Ah, yes. Those dreaded words spoken by students to their teacher that has just put her heart and soul into a lesson only to have it shot down as "being boring."
You all know that I have been out due to a series of seminars. I have to tell you that I have found them fascinating. It is all about creating an environment that fosters learning and -get this- having the students do the thinking. Ironic, I know, since school is supposed to be a place where you are thinking. Anyway, I had an epiphany when I became a student during these conferences: It is really hard to be a student. There are so many things that are required from you these days that I can see how it can be overwhelming. I know teachers have your best interests in mind, but it may not always translate that way to you. (I.e. Your English teachers trying to find literature that appeals to you so you will not be bored.)
Yeah, yeah. I know you are all thinking, "Duh, Geist. Welcome to our world. It is hard being a student." But I am being serious. I can see why some of you hate school and (gasp!) find it boring. I honestly think that you are not being challenged enough and because of this, you are settling for the status quo. I have some ideas on what I would like to do to change this so that each of you is psyched to come to school, but I want to throw it out to you:
If you could run our English class any way you wanted, how would you do so? What kinds of novels would you do? Would everyone do the same novel at the same time like a traditional classroom? What kinds of activities would you do? Would you want to do video projects?
I respect your opinions and know that we do not have to be traditional. I shouldn't even have to say this, but I do ask that you take this seriously. Please do not respond with, "Nothing. Let's just sit here until June." I am really interested in your opinions!
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40 comments:
The sad fact is that when students say "this is boring", about half of them are really saying "this isn't easy." They want a thin, sloppy mush of education fed to them like helpless baby sparrows. You just can't lead those people to the main point, I'm sorry to say. They have to find their own way there. Stay the course is what I'm saying.
Unless the lesson is really, really boring.
Okay, yes many of us complain but that doesn't mean we're really bored. We just don't always like what we're doing. Sometimes people use it as an excuse just because they're lazy and don't want to do the work. But that's what school's about; doing work. If I was the teacher I'm not sure what I would do. Geist, you do a great job and you always have something to say about everything. Your reactions to everything make it fun. Putting up with us probably isn't the easiest and it probably get very annoying but you do a good job of dealing with us. I think the students should have a big say in what we do in class and let us think of things to do. That way if someone complains about it, it's there own fault.
Wow Geist. i do complain alot, but i guess thats just me, and i love to get your reaction haha. but if it annoys you i wont do it anymore. you do a really good job, honestly. I agree with "i's army" most students who say its boring or i don't wanna do this is because its not easy. which it shouldn't always be easy because it's still school. you do amazing at your job, don't ever think you don't. i really dont know what i would do, but i probably wouldnt do half as well as you do.
I think a lesson is boring when the teacher teaches stuff that is so easy, that you dont have to pay attention, OR if its so hard that you know its not even worth a try OR sometimes i just find something boring because i cant relate to it and cant see why i should learn it (and im not just talking abut math).
If i would run the English class (lol i could never be a teacher by the way :-) i would try to prevent this three reasons of boring classes. Every student could read what he (or she) wants and think about it and talk about and explain the book or artickle to other students. So everybody could lern inside his own possibilitys and could lern what he wants to lear.
Of course I know that would propably not work in real life , because it requires that everybody works because of his own motivation - but it would be worth a try.
well if i got to run my own class i would not read books i would jus watch movies and have plenty of games so it wouldnt get boring and then at the end f the year i would give 100 s on all exams!!!!
Oh God...Cindy love, please don't leave the internet. I'm not trying to be mean. I just want to know how you can be happy living like that.
Oh miss Geist... You are an amazing! I personally love school! I can honestly that i day in your class is a day i can't live with out... I lve your class and the novels that you choose they all have meaning and they all give you a message to live by. They aren't useless. It is just that they don't appreciate what you do for them
If i could run our english class and we had to read books I would make it so that not everyone had to read the same book.. but choose books that appeal to them and interests them. With this you could have more class discussions about the different books, and not just a boring vocab lesson or just reading then taking a stupid test on what we had read. There would be no tests cause that kind of takes the fun out of reading. Students would read becasue they wanted to or because they found a book interesting, not becasue they were forced to read it.
well if I was the teacher we would read Shaskespeare and poetry and say to the plank with what the state says we need to learn!!! May they burn forever in the fires of hell!!!!
ok geist your class rocks! i really dont like to read but at least you make it kinda fun with the games and group projects. i like how you dont make us do everything by ourselves. and seriously i would have no clue how to teach.
