The Montreal Gazette opens my eyes
There was an article today in the Montreal Gazette, the first of a 3-part monthly series, about boredom. Specifically about boredom in schools. It's interesting stuff and I recommend it.
It's been about two and a half years since the last time I taught an English-second-language course, and I finally realize why I hated teaching them so much. It's because they were insanely boring. Oh, don't get me wrong. I didn't try to be boring. But I was inexperienced and consequently following the textbook, and the textbooks really aren't very interesting at all. Let's face it: all my students were adults, many of them with advanced university degrees, many of them from other countries with a wide range of experiences. They were smart, capable, and motivated. So what did we talk about? Grammar. Oh, sometimes I brought in a Dave Barry column or something (though I wasn't technically supposed to), just to shake things up. But I think, looking back, I probably would have been bored in my classes. I was certainly bored when I tried to take French-second-language classes back in January. That lasted all of two weeks.
I love teaching. I love giving workshops at Pennsic, instructing karate, and working as a one-on-one writing tutor where I can give individualized feedback. But spending an hour working on the present perfect progressive? Or discussing topics that treat educated adults like seven-year-olds? No wonder I was bored. And if I was bored, I can only imagine what my students felt like.
It's been about two and a half years since the last time I taught an English-second-language course, and I finally realize why I hated teaching them so much. It's because they were insanely boring. Oh, don't get me wrong. I didn't try to be boring. But I was inexperienced and consequently following the textbook, and the textbooks really aren't very interesting at all. Let's face it: all my students were adults, many of them with advanced university degrees, many of them from other countries with a wide range of experiences. They were smart, capable, and motivated. So what did we talk about? Grammar. Oh, sometimes I brought in a Dave Barry column or something (though I wasn't technically supposed to), just to shake things up. But I think, looking back, I probably would have been bored in my classes. I was certainly bored when I tried to take French-second-language classes back in January. That lasted all of two weeks.
I love teaching. I love giving workshops at Pennsic, instructing karate, and working as a one-on-one writing tutor where I can give individualized feedback. But spending an hour working on the present perfect progressive? Or discussing topics that treat educated adults like seven-year-olds? No wonder I was bored. And if I was bored, I can only imagine what my students felt like.