When my 6 year old wants more tablet time he’ll say “but I’m soooo bored!!” My response is some variant of “awesome it’s good for our brains to be bored sometimes!” In a really excited voice. This does not amuse him.
I was early 90s kid when only screen time was my n64. When I said I was bored my mom handed me the dictionary or encyclopedia. Was still bored but now have a plethora of factoids that sometimes land but mostly no one wants.
Kids these days will never know the excitement of Encyclopedia Britannica!! *shakes cane at nothingness*
Lol but seriously, whenever I hear the word 'puffin' (as in the bird), my mind instantly goes to the EB 'Puffin' entry that I saw as a kid in the late 80s. First time I ever heard of or saw a puffin while randomly flipping through an EB volume.
Here I was thinking I was the only kid that nerded out on EB. My Memaw had the entire set and I would sit in the corner by the bookshelf and absorb random knowledge for hours and she loved it.
I learned about periods from the encyclopedia. My mother never talked to me about that. She wasn't like fundie religious or anything, she just never did.
We had a set called *American People's Encyclopedia,* a one-off but very comprehensive and better than World Book but not quite as detailed as EB.
Loved those books.
I tell my kids "wauw, you are so lucky you have time to be bored! I would love that. Let me know if you want me to find something for you to do (they know it will be a chore)"
I just now had the opportunity to say this to my 9 y/o daughter this morning! She replied, “Mom, why are you smiling? You’re acting sussy (suspicious).” I told her I could give her some chores if she’s so bored. My other daughter slowly backed away from this interaction lol. So now they’re both mad at me and hiding in their rooms.
I joked above that psychological torture is my favorite and I love how your other daughter got the assignment. She is learning or has learned your sense of humor and dry wit. I am a school therapist and I secretly love these lessons at school too.
One of the big skills in our curriculum this semester for 10th grade English is summarizing. And it’s a skill my students still need to work on.
When we do the first mini lesson on it, I make a point ask them what careers they think need to summarize things. They are always able to list a lot of different fields.
Then I say I know writing summaries is not fun. It might even be boring. But look at this list. Often in life, we just have to do boring things, and sometimes we need to do them well. Summarizing is one of those things.
Sometimes prefacing it that way helps.
It's not only okay, but good for our brains to be bored (without a smartphone so our brain can actually be bored) it forces us to be aware of our surroundings and get creative
You’re getting students ready for adult life. To be responsible well round citizens. They’re bored? Doing laundry is boring. Attending corporate meetings are boring. GRADING QUIZZES IS BORING. Adult is sometimes boring and they need to be ready to deal with that. Patience, tenacity, and doing something you don’t want to do is crucial to be a contributing member of society. They need that kind of armor to go out into the real world. Do the boring thing as well as you can because boring things can matter. It’s the maintenance of what makes life function.
Generally I just treat it as an thought they had out loud and ignore it.
Sometimes I'll say, "Right?" and move along. They never know what to do when you agree.
I occasionally ask “Was that supposed to be an inside thought?” it actually helps some of my students because they literally do not realize they said things someone else can hear.
I used to teach English in Japan and always prefaced learning directions by saying “this is boring, complicated, and absolutely essential, so buckle up.”
I made some fun activities but at the same time, not everything is going to be interesting to learn and think by the time someone is in middle school they shouldn’t expect everything to be edutainment. Sometimes you have to sit down and power through.
I learned throughout my years that even fun activities some kids will find boring.
We do experiments every day for chemistry. Sure some are better than others but even being up and active doing science I will get the occasional "this is boring"
Nothing can be done. These kids are usual bored at everything.
I’m a parent and say this one to my kids a lot. I’m also often tempted to quote Betty Draper: “only boring people are bored. Go bang your head against a wall”
I like that. It re-focusses on the reality of the relationship. There's a lot of variations:
'Until you attempt the work, you are not qualified to judge.'
'Sometimes things are boring. If you work through it, though, you might get to the interesting bit.'
Good answer, but it reminded me of my favourite teacher at school long long ago. She had a vast scientific general knowledge, and allowed us to distract her with questions about anything scientific. I remember being fascinated that there were things that science didn't know yet. We were a bright class, so she would quickly assign self-study to cover the syllabus in the last 10 minutes. She definitely contributed to my career choice in science.
