What to do if you're bored at school. Why modern children are bored at school

Boredom can have a significant impact on your performance in school and your desire to learn. There are many reasons for boredom, ranging from trying unsuccessfully to understand a subject and feeling like it's beyond you. intellectual abilities, and ending with ordinary temporary boredom. In any case, it is important to determine the source of the problem and find a constructive solution. fun way deal with it.

Steps

Why are you bored?

Find out what exactly causes you boredom. This is important because once you realize what exactly is behind this boredom, you can find a solution that is sure to work.

Think about whether you are bored in all lessons or only in certain ones. There may be a reason why you don't like some activities but love others. And as a result, you may get bored during boring lessons, but you will feel how the energy in you is in full swing in other classes where the topic is interesting to you.

Perhaps the subject is too difficult for you? Sometimes the reason for boredom is that you don't like working hard on a task or you don't want to ask for help.
Perhaps the subject is too easy for you? If you feel like you've been there, done that, and want to do more, then you can get bored very quickly.
Perhaps the teacher’s methods in the classroom do not inspire you at all? For example, permanent job on handouts can lead to you getting bored as there is no variety in activities.

Find out when you realized you were bored. There are times when you are simply bored doing something in class. If it's that simple, you need to ask yourself if this is a good approach to your studies and your future.

Fighting looming boredom
1. Listen very carefully. If you are in class, the first thing you need to do is pay attention. Try to review what you have learned by asking yourself questions about the chapter or lesson you have completed and try to understand more.
  
  Ask for help. If your boredom is the result of not understanding the class material, ask for help. Main goal education - to study, and not to pretend that you understand everything, when in fact everything is completely different. If you ask for help, teachers will see that you have motivation and a desire to learn, rather than thinking that you are stupid. You can also ask your parents to find you a tutor if you have serious gaps in your knowledge. The tutor will work with you one on one, and most likely you will understand as a result that this way you learn faster and understand more easily, which means you will soon catch up with your classmates.
  - If one of the teachers thinks that you are stupid, then you should blame the teacher's approach to work, and not yourself. Every person who has thought to ask for help has the right to receive this help.
  - Find a more effective approach to studying. Exists huge amount online references where you can find study methods that will help you better understand the subject and improve your results.
2. Ask to change your class or difficulty level. If you feel that a class level is too easy for you, ask to be moved to a higher level. difficult class or given higher level complexity. This will require your parents' intervention, and then you will need to prove that you really need a higher level. Start by talking to your parents, and after that they will arrange a meeting at school.
  
  Ask them to change the presentation of new material in your classes. For example, if you work in notebooks all the time, ask your teacher: is there a different way to study? For example, read in class, watch videos, do experiments, visit some places, etc. Perhaps the teacher does not realize that he is giving too much identical tasks and if you draw attention to the missing results, things can get better.
Quick ways to get rid of temporary boredom

Victoria Prooday

Occupational therapist. Blogs about modern education and the impact of technology on the children's nervous system.

1. They are influenced by technology

Many parents use technology as a free babysitter. You just have to pay: nervous system and the child's attention.

Compared to virtual reality, our ordinary reality seems boring. The brain gets used to a large number visual stimuli. After bright graphics and special effects, it is very difficult to process boring information in class. As a result, children are not equipped to study.

Technology also disconnects us emotionally. And for the development of a child, the emotional availability of parents is extremely important.

What to do

Restore your emotional connection with your children:

Surprise them with something nice. Make them laugh or tickle them. Leave a note with kind words in your backpack or under your pillow. Dance or play together, have a pillow fight.
Introduce family traditions: dinners together, evenings with board games, bike rides, evening walks with a flashlight.

2. They are used to getting what they want immediately.

How often can you hear similar conversations: “I’m hungry!” - “Let’s go to the store now,” “I’m thirsty!” - “Here’s some juice”, “I’m bored!” - “Take my phone.”

The ability to delay gratification is one of the keys to success. It helps you not give up under stress. Parents often forget about this, because they want to make their child happy right now. But this will only cause harm in the future. Children will not be ready for difficulties.

What to do

Teach your child to wait:

Explain that it is normal to be bored. This is the first step to creative thinking.
Gradually increase the waiting time between the desire and its satisfaction.
Do not give your child a phone or tablet in queues or cafes. Get used to spending this time talking or playing.
Limit snacking.

3. They feel like they're in charge.

“My son doesn’t like vegetables”, “She doesn’t like to go to bed early”, “They don’t like to dress themselves” - these are phrases you often hear from parents. It turns out that children dictate how to raise them. But this approach is harmful. Children are ready to eat only pasta and sweets, watch TV all day, play games and never go to bed. If you indulge all their desires, nothing good will come of it.

