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Children's Mental Health Ontario
International Edubloggers Directory
The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada
Feb
25
Bored in class-too bad
Filed Under Uncategorized
I don’t know about your household, but Saturday morning is a very busy time in mine. So today after all was said and done and before the birthday party with the Dora the Explorer birthday cake, I sat down with a cup of coffee, put my feet up and began to to read our community newspaper, The Mississauga News. I was just turning the pages , not too interested really just reading the headlines when I came to this “School principal silences student”. School principal silences student? Now that caught my interest.
A grade six student at St. Sebastian Elementary School has been censored by his principal after writing a speech about being bored in class…”My message is to you,” he (the student) writes in his speech, “let nobody steal your joy by keeping you bored. Find a way out. To be happy is your purpose in life.”
Whoa!!! The principal silenced the student because the student wrote a speech saying the teacher has stolen his joy by keeping him bored! Oh my goodness. Dare I comment? Well, yes. Let’s look at some of the assumptions
- It’s the teacher’s job to keep students from being bored.
- Students have a right to joy in the classroom.
- It’s disrespectful for the students to say they are bored.
- Student should be censored for writing about being bored
- The purpose of life is to be happy
It’s the teacher’s job to keep students from being bored- I don’t think so. It’s my job to teach and my training supports that. I’m not paid to entertain students. I’m not a stand up comedian, nor am I Much Music or the latest greatest video game. My class isn’t divided into 10 minute time periods nor does it have a remote to change the channel. I plan my lessons so that the pace is appropriate, the strategies I use support all learning styles and my evaluations are mindful of the multiple intelligences. I do my part. Students need to do their part. Oh, they have a part. Yes indeed. When my students complain about being bored in my class or in other classes, I sit down with them and show them what they can do to help alleviate some of the boredom. Students have a part in their being bored. They can do things to get involved and not feel as bored. Sometimes things are boring. That’s a fact. My last bit of advice is: Suck It Up! Life is not a party.
Students have a right to joy in the classroom. I don’t think so. Students have a right to be taught by a teachers who know their stuff and how to deliver the information skillfully.
It’s disrespectful for students to say they are bored. I don’t think so. I think it’s a marvelous opportunity to have a discussion about expectations and reality. I relish these kinds of discussions. I don’t feel threatened by them because I know that it’s not my responsibility to entertain students. It’s my job to teach them, and that includes teaching them strategies they can use to help themselves when they feel bored. Teaching students how to deal with boredom is teaching them a life skill. They think they are bored now-just wait until they hit life outside of school. (I’m still marking those five paragraph essays)
A student should be censored for writing a speech about being bored. My first thought was- oh really! But, then I realized I didn’t know exactly what was said. So, I guess it would be prudent to withhold judgment. I know at our school there’s no rule against writing speeches about being bored, yet. 
The purpose of life is to be happy-
As a Buddhist monk my concern extends to all members of the human family and, indeed, to all sentient beings who suffer. I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their own happiness or satisfaction.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, Oslo, December 1989
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13 Responses to “Bored in class-too bad”
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I blogged about it and found the article - http://www.mississauga.com/mi/news/story/3887975p-4496787c.html.
Thanks for writing!
Well, have I been here! Last year our Valedicotrian did a speech about school, the boredom, the loss of years to unproductive pursuits and some other stuff referencing the wast of time that we call school. I read the speech, I didn’t agree but I allowed him to do the speech. I took phone calls from people in town for 4 days about that speech and the rudeness and how could we let it happen and why would we allow it and and and. Hmmmm, the student was not really disrespectful to the teachers, he even said that in his speech. He was disrespectful to the society in which he lived and, in a public forum, people felt he was not right to give such a scathing review of the school. As for me, it made me think more about what we do - so this year we are having more student led discussions about classes, our SRC is much livelier, our school spirit is on the rise and we are trying to do some of the things students are saying - even allowing them to set the their own agenda for a “Get A Life” Day about transitioning from school to “the world.” So, it’s a tough call. I agree that we need to hold judgement on what was said before we make comment. What was the context. What actually was in the speech and how was it presented. I agree we are not there to entertain students but if we’re boring them out of their minds, don’t we owe it to them to at least listen to why they are bored. Sometimes, it is just the way it is - kind of like going to a convention where things go bad. You just have to try to get something. However, as an adult I do have the ability to get up and leave - something few students would think of doing. If teachers are not using a variety of teaching strategies and assessment strategies, then maybe the students have the right to complain. However, we do not have enough information to make any judgement on any side.
Must be a great paper to cover such things - either that or it was a dull day at the office!
[...] I need to bring to your attention an article about being bored in class. More about a student who said it out loud really Original. [...]
