Bored! Eight Ideas About Bored Students and Boring Teachers
Someone just sent me Twenty Things You Should Never Say to a Teacher. Pretty funny. But none of these comes close to the statement that burns me up the most: My child is bored!
Several years ago, I got into a classroom tangle with one of my 8th grade percussionists. I won't share the details, but take my word that what he did and said was egregiously defiant, disrespectful to other students--and very public. I called him out for his unacceptable behavior--also in public--and sent him to the office to cool down, something I did fewer than a dozen times in 30 years of classroom practice. Later, I met with him in the office, privately, we settled on what would happen next and he went on to his next class.
Then I called his mother, who was a high-profile person in our small community, just to let her hear what happened and what the outcomes were. She was appreciative of the call and expressed agreement with my actions. And then she said: Maybe this is my fault for not pulling him out of the band. Lately, he's been so bored in your class.
I was floored. While this boy may have been a star in some of his classes, he was a middle-of-the-pack performer in the drum section. He was also smart enough to know the music I was dishing off to him was at his challenge level. We were preparing for several fun performances, and he had