I never think any of your classes are boring. I deff say it in other classes but i LOVE being in your class. (sorry if I don't always show it. esp in shakespeare) And im really glad you realized how hard it is to be us lol. But if I could run the class anyway I wanted I would play lots of games and have at least one free day a week! But your doing a fine job:)
ok if i was able to run the class room for the day i would start with throwing evey kid out who seems to have a problem just stting there and reading or have an intilecual conversation. some of the kids we have in this school find school to be boring because their to lazy to think. they find that tv and sitting there haveing a great time just talking to friends is what school should be. i think school shouldn't be as structured and hard on kids as it is right now ill agree to that but if maybe the school was more libral and sat and actually made us think then maybe the whole world wouldn't be turning in to farenheit 451! school gives us fact's and information that we have to memorize and know but why can't we figure it out for our selfs. if teachers let us think for our self and made us think instead of throwing fact's out that THEY think we should know then i think we would have a chance. if you understand the book Farenheit 451 thats exsactly what this world is turning into nothing but a bunch of book burners.
I don't think are english class is boring because i love what we are doing now. The blogging idea. If i ran the class, then everyone would have to read but, they can pick and choose what novel or reading material. This is because everyone has different tastes in styles of reading. I think reading would be more enjoyable that way instead of making everyone conform to one book. I do agree with everyone and think that Geist is doing an awesome job. Without her i think no one would ever want to come to english period. Also you are the only english teacher that can relate to everyone.
Geist i think your doing a great job. you know we just whine cuz were seniors n dont want to do anything..I cant wait to do the scrap book project but dont make us present!! :( thats what i would chnge if i was a teacher i would not make students get up infront of a class and present...But your doing amazing!
If i could run my own class room i would make my students do alot of video and powerpoint pressentations. we would read books like Watership Down, Richard Adams
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
1984, George Orwell
Non-Violent Resistance: Satyagraha, Mohandas Gandhi
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
7Island, Aldous Huxley
Green Shadows, White Whale, Ray Bradbury
In the Penal Colony, Franz Kafka
The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger
Well Cindylove then all your people when they got in the real world would suck and not make it anywhere in life cuz they wouldn learn anything lol
This is one of the best classes ever.
I think the only reason people say it is boring is because they dont want to work.lazy people.
Hmm..the perfect english class..Mr.goss sitting there talking about nothing and constantly decreasing my knowledge...that's what i want..
I like english, any other block period and im passed out.... I like how its taught, but i agree with your status quo, sometimes i will do work that i know i can do better but ill stop when i know its up to par with whats excpected
Well I would probably be harsh on the students. We all say we would make it fun and give away hundreds but its not true. When it gets right down to it we would all be cruel. We find it fun, we can't help it its in our nature. I would probably throw homework away when the student was being stupid. Maybe make a girl cry. Its hard to say.
Well I would probably be harsh on the students. We all say we would make it fun and give away hundreds but its not true. When it gets right down to it we would all be cruel. We find it fun, we can't help it its in our nature. I would probably throw homework away when the student was being stupid. Maybe make a girl cry. Its hard to say.
i think it would be cool to have everyone pick a different novel from the same author like james patterson or a marion keyes book and read it and then have classes where everyone discisses what happened in the book they read and compare how the author writes each story and the trademarks in their writing. for a test it could just be like general short answer question that could pertain to any book. i liked how you kinda mixed up the summer reading by letting us pick our own novel by john grishm but i think that summer reading should do that but let us pick any book we wanted of course it would have to be novel format but that would make summer reading more enjoyable and more people would actuall do it.
Well if you want my opinion on how you should run our class, just take some notes from Goss and it will be perfect. I agree with Crassi, you should just sit there talking and decreasing our intelligance all the while.