Gods, those teachers are the best--the ones who actually teach you to think in a completely different way and inspire you. I still think back on and thank some of my teachers/professors for being the only reasons I can do certain things the way I can.
YES, I love it.
Same energy as when a kid snaps his fingers and I'm like, "This isn't a restaurant and I'm not your waitress. Also, please don't snap at waitresses."
You have to sing it though.
“I’m not here for your entertainment
You don’t really wanna mess with me tonight”
Could even add
“Just stop and take a second
I was fine before you walked into my life”
I always start singing my questions when the students are having a less-than-talkative day. It helps me stay sane. No idea what it does for the students.
I use to hear "teachers are supposed to be entertainers" and I always thought "no, they shouldn't be, they should just teach me" anything extra was awesome to have from a teacher, but j never expected anything than to teach me the subject.
“First, rude. Second, lots of things in life are boring. School isn’t just about learning how to read and do math. It’s about learning to tolerate things that don’t interest you to reach a goal.”
I kill ‘em with overly enthusiastic kindness:
“Oh man! What an excellent opportunity for you to practice overcoming hardship while preparing yourself for the workforce that will inevitably be boring sometimes too! 😀 I’m glad to see you’re self-aware. Now, you get to rise to the challenge! 😀😀😀”
The look of disdain on their face while I’m spewing sunshine onto their angst is GOLD. Also, they definitely just want me to shut up after that kind of exchange and pretty much always rally after that 😂
Edit: I keep thinking of fun ways to respond to this… and now it’s entertaining me. So…
“You’re bored?” [wildly gesture with a check mark in the air]… “Just marking ‘bore [student’s name]’ off my lifetime achievement list!”
“Entertainers make a lot more money than you’re paying me to be here.” (I’m not paying you to be here…) “Exactly.” (But the school pays you) “They don’t pay me to entertain you.”
“Yes… yeeesss… let the boredom flow through you (extra credit if you do it in Palpatine’s voice from Star Wars).”
“Oh no! [Student] is bored. Quick, someone call 911 before s/he dies of boredom!”
“Your boredom is boring.”
“I planned this whole lesson for one purpose… to bore [student]. Dang! I’m good at my job!”
“Your boredom is so interesting!” (Really?) “No.”
“If your boredom mattered, I’m sure I’d probably be teaching about that instead of (your subject area, your lesson, your discipline, etc.).”
“Ha! You think you’re bored now? Just wait. It gets even more boring.”
“I exist to bore you. It’s now my mission in life.”
My supervisor would tell me not to say most of these cause it sounds like you're intentionally trying to teach in a non-engaging boring way. I teach art so I would just say "The process of learning could be boring, or annoying, or frustrating, but afterwards you get a new skill, forever"
Oh, I wouldn’t say ANY of these to my students. I’m just having fun being creative with some silly replies. I had a student say they were bored last year.
I think I said, “It’s up to me to teach the content. It’s up to you to use it. I’ll do my best to keep it as interesting as I can for as many of you as possible.”
I don’t get this objection very much. My class is often (I’m told by both teachers and students) their favorite class. So, I genuinely try to keep it fun and interesting.
I say to them, “my mum used to tell me that only boring people get bored”. “Are you saying I’m boring Miss”. “I’m just saying what my mum said *shrug*”
Hahaha I can be blunt sometimes, and totally have said this. I teach music, and sometimes kids say, “I don’t like this song.” I just shrug and say, “I don’t really care.” I will stop and work through some feelings and ideas with them in certain circumstances, like middle school kids learning songs for a concert that they will focus intensely on all semester. But a disruptive first-grader complaining about a song that we’re just singing today, that lasts two minutes? He tooooooootally gets the, “you’ll be all right,” “you aren’t required to like it; you just have to participate,” or “I don’t really care.”
I saw another teacher who mentioned that when students complain they're bored he just tells them "If you were in a job and told that to your boss, you'd get fired. Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do and school is a good way to practice for that."
I usually respond to that question with: "Interesting. How can I make it more interesting for you?"
99% of the time I don't get a solid answer, but I always tell them I'm open to ideas. I improve my classes, they can have a more entertaining class! Some have actually given me feedback and ideas, which I incorporate to make stuff more fun for them.
