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Former students would probably
attest to the fact that few things tried my patience as
much as did the statement, “This is boring!” As I
reflect back on my many years in the classroom, I can’t
help but feel a tad bit sorry for the first kid who made
the mistake of uttering those words each year. (It was
rare to hear the phrase a second time because most kids
vividly recalled my “sermon,” and they didn’t want
to risk a repeat performance.)
The sermon went something
like this. “Nobody is BORED in my classroom. I work hard
to plan fun and interesting activities that will allow you
to learn. When you finish your work earlier than others,
there are many choices of quiet things to do. You may use
the book nook, puppet theatre, computer, writing center,
art center, or the manipulative math corner. Now please,
do NOT let me hear the word “bored” again!”
I suspect that each school
year’s first offender felt like Calvin in one of my
favorite Calvin and Hobbes cartoons. In the first two
frames Calvin is sitting at his school desk looking
totally bored, but saying nothing. In the third frame
Calvin screams, “BORRRING!” In the final frame Calvin
is heading for the Principal’s office muttering,
“Yeah, yeah…kill the messenger.”
Although not many kids made
the mistake of verbally uttering the “B” word a second
time, I suspect they thought it (or mouthed it to their
friends) more than once. Why do all teachers – and many
parents - hear this complaint on a somewhat regular basis?
Is it because most kids find the day-to-day classroom work
too easy? Not hardly.
Contrary to popular
opinion, the “bored” child is not always the
academically gifted child who is not being challenged. As
a matter of fact, that is rarely the case. More often than
not, the “bored” student is one who is frustrated
because he is not really understanding the material being
presented, or does not yet possess the skill that he is
being asked to demonstrate. (None of us like to admit that
we aren’t up to doing a task that we’re expected to
accomplish, or that we haven’t the foggiest notion about
what is being explained to us. And for most of us, it’s
easier to say, “I’m bored” than it is to say,
“I’m struggling.”)
When a student of any age -
that includes the high school kid - says he is bored, he
oftentimes means something quite different. He is really
saying, “This isn’t fun. This is work and I don’t
want to work. I want to be entertained! Furthermore, I
don’t understand what she (the teacher) is talking about
or what I am supposed to do. ” In the mind of the
student (albeit subconsciously), his cry of boredom shifts
the blame and the responsibility from himself to the
teacher.
If the child is unlucky,
the “boredom syndrome” will give the parent a hook on
which to hang criticism of the teacher, and no one will
win. The parent blames the teacher, the teacher reacts
defensively, and the child continues to flounder. An
opportunity for helping a kid gets lost somewhere between
the pointing fingers of the parent and the defense
mechanisms of the teacher.
And what do I suggest you
do if your child says, “School is boring”? Run (forget
walk) to the telephone and request a conference with your
child’s teacher. Advise the teacher of your concern.
Assure “him” that you are not requesting a conference
to assign blame to anyone, but rather to get his opinion
as to what is really going on in the classroom that might
prompt a declaration of boredom. I can assure you that
your child’s teacher will appreciate your concern and do
everything possible to work with you to determine the
cause, and work toward a solution.
“Boredom, after all, is a
form of criticism.”
-William Phillips
*This article is an excerpt
from Chapter 8 in my book, From the Teacher’s Desk. http://www.booklocker.com/books/
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About
The Author
Jacquie
McTaggart is a recently retired 42-year
career teacher and author of, "From
the Teacher's Desk." She currently
travels throughout the country speaking at
teacher and parent conventions. You can
find more of her teaching and parenting
tips at http://www.theteachersdesk.com.
mctag@indytel.com |
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