Yes, most people including myself do say that at times some lessons are very boring. usually just because they dont want to be in school or are lazy or just hates the lesson or subject being tought. Geist you do a great job at everything you do. i mean i do know for sure that we probably get real annoying and obnoxious but u deal with it and i give you props..hehe only because i know how much of a pain we all can be. but reallly, when students say that they are bored, dont take it personally, its just laziness and failing to cooperaty appropriately with the teacher :)
I think if everyone had to do work on cool or fun stuff, we would all pass because we would be studying interesting things.
The way I would teach class is the way it is being taught now because i like the way it is being taught and I don't think it is boring.
Geist, Your doijng good and I always look up to your class every other day due to the stupid Block Scedual......... If I ran my own class.... It would most likly be CHAOS!!! I seriusly do not know how you do it...... And if anyone messes around.... Lemme know... i'll hunt then down and bury them.....
THE OMEN
we would all read the same novel but they would be books that were made that year, new interestinng ones. there would be no podcasts!!! we would do projects that involved the whole class so there would be no presentations because some people are uncomfortable with them.
Hmm to say school is boring would be a total lie, I mean, I love school. I try to enjoy school and I do my best to get along with people I would rather ignore in the super market or something. If you deal with it that in a positive light your more likely to enjoy it. >> But I digress.... ha
Running an English class would be amazing. You know me, what I would do is probably predictable, allowing students to read odd things the peanuts for example, I mean that comic book was amazing in its time. I mean back then it was the cold war you had scary comics, action comics then you had these adorable little kids who do comics where the main punch line revolves around distress and human cruelty lol.
Also read Like Japanese comic books called Manga. Learn alot of different style how panels are set up and maybe even. I would even make the class
Do Pen pales! It would be so awesome. And not just across town maybe across the country or in Mexico or Vancouver. Maybe even German students! That would be the Best!
Teaching a class inst easy though I admit I couldn’t keep the attention of people. People find me boring, annoying or so quite. Unlike Miss geist who is amazing at that. XD *is shot for being a suck up*
haha....
yea i agree with paige she totally right..
P.S. "Life's a garden, digg it"
yeah alex life is a garden so smoke it
me i hate it when people say that this is boring because when a teacher hears that it puts them down because you are saying that you are not learning anything that is wrong
i wish english could b lyk josh said hah but i think everyone should be able to choose there own book to read and write reports wen it comes to quizes that way every1 can choose a book they like or every1 could read the same book but it could be a different 1 each year cause people hear that books are boring and then assume they r .. but if there were new different books each year it might be different
if i where to run the class the way i wanted to we would never get anything done. because we would just be taking naps and watching movies. thats why i wouldn't be a good teacher. that why ms. geist is so good at what she does because she takes the time to make the lesson plan. that why she is my hero.
I am honestly content with the way miss Geist runs her class. I think that what we are asked to do is fair and not too much to complete. Not every student is alike, what one may find boring another may find it to be interesting and enjoyable. Miss geist just keep doing what you're doing...no video projects please
Geist i think you pick sum good books. It just sum of use dn't knu the time and place were to have fun . FUN Is kool but scchool would be more if we just try to make it .
well this school is so boring.
ok now teachers have been trying to make class fun and entertaining for years and i think they need to quit on this trivial pursuit because obviously it has gotten nowhere also if i could run english class i would make it a nap time because i can already speak english so why study it anymore also it has been proven that students do better when well rested
I would let each student read any book they want, my theory is the smaller the book the bigger the project. Each student would have to present to the class a project teaching the class about the book that they read. Whether it's a report, a model of a scene in the book, a video of one of the scenes in the book, basically anything you want. The video projects would have to be OPTIONAL though, I personally hate being on camera so I wouldn't put any other student in that position. I think giving the students more options when you assign a project will get them to participate. Were in school to learn and be creative, I believe giving options will bring out the creativity out in everyone.
i don't exactly know how i would run a english class. some novels would probably be the original f451 maybe and some others. yes everyone would do the same novels. some activities would be doing a lot og projects, even video projects.
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