Remember back to your middle school days. Or, if you feel that doesn't work for you, just think back to a class in high school or college, or that really boring boardroom meeting you went to this week, and remember it. How bored were you? Seriously. BO-RING.
Well, that's how it is for students sometimes, mine and or others. Sometimes there are things you just have to "hash through" and you just have to deal. Most of the time, though, that mentality only loses you student "focus points" down the road. Most of the time, the stuff you're teaching can actually be somewhat entertaining or at least relatively enjoyable to most people. Most of the time, it is fun and interesting because, at one time, the teacher actually really liked what he was teaching. What I mean is that most of the time, a class should be "boring". It might be difficult and challenging, copious and trying, but it shouldn't be, as a majority rule, boring.
Better said than done. The hum-drum of life can become heavy and the monotony infiltrating other aspects of your life...and teachers are no different from other people. However, all that said, it is still important to poses a level of intrigue in a class, a way to keep students excited and interested in the concepts. It can't happen everyday, but as a majority rule, yes. Personally, I'm actually really just a big middle-school kid trapped in an adult body: if you sit me in one place doing one thing for too long, I'm going to become BORED out of my MIND. So, here's what I figure. When I'm teaching a subject, save the actual days of intense information shifting from myself to the student, I figure if I'm bored, the kids have to be beyond reproach, and since I become bored of one routine after more than 20 minutes, I'm certain the kids feel the same way. Solution? Change of tactics! Draw on a board, partner work instead of solo work, stand up, throw a ball, do something in reverse order....rah rah rah! Basically....MOVE, either mentally or physically but get the brain thinking in a new way and suddenly the information looks different and potentially even interesting.
In a very specific incident this past week, I found I had four different students ask me the same question: What's on the test? By number four, I looked at the student and then, without saying a word, sat myself in an empty desk in the room. Once the kids caught on that I was decidedly playing student, they all suddenly wanted to try their hand at teaching. Cool. We had a little extra time, so, let's see how well they do. It took 9 students before I could find one who could tell me what the complete specifics were of the test, but each one spoke Spanish, was able to explain some grammatical concept, and actually did an impressive job. Plus, because I was playing "student", I acted like them: talking in spanglish, asking the same question, and I actually found that I had students correcting me and telling me the Spanish words. Fun!! Plus, suddenly they were all engaged and having fun, and using the things I was trying to teach them!!! YAY!!!
Happy day. Ding, round one. Now onto tomorrow....
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