Are students doodling, looking out of the window, or distracting your lessons? They are bored.
We, teachers, often point at our students. After all, Johanna and Ibrahim, at the front, are on task and sitting still. So what is wrong with the others?
Their behavior and their lack of interest are symptoms of boredom. Trying to treat the symptom is getting the wrong end of the stick.
Here are 3 simple steps to kick boredom out of the classroom and improve your students’ behavior.
1- Shifting the focus: understand that students are not (always) the problem
It is easy to blame our students for not paying attention. We can blame it on their personality or ADHD, but no one wakes up bored; something or someone makes them bored.
What if that something was your lesson? What if that someone was you?
Let me share two anecdotes, one from when I was sixteen years old and one from when I was thirty-two.
1st anecdote: 16-years-old me
| Bored | My teacher, whose name I forgot, teaches WW2. I have no interest; I am bored. My book is covered in drawings, I chat with my friends, and I daydream most of the time. I failed my exams. |
| Engaged | A year later, the plot of WWII has not changed, but Mister Ducasse, my new teacher has high energy. He wants to be there with us. I listen, I am interested, I am on task, and I pass. |
2nd anecdote: 37-years-old me
| Engaged | I am currently taking Swedish classes. My first teacher was enthusiastic; she made every adult in the room read, write and speak. I was progressing. |
| Bored | My current teacher comes late; he leaves early and often disappears from the room after giving us 30 minutes to complete a simple task. I get bored and lose interest. I left the classroom after half an hour of wasted time in our last lesson. |
From these two experiences, I can focus regardless of the subject. The teacher is the one who has the power to ignite or annihilate my enthusiasm and engagement.
As an adult, I know the value of my time and invest it in learning a new language. But the time I invest could be better spent. No one likes being fooled.
Teenagers don’t have the option of leaving the classroom. They can either daydream, doodle or misbehave.
What about you? How do you feel going to these meetings on Monday afternoon? Are you enthusiastic? Are you attentive to what is being said? Wouldn’t you prefer to get on with your marking?
Students are not always the problem.
2- Don’t talk about behaviour, do something about it
How often do you talk about behavior with your students? That endless talk where we hash things out, repeat words like responsibilities and consequences over and over. We expect that what we say will trigger some change. After all, they are the ones making the wrong choices. You are simply doing your job: teachers teach, and students learn.
What if, once more, we shifted the focus?
We, teachers, have the power to make things interesting for our students; we can engage them. Instead of focusing on what they should or shouldn’t do, let’s take the center of attention back to ourselves and the way we teach.
Each lesson is a chance for a new start, to try something different. Look for ways to engage your students, break down the tasks, and make your lesson a sensory experience. If you are looking for tips to spice up your classes, I have more blog posts coming shortly on that topic, make sure to join my newsletter, and you will get all of them.
You won’t change behaviour by talking about it, but by trying something new.
3- It is not about what you teach, it is about you.
The subjects we teach do not belong to us. The content has been predetermined; our only freedom lies in the delivery. It is time for you to become an actor. An actor’s job is to deliver a performance, to make the audience feel what the director intended. On a side note, you are the director and the scriptwriter. (If you want to learn more about the script, look at this post). Here, we’ll only focus on your performance.
As an actor, in the classroom, you will need to focus on two pillars: your appearance and your voice.
Your appearance matters
Think of what you wear to go to school. Are you classic? Sport casual? Elegant chic?
Or have you been wearing that same weary jersey for the whole winter? What we wear not only affects how we see ourselves and how we feel (I talk about it here), but it also affects how our students see us. The adage tells us not to judge a book by its cover, but we can pre-judge it. It is a healthy reaction: that chicken meal looks old, I don’t eat it. Although it might be delicious, my pre-judgment might have saved me an uncomfortable trip to the toilets. Pre-judging is assessing a situation or a person based on a given (often visual) element. Like you do with everyone you meet, your students will pre-judge you.
How do you want them to see you?
Your voice matters
Are you energetic? Do you occupy the classroom space or sit behind that desk at a safe distance from your students?
When I greet my students, I like to be an espresso shot. I welcome them with a high intensity, and that energy keeps going through the class stream for the whole hour. When they enter the classroom, I want them to know that I have chosen to be there, that I am happy to be there, and that there is nowhere else I’d like to be at that very moment. It might not always be accurate, but remember, you are an actor, and your job is to convey ideas and immerse them in the scenario you have written and are now directing. Read more about teachers becoming actors here.
Show your students that you want to be with them.
Takeaways
Students don’t wake up bored. Throughout the day, something or someone makes them bored.
Instead of focusing on tackling their behavior, we should attack their boredom. This goes through a shift of perspective: we might be the problem, so we should act, make changes in the way we teach, and understand that our enthusiasm triggers our students’ engagement.
You will then become the actor who runs the show and captivates the audience. Have you ever seen spectators being distracted during a good movie? Become that good movie, and you will probably not have to deal with the behavior symptom.
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