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Poem: From the Epigrams, by Martial (First Century Roman poet)
You ask me why I have no verses sent?
For fear you should return the compliment.
The Falling Asleep in Class Podcast Episode
Section 1: What is Boredom, Properly Defined?
- Definition by Dictionary:
boredom (noun) — the state of being bored; tedium; ennui.
bore (verb) (used with object), bored, bor·ing. — to weary by dullness, tedious repetition, unwelcome attentions, etc.
- Definition from the classroom:
- disinterested in subject
- unable to maintain concentration or attention even on a subject of interest
- Definition by examples:
- Sleeping
- Minimal effort
- Exasperation
- Pushing teacher to justify the subject – when we gonna use this crap?
Section 2: To quote a saint, There are no boring subjects, only bored students
- Is Chesterton right? Justify… This sounds to me like “That doesn’t make sense” when they mean “I don’t understand.” Also, let’s help Chesterton here. There are also bored teachers.
- What are the contributors to “boredom”?
- Are some subjects naturally less interesting and we just have to take our medicine anyway?
- How much of this is our love of specialization – I just ain’t a math kind of guy
- The age of the image – are screens doing this to our students? Should I have to turn my class into Fortnite?
- Constant battle: moving with the times vs preserving virtue — the “kids can’t pay attention for more than 3 minutes, so I have twenty activities every class” vs. drill and kill embalming
- Aristotelian “middle of the road” seems most likely
Section 3: What is the solution for boredom in the classroom?
- Identify the factors: praxis, content, reception
- Be willing to consider that it might be you, but don’t forget that this is an epidemic
- Retraining the tastes of your students
- Being attentive
- Being curious
- Being active