nang maglaro.

  2. Tell us about a small childhood memory you still remember clearly.

    Kuwento mo yung maliit na childhood memory na malinaw pa rin sa'yo.

    Back of the card

    The memories that stay are not always the biggest ones. Sometimes one small scene keeps its color for years.

    Hindi laging pinakamalaki ang memories na naiiwan. Minsan isang maliit na scene ang malinaw pa rin kahit ang tagal na.

  3. When you were younger, what got you excited quickly?

    Nung bata ka, ano yung madaling maka-excite sa'yo?

    Back of the card

    Early excitement can be fun to remember. It can also show what kind of wonder came naturally to you.

    Nakakatuwang balikan yung madaling ika-excite mo dati. Minsan pinapakita rin nito kung anong klaseng wonder ang natural sa'yo.

  4. From when you were younger, what habit or interest do you still carry now?

    Mula nung bata ka, anong habit o hilig ang dala mo pa rin ngayon?

    Back of the card

    Some parts of us do not disappear; they just grow up with us. It can be nice to notice what stayed.

    May parts tayo na hindi naman nawawala; lumalaki lang kasama natin. Nakakatuwang mapansin kung ano yung naiwan.

  5. Share the first time you did something on your own and felt more capable afterward.

    Ikuwento ang unang beses mong gumawa ng isang bagay mag-isa at naisip mong, "Kaya ko pala."

    Back of the card

    Finish if you like: "That was when I realized I could..."

    Kung gusto mo, ituloy: "Doon ko naisip na kaya ko palang..."

Who taught the teacher

5 questions

The people and lessons behind how they teach.

  1. Who taught you a work or school habit you still use, and what was it?

    Sino yung nagturo sa'yo ng work o school habit na gamit mo pa rin, at ano yun?

    Back of the card

    Some habits come from people who modeled them first. Their way of doing things can quietly become part of yours.

    May habits na galing sa taong nauna lang magpakita. Tahimik mong nadadala yung style nila hanggang maging part na rin ng style mo.

  2. Who taught you a useful skill or habit you still use in daily life?

    Sino yung nagturo sa'yo ng useful skill o habit na gamit mo pa rin sa daily life?

    Back of the card

    Practical lessons are easy to overlook, but they stay close. They show up in the small ways you move through a day.

    Madaling ma-overlook ang practical lessons, pero dala-dala mo pala. Lumalabas sila sa maliliit mong galaw araw-araw.

  3. What useful skill did someone patiently teach you?

    Anong kasanayan ang matiyagang itinuro sa'yo ng isang tao?

    Back of the card

    Imagine you are teaching the skill now. What would you show a beginner first?

    Isipin na ikaw naman ang nagtuturo nito. Ano ang una mong ipapakita sa baguhan?

  4. Tell us about a time someone was fair to you in a way you still remember.

    Ikuwento yung time na naging fair sa'yo ang isang tao, at natatandaan mo pa rin.

    Back of the card

    Fairness can be memorable because it gives people room to breathe. It says, I see the whole situation, not only the mistake.

    Natatandaan ang fairness kasi nakakahinga ang tao. Parang sinasabi nito, nakikita ko yung buong situation, hindi lang yung mali.

  5. Who is someone you respect for the way they live, even in small things?

    Sino yung taong nirerespeto mo sa paraan ng buhay niya, kahit sa maliliit na bagay?

    Back of the card

    Respect often begins with small, steady things. A simple habit can show a lot about how someone moves through life.

    Madalas nagsisimula ang respeto sa maliliit pero consistent na bagay. May simpleng habit na maraming sinasabi tungkol sa isang tao.

What they’ve learned since

4 questions

For a longer interview, or a teacher you know well.

  1. When did you last change your mind after hearing a good reason?

    Kailan ka huling nagbago ng isip dahil may narinig kang magandang reason?

    Back of the card

    Try an optional before-and-after: "I thought..., but now..."

    Kung gusto mo: "Dati, akala ko..., pero ngayon..."

  2. Tell us about something you used to avoid that feels less scary now.

    Kuwento mo yung dati mong iniiwasan pero hindi na ganun ka-scary ngayon.

    Back of the card

    Less scary is still movement. You do not have to be fearless to know something has changed.

    Movement pa rin ang less scary. Hindi mo kailangang maging fearless para malaman na may nagbago.

  3. After finishing something hard, how do you usually celebrate or recover?

    Kapag natapos mo ang mahirap na bagay, paano ka usually nagse-celebrate o nagre-recover?

    Back of the card

    Finishing something hard deserves a landing. Some people mark it loudly; some just need a quiet exhale.

    Kapag may natapos kang mahirap, kailangan din ng landing. May nagse-celebrate nang malakas; may tahimik na hinga lang.

  4. Which compliment have you remembered long after someone said it?

    Anong compliment ang tumatak sa'yo kahit matagal na itong sinabi?

    Back of the card

    The exact words are optional. Notice which part of the compliment stayed with you.

    Hindi kailangan ang eksaktong salita. Balikan kung aling bahagi ng papuri ang tumatak sa'yo.

How to use them

Before you ask

The best questions to ask a teacher are about who they were as a student and who taught them, because those are stories teachers rarely get to tell. Students mostly ask teachers about grades and deadlines. A question about the seat they always picked in class, or the person who taught them a habit they still use, gets a very different answer.

Keep it friendly and respect the line between curious and personal. Questions about their school days, how they work and what they’ve learned are welcome; questions about their salary, relationships or home life usually aren’t, even when asked kindly. If a teacher says “next question,” move on with a smile.

For a class interview or a Teacher Appreciation Week project, pick one question from each set and let a different student ask each one. Teachers can also use this list the other way: answer a few on the first day so students get to know you.

Good for

  • Teacher Appreciation Week interviews
  • Student newspaper and yearbook profiles
  • Getting to know a new teacher
  • Teachers introducing themselves on day one
  • Mentoring and advisory periods

Tips

  1. Ask after class or at a planned time, not in the middle of a lesson.
  2. Ask a follow-up. The second answer is almost always the better story.
  3. For an interview, tell the teacher the topics in advance so they can think about it.
  4. Skip salary, age, relationships and their opinion of other teachers.
  5. Write down one answer that surprised you. It makes a good thank-you note later.

Decks for this

Questions for teachers

Frequently asked questions

What are good questions to ask your teacher?

Questions about their own school days, how they work and who taught them: the game that kept them busy as a kid, the habit a teacher of theirs passed on, what they can handle better now than before. They are friendly, not too personal, and teachers enjoy answering them.

What should you not ask a teacher?

Their salary, age, dating life, family problems or what they think of other teachers. Keep to school, work, hobbies and the lessons they’ve learned.

What questions can you ask a teacher in an interview for school?

Start with how they work, move to their memories of being a student, then ask who taught them and what they’ve learned since. One question from each set fills a short interview nicely.

Bring a better question to the table.

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