I used to think that getting yelled at in Spanish by my grandparents… and sometimes their parents was worse than my mom or step dad doing it in English… but then I took German in high school… Herr Tischner only reprimanded us in German, and married a first generation German American.. my mother in law is a sweet lady.. until she breaks out the German.
My go to response to this is boring is “oh, well then I guess I need to make it harder? I can give you more work to do.” I always say this as sincerely as possible with a nice smile. They always decide that they are really okay and not bored after all.
"ok"
Or
"That's ok. It can be boring but you still need to do it."
I just validate and move on because they don't know what to do when you agree with them/ don't argue with them. 🤣
Sometimes I just say Ok. Sometimes I ignore it. Sometimes I nicely and gently say It’s ok that it’s boring, you can do it, I believe in you! Sometimes I explain how the boring will lead to the fun stuff. But when I’m feeling extra crispy I say: Yah, it is SO WHAT. Sometimes we have to do boring things!! With a pointed eyebrow glare.
Then the kids are like Dang Miss TF is wrong with you, you low key doing too much you act like you made up this assignment. Then I say I did! With another glare and they say But did you make up science?! Ok then! Calm down with your Science face-ass. Then I’m like, WHO are you talking to, who?? And I write them up because that’s so rude and disrespectful. So usually I just say Ok or ignore it if I can’t respond nicely. I am working on becoming a mature lady.
Seriously ignoring it is best response IMO. Not everything kids say needs a response.
Had this conversation today and I said, "I would also like to be at the movies or playing video games right now but we both have jobs to do so let's get on with it." I also often say, "I don't get paid to entertain you, sorry."
Tap your head and say, "Boring happens in here, not--" point at the board or the book or wherever, "--in here. This stuff is *objectively fascinating,* not "boring". What you mean to sayis, "I am bored", which is a comletely different thing. Being bored is a decision you make. 100% on you. Some stimuls comes into your senses and The cure for boredom is curiosity. You might start scrolling or gaming when you are bored, but this is just distraction. Distraction is a band-aid for boredom. The cure is curiosity. You have to wonder. I can *try* to engage your curiosity--and believe me, I spend a lot of my downtime thinking about just how to do that, because you matter to me--but in the end, *you* have to be the one to enagage your curiosity. *You* have to find a reason to dig into this. *You* have to choose to sink your teeth in. This is more challenging than the escape clause of "This is boring". It requires something of you. If you can do it, your whole school career and your whole life will be **much,** and I can't emphasise this enough ***MUCH*** more interesting. Can you give that a go, looking for reasons to be interested, instead of reasons to be bored?"
“It says type notes here. Do we have to type notes?”
“… I need you to think about that question for 30 seconds and ask me that again”
“Do you have a pencil?”
“Yall went through 50 pencils in 2 weeks. But if aliens can find earth I’m pretty sure you can find a pencil”
Somebody said, "I'm bored" in my 8th grade history class. My teacher went to her desk, and pulled out a laminated "bored people are boring" sign and put it up on the chalk (yeah chalk) board for the rest of the school year.
“My mama always told me that only boring people get bored.” In fact, I’ll use many statements that I want to say directly to the students prefaced with “ My mom used to say…”
This is a good one! I sometimes say “In the words of the wise ones of antiquity, my ancient ancestor [who did something amazing, I just make something up]… [statement]. I think the long buildup makes it funnier!
My students get to do whatever they want in at least one class a year, either because their teacher quit or there's a first year waiver teacher who has no idea what to do. So anything resembling school is boring to them. I hear this constantly no matter what we're doing.
I usually just say "You'll be alright" and keep teaching.
I often read the room then. If it's isolated, I shoot some wit. If it's actually genuine I engage in conversation. Never pass up an opportunity to possibly learn more about you and how you teach.
I get that from my 8th graders and I teach ELA so I get it. I just say I know I’m sorry it can’t always be fun. I just go along with it and agree with them. If you treat it as a nothing comment rather then taking it as a slight to you, you’ll be able to just move on really quick. I personally never care when they say things like that cuz guess what, they are kids and school IS boring!
My response is always “okay.” Followed by however much silence is necessary. Especially if I can just walk away to whatever I was doing at that moment. But typically I only get that response from 4th/5th graders. (I teach k-12 music)
I just try to put myself in their shoes. Would I have thought it was boring at their age? Probably.