They learn that they can do whatever they want and not do what they don’t want. They don't understand the word "need". But you have to make an effort. If you want to be an excellent student, you need to study hard. If you want to be a successful football player, you need to train every day.

What to do

Set boundaries:

Highlight certain time for using electronic devices, sleeping, eating.
Think about what is good for the child, not just what he wants.
Turn activities that children don't like into games.

4. They are accustomed to constant entertainment.

Parents try to occupy every minute of their child’s life with something fun and interesting. Otherwise, they feel like they are not fulfilling their responsibilities.

But life is not all about entertainment. Monotonous actions teach us to work even when we are bored. The same skill is needed for studying at school.

What to do

Teach your child to do monotonous work from early childhood:

Teach them to tidy up their toys, hang up their clothes, take groceries out of their bags, set the table, and make the bed.
Turn such tasks into a game so that they evoke positive associations in the child.

5. They have poor social skills.

Children used to play outside. They developed in communication with each other. Now they spend more and more time on the computer and phone. Parents themselves also more often choose electronic devices instead of playing or talking with children. But a smartphone will not teach your child to communicate.

What to do

Develop social skills:

Teach children to share, lose and win, make concessions, give compliments, say “thank you” and “please.”

The brain is like a muscle that can be developed and trained. To ride a bicycle, you need to learn it. In order for a child to know how to wait, you need to teach him patience. Same with any other skills.

Victoria Prude holds a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Toronto School of Medicine and a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and Health Sciences from York University. She is the founder and director of a multidisciplinary clinic in Toronto for children with behavioral, social, emotional and academic problems.

Victoria, along with her team, has helped hundreds of families across Canada and the world and is a frequent speaker for educators, parents and professionals.

She believes that today's students are emotionally incapable of learning, and many factors contribute to this.

"New Ukrainian school” publishes the main points from Victoria’s column on the website deeprootsathome.com.

I am a physical therapist with years of experience working with children, parents and teachers. I completely agree with the statement that our children are spoiled in many ways. I hear the same thing from every teacher I meet. It is clear that thanks to my profession I see a decrease social activity children, academic and emotional functioning, and sharp increases in learning difficulties and other diagnoses.

With our best intentions, we unfortunately change children's brains in the wrong direction. Here's why.

technologies

Technology, like free babysitting services, is actually not free at all. We pay with our children's nervous systems, their attention, and their ability to delay gratification. Compared to virtual reality everyday life- boring. After hours virtual reality processing information in classrooms is becoming an increasing challenge for our children because their brains are accustomed to high levels stimulation that video games provide. This makes them vulnerable to academic problems.

Technology also emotionally disconnects us from our children. A emotional sensitivity parents is the main nutrient for the child's brain.

Children get everything immediately

"I'm hungry!" - “Let’s stop now and eat”, “I’m bored” - “Here’s my phone number.”

The ability to delay gratification is one of the key factors for future success.

Our best intentions are to make the child happy, but unfortunately, we make him happy immediately and unhappy in the long run. Learning to delay gratification means learning to work under stressful conditions. Our children gradually become less able to deal with minor irritants, eventually becoming a big hindrance to their success in life.

Children rule the world

“My son doesn’t like vegetables”, “She doesn’t like to go to bed early”, “He doesn’t like to eat breakfast”... I hear this from parents all the time. Since when do children tell us how to raise them? If we give all the initiative to them, all they will do is eat macaroni and cheese, play on tablets and never go to bed.

Without necessary nutrients And good sleep our children will come to school irritated, exhausted and inattentive.

In addition, due to permissiveness, modern children lack the concept of “need to do.” Unfortunately, to achieve our goals in life, we must do what is necessary, and this is not always what we want.

For example, if a child wants to be a student, he must study. To be a successful football player, you need to train daily. Our children know very well what they want. But difficult periods work that “needs to be done” is necessary to achieve the goal. If a child does not know how to do this, the goals become unattainable, and the child becomes disappointed.

endless fun

We have created an artificial, cheerful world for children in which there are no boring moments. When it gets quiet, we run to entertain them again and again, otherwise we feel like we are not fulfilling our parental duty. We live in different worlds. They have a cheerful one, we have a working one.

Why don't children help us in the kitchen or with laundry? This is monotonous work that trains the brain to work. This is the same muscle that is needed to be capable of.

When given the task of writing by hand in class, the student’s response is usually: “I can’t, it’s too hard, too boring.” Why? Because the working muscle is not trained by endless fun, it is trained by work.

Limited social interaction

We are all busy, so we give our children gadgets to keep them busy. Children used to play outside where they learned and practiced social skills in natural spaces. Unfortunately, technology has taken away this time on the street. And most successful people have excellent social skills. This is a priority.

Train your brain

You can make your child successful on a social, emotional and academic level by training their brain.