[...] Kids are going home saying they are bored, they don’t do anything in school, school has no relevance, etc. Parents, like the ones who are willing to take time to sit on SCC want to help the school to [...]
Really like this post! Thank you!
Senia, Your welcome.
I googled your name because I read this quote of yours on an msn article: “I tell the kids that if they don’t do math in their head the brain cells that do math will die and they won’t be as smart as they used to be.” Aside from virtually no scientific data backing this claim up, don’t you think scaring your students into doing shorthand math is a bit draconian?
Then I found this website of yours, and read this post, and I have to say, I am not impressed. In the first place, you completely missed the students message: “To be happy is your purpose in life.” Well, given the state of things today, I would be heralding a student who tried to give this kind of uplifting message to his class. Shame on the principal and shame on you for narrowing your focus so much. The Dalai Lama’s message is that if suffering is caused by ignorance, then happiness is caused by knowledge (at least in the sense that you use the quotation). Well this is true, but I think you’ve stretched his words to back up your assertion that education doesn’t need to be enjoyable or entertaining. Wrong on both counts in my opinion.
You may be right about the “life skills” aspect of all of this, but for you to assert that marking your essays is boring really makes me wonder how you ever got a teaching award.
For me, life is fun, I do jobs that I enjoy passionately, and I love to learn. My love of learning though, this came from teachers, educators, parents, and professors who all strived to make the process of learning as enjoyable and holistic as possible. This is a great way to ensure information is retained. Association with other events. The teachers who drummed the class with false statements about dying brain cells, for me, their lesson plans were relearned through my own directed research. Egads, dare I say, I do this online?
Anyways, I don’t mean to sound negative or overly critical. I am sure you are an excellent educator and have improved the lives of countless students. Let’s try to raise the stakes even more though, and enjoy what we do. Everyday.
CSB,
Regarding the quote where I tell the kids that if they don’t use specific brain cells they loose them. I show them the video called the Teen Aged Brain that I got from PBS on line and that supports the contention that if you don’t use brain cells you lose them. Of course reading what I said on-line does not let you hear the smile in my voice when I tell my students this. Perhaps you can view the video. It’s excellent. I’m sure you would enjoy it.
the kid was totally right
i’m bored in class.
so i read your [lame] response to a silly child essay.
meh.
true, teachers are suppose to teach and are not paid to be entertaining, but what good is a teacher when they cannot engage their students? Is it not their fault that they have no ability to interest students? We are at the age where soem of us can easily be distracted, many of us have different abilities and defficienies, and very hectic schedules. It is the teacher’s responsibility to put the students on track and give them a positive look towards school. It is the teacher that should provide a good learning environment, and not just to teach us the knowledge and get it done with - clearly, that’s what you’re making it sound like.
Find something you enjoy doing, it’ll help everyone.
I just now saw this article. I am surprise at the way the teachers have responsed to the article. I have ADD and my daughter has the ADHD. So, if the class she is attending is boring than it is sore of like finding a channel that works for you. I really think that if you all feel that you are not in the class to entertain than you all should check into what other teaching methods is out there. These kids are only asking that you make the class interesting not dull or boring. I would go to sleep in a boring meeting so most cases when we had the option to attend, I pass it up. I refuse to sit anywhere from a hour to two,three or more hours trying to take in information that could benefit or not. Society is so driven to doing what is obsolate that it bores anyone and everyone and we are suppose to sit there and take it. Well, those who are living life and happy are not dealing with boring things. Education is suppose to be a journey of learning and suppose to be fun in the mean time. Keeping a childs interest would make them feel that it is fun and learning is something they plan to keep doing but if we make education Some morbit and dull then how do we expect our children to stay in school.
I am a person with Attention Deficit Disorder and my child has Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. Boring is not a good ideal for us.
Lori,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I hear what you are saying.
I think that the teacher and the students are a team . Each must do his or her part. There are things a teacher can do to help make the class interesting for a student. There are things a student can do to make the class interesting for him or herself. It’s not all up to the teacher. It’s not all up to the student.
There’s only so much a teacher can do. For example the curriculum in mandated. I don’t have much say in what I have to teach. I can make it as interesting as possible but the topic could still be boring. I don’t have a say in how long a class is. 75 minutes is too long for some kids. I don’t have a say as to when school starts. There are lots of things that need to change in the system that I have no control over.
Over the years, I have had many ADHD and ADD students in my classes. I know the challenges they face. I know the accommodations to make that will help these students be more successful, and I implement them. But sometimes no matter what I do or what the student does, school is boring for that student. What can I say. I don’t have the power to change all the things that make school boring.
If you can think of some things that I can do to make school less boring, things that I have the power to do I would really appreciate hearing them. I am open to suggestions.