Is your lesson “boring”?
Have you ever worked ALL night on a packet of math questions, just to have a thirteen-year-old say, “This is SO boring!”, or “When will we EVER use this in the REAL WORLD?”?
After one-two hours of making the lesson, thirty minutes making the answer keys, and ten minutes printing out the papers for each student, to hear in a matter of seconds, the lesson is “boring”.
It’s heartbreaking and has even made me feel like a failure of a teacher.
It’s easy to take it personally, but let’s analyze the situation a bit more instead…
Here are a few things that can be taken from these comments.
Students are being brutally honest. Take this as an opportunity to take in some feedback. Ask them how you can make it better for next time.
Students are confused or actually bored because the lesson is too easy. Are you just giving busy work, or are the questions marked to their level?
The lesson does not have any meaning to them or spark interest. How is this going to create a want to answer the questions?
Think about where your lesson may lie with these comments.
For me, students have said these comments less and less because I have worked on buy-in from my students.
Students need to see value in what you give them. I start off every unit this way.
I say, “You may NEVER do this type of math again or in real life, yet I am still so passionate to teach you it, why?”
Most students’ jaws drop when I say they may never do it again, but it gets them thinking about the why.
They respond, “To make us smarter.” “To get us working in groups.” “To make us think more.” “To strategize.”
All wonderful responses, and they come up with every single one.
Now, let’s persuade the skeptics.
I love to share a story from my season the prior year coaching volleyball. “You know, I make every student on the volleyball team stretch and run 5 laps around the gym, yet, they never once do those things during a game! Why do I do that to the team?”
“So they don’t get hurt.” “So they are warmed up for the game.” “To get ready and stronger for the game.”
“EXACTLY! My math class is the warm-up. I want you to warm up your brain for the real world.” After the story, I promise all my students I will work my hardest to NEVER give busy work. To create problems that will give them a challenge and strengthen their brains. To build them up for success to be strategic in the real world.
Do I still get students who say they are bored or don’t want to do my math work some days? Yes, of course, but now, I don’t take it so personally, and I dive deeper instead of getting mad.
