Coping with bored students — and teachers — during lockdown(Part 1)

At the moment, many teachers are experiencing what it’s like to teach a full timetable online for the first time in our lives. There are so many issues to work out here, and I am genuinely touched to see that tips, blogs and online help groups are spreading faster than the virus that is impacting so many people’s lives.

I want to focus on one particular aspect of being in isolation or lockdown, which is managing boredom. I suspect some people find it easier than others to handle boredom, and I’m sure many would agree that younger people find it particularly difficult. Certainly, a lot of parents hear common complaints like Muuuuum, I’m bored.

There are actually a lot of fascinating articles out there on the importance of experiencing boredom once in a while, and I’d recommend checking them out. However, as far as I know, none of them are arguing that boredom is something we want to impose on children (or on ourselves) on a regular basis. We clearly want solutions to keep us entertained while we are in isolation.

The easy answer is of course: Netflix, WhatsApp and all the other countless things we can do on our devices. But if you’re anything like me, your teaching time has just become your screentime, and any screentime you were enjoying previously during your downtime has now become a bit less attractive. For the sake of my eyes, I’ll be looking for more and more offline alternatives.

In my previous blog, Troublemakers (Part 3 — Ideas for the classroom), I used the ideas of Adam Grant to create an activity called Classroom Wizards/Masterminds. The activity involved assigning a grammar/language point to a student, but also letting them choose their own specialist subject, which they would later be quizzed on (in the style of the UK TV show Mastermind). The idea being, not just that you will have a 20–30 minutes quiz activity up your sleeve for the rest of the academic year, but that you will get to know your students better and help you try to relate to them through their interests.

There’s no reason why this couldn’t still be adapted for the online classrooms many of us will be using, but I think I’m going to change tack.

In keeping with the idea of a holistic teaching that cares for students’ affective needs (their moods, feelings, etc.) I’m going to introduce…

Wizards/Masters of Boredom!

This time, I’ll present the idea of boredom (perhaps through an online article). If the parents I’ve taught so far are anything to go by, there should be a lot of discussion/venting on this topic. At the end of the class, I’ll assign them the task of thinking of 3 different things they have done or would like to start doing to relieve the boredom. (Three to minimise any overlap.) I’ll encourage them to think outside the box and avoid too many digital ideas.

My own example is that I could be a Master of Mindfulness (hardly), or perhaps a Master of Pickling (weird, I know, but that’s the point!). Once the students have come back and we’ve decided what they are all masters of, they will then prepare a quick presentation (with visuals, of course) on their topic. If suitable, the same Mastermind quiz setup could also be done with these new specialist topics in later classes. (Although, I’m not sure how interested younger students would be in quizzing me about pickling. I think it might need adapted!)

Rather than simply being an activity you can use in class, the idea is that the students (and teachers!) get a list of things like yoga, mindfulness, lego, drawing, whatever that they can do to entertain themselves or their kids.

This seems like a time when compassion and cooperation should be at its highest and, therefore, the ideal time to get to know your students even better. And if that’s too touchy-feely for you, fine. Think about it in terms of customer satisfaction and building positive associations with your business… you cold-hearted robot! :)

UPDATE!

The materials are now ready. Head over to Part 2 for links and more details.