Boring Class Explained
…continued.
Yesterday I wrote about how boring my class was, how bored my students were and how bored I was teaching. This had a distinct impact on two dynamics in my classes that day. I felt the impact most strongly in the students’ behavior and my frustration. The two are correlated, as many of you that teach are aware of. Let me explain.
My Frustration explained: I was growing more and more frustrated as the day went on because I was dealing with more and more behavior problems. They became annoying. But it was my fault , not the students’. They did what any person would do and what we adults do at times–when we are not interested in something we shut down and stop caring. I can’t predict that there will ever be another day like that. In point of fact, there will be many. But my frustrations can be avoided, some of them at least.
Student Behavior explained: On this particlar day I really noticed that students were more talkative, less patient, and easily distracted by their peers. I could have easily resorted to saying things like “these kids are just bad” or “they don’t care, so why should I?” But I didn’t. I knew they were behaving that way because of my teaching, or lack thereof. My teaching was dry, lacked any engagement, and required low levels of thinking. When I compared student behavior that day to a day that required them to apply a skill to an assignment using technology and collaboration, there’s no comparison.
Why? It’s simple. Students were interested in what they were learning because now they were learning with technology, they were engaged. It was applicable to their interests, and respected their creativity. If you find yourself wondering what to do to reduce behavior concerns in your classroom, take the initiative and discover new ways of teaching. Develop yourself as a professional. Include technology when possible and you’ll be surprised what it can do. This is not technology for technology’s sake. Simply incorporate it naturally in a lesson. Students will be engaged. Try it.
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