1. Limit technology and reconnect with your child emotionally : surprise him with flowers, smile, tickle him, throw a cute note in his backpack or under his pillow, dance together, have pillow fights. Do related dinners, evenings board games, go for walks.

2. Train delayed gratification :

make the child wait. It's okay to have periods of time when "I'm bored" - that's the first step to creativity.
Gradually increase the wait time between “I want” and “I get.”
Avoid using gadgets in cars and restaurants. But learn to wait during conversations and games.
limit constant snacking.

3. Don't be afraid to set limits . Children need boundaries to grow up happy and healthy:

Make a schedule for meals, sleep, and time to use technology.
think about what is good for them, not what they want or don't want. They'll thank you for it later. Fatherhood is a complicated business. You have to be creative to encourage children to do what is good for them, most of time because it's the opposite of what they want to do.
Children need breakfasts and healthy food, to be outdoors and to go to bed at the same time, so that they come to school capable of learning.
turn things they don't like to do or try into fun, emotionally stimulating games.

4. Accustom your child to monotonous work from childhood , because this is the basis of their future performance: teach them to fold laundry, put away toys, and make the bed. Be creative. Make it fun. So that the brain associates work with something positive.

5. Teach social skills : Teach them to share, lose/win, compromise using “please” and “thank you”.

Children change from the moment parents change their way of raising them.

It's no secret that many children do not like to study at school and look forward to it in their hearts. last call, after which the heavenly summer and vacation finally comes.

Children's reluctance to learn is primarily due to the fact that they are bored in class. Teachers, unfortunately, cannot always interest the audience in the topic being studied. Even if the school is lucky with such a teacher, and he really captivates the class during the lesson, then there will probably be a couple of onlookers who will still not be interested.

We will talk about what to do if you are bored in class later in the article.

Find out the cause of boredom

In order to understand what to do if you are bored in class, you first need to identify the cause of boredom.

You need to think about what exactly makes you wait impatiently for the break bell? Maybe you're only interested in separate subject, while others are fun and exciting? In this case, perhaps it’s a matter of the teacher’s presentation of information. You can ask him to diversify his lessons practical exercises, watching training videos and presentations.

Or it happens that boredom arises from the excessive complexity or ease of a subject. In this case, if the discipline is not clear, then you can sign up for additional classes or hire a tutor. If the subject is very easy and does not provide any new knowledge, then you can use the tips given in the following sections of the article.

Fighting boredom in class

In order to avoid the question of what to do if you are bored in class because nothing is clear, you need to listen carefully to the teacher, without being distracted by your classmates and your own thoughts. It’s worth trying to understand what the teacher is trying to convey to you, listening and being aware of every word he says, and if anything is unclear, then immediately ask a question without hesitation.

If you still cannot understand the subject as a whole or a particular topic, then you need to ask the teacher for help. Understand that lessons at school are the time when a person is completely free and without spending special effort has unique opportunity gain new knowledge and skills. What a waste it is to spend school time to "seat your pants"!

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, as many children think, it is a way to show that you care about the subject and are motivated to master it. Most teachers will be happy about this.

If school curriculum is too easy for you, then it may be worth discussing with your parents (and then with the school principal) your transfer to a more complex program or even to a highly specialized school.

How not to get bored during class

If the question of what to do if you are bored in class still haunts you, then you can use the following suggestions to kill boredom.

One of good ways Stop yawning from bell to bell by reading your favorite books. This activity is good because it does not cause inconvenience to anyone and does not distract anyone from the lesson. The main thing is to make sure that the teacher does not notice the foreign book. For example, it can be included in a specialized textbook.

You can also get creative, for example, make a postcard for mom and dad, write poetry or a short story about yourself and loved ones.

In addition, you can draw during lessons. When you are bored, anything is suitable for drawing on a notebook sheet: abstract drawings, spirals, labyrinths, images of animals, dolls, a romantic landscape, a forest. Drawing options are limited only by the imagination of a bored student.

A tip as old as time: play with your desk neighbor sea battle, words and other various games. The main thing is not to distract anyone or interfere with the teacher’s lesson.

A telephone, Internet or radio (with headphones) will save anyone from boredom. But you need to be careful: the teacher, having noticed such a toy, will undoubtedly take it away.

For craftsmen, an origami craft can be a pleasant way to spend time in class. All you need is one notebook sheet, skills and a little patience.

In conclusion...

All of the above tips are only suitable if the subject is very easy to master. If a particular discipline causes difficulties, then you should not be distracted and not listen to the teacher.

Lessons at school, as a rule, are all interconnected, and if you miss or fail to master one subject, you can have serious difficulties with another. That's why best advice will be like this - don’t get distracted and completely immerse yourself in the topic being studied in class.