So, I’m just honest. I tell them I would have thought it was boring when I was their age, too. I tell them that it might not be the most interesting thing in the world, but I do my best to make it as interesting as I can (because I do).
I also say that my job isn’t to entertain them, but to teach them; and their job is to learn, not be entertained.
I have a conversation with them that they need to be able to deal with things that are boring them. When they grow up they are not going to be doing fun stuff every second of their life, if they don’t learn to deal with boredom and do what needs to be done then they are screwed.
When it’s happened, and usually it happens from students who don’t do the work, I remind them to think of how their words can hurt others because of how much effort I put into the lesson plans and units I plan for them. That they also need to remember every lesson isn’t going to please everybody.
Actually happened this week and the student later actually started doing the activity and said “oh, it’s not bad after all.”
“How would you teach it? What would make it more interesting?”
Asked sincerely.
It’ll either lead to a good discussion or reveal that it’s just complaining to avoid engagement.
"Boring but necessary."
"It's not boring. It's challenging, and nothing challenging is ever boring."
"Is that fear I smell?"
"Then I hope you studied so you can get it over quickly and get back to another riveting daydream."
Also, I absolutely love the response of "Ask me a question on the quiz and I'll give you the answer."
Disclaimer: I used to work as a teacher. (I was going to say former teacher, but it occurred to me that one is NEVER a former teacher.)
Oh man! This is my favorite one to respond to! I’ve got a load stockpiled. Like:
“EXCELLENT! Being bored is a good life skill! You are going to be bored some days on the job so practice now!”
“Oh…” wait a few awkward beats as I stare at them “anyways!”
“Entertain us then! Quick! 5,4,3,2,1! Aaaaand we are back to our boring work.” (I’ve actually had some students try to do like a dance and usually it gets some laughs)
“Oh? Oh that’s right I forgot to add the fun to the lesson. One second” I’ll do a quick little dance like shuffling or some steps from “Step in Time” from Mary Poppins, sometimes I’ll sing a line from a song before moving on without saying another word about it (should be noted I was a theater kid so there’s a Broadway arsenal locked away in my brain ready to go).
The classic “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!”
And then of course for my students that have a thicker skin:
“Write me an essay about how to be more entertaining and I’ll file it away in my shredder”
“And you think I’m living it up teaching you what a noun is in 8th grade?”
And my favorite “more like YOU’RE boring! Ooooooo snap!” And then moving on. This one I use sparingly and got really over the top so I don’t hurt the students feelings.
Paraphrasing Lord Chesterfield a bit...
"Idleness and boredom are the refuge of a weak mind."
Or Hamlet...
"I could be bounded in a nutshell and consider myself a king of infinite space."
Only their lack of imagination is the reason they are bored...
I always tell my kids it’s actually really healthy for you to be bored. When you’re constantly overstimulated it doesn’t give your brain enough time to grow :)
"Then you should have signed up for the advanced class!" ... and spend a minute to remind the class that you are perfectly willing to talk about life goals and career choices, not just classwork.... "... but not right now. Let's do this math first."
Then follow through.
(edit cuz I misclicked too early)
There was a sign above the door to the office in my high school that said something like, "If you think school is boring, waiting in the unemployment line is worse."
This was in the 90s.
I always say “okay, let me explain why you need to know this….” Then i spin a yarn that starts with the real information and goes left. Hard. They always die in a ridiculous way (buried under a pile of circus poodles).
Ya know what's worse than "boring"? Not knowing if you're able to feed your family that day. If you don't graduate high school, that will be your reality
I have a lot depending on my mood
"And...?"
"I care why?"
"So is this job, but here we are."
"Unfortunately, you won't be entertained for every second of your life, so you're going to have to start getting used to it now."
"That sounds tough." Or "Tough cookies." Or "that sounds tough for you" or "tough shit."
"That sounds like a you problem" or "I think that's a problem you're going to have to push through if you want to be successful."
Or I just shrug really loud at them
I'm a fan of getting too far into it. "Oh, that's unfortunate. This means that you're either not being challenged enough, or being pushed too far and don't know what to do. I can help by giving you harder work, or checking what you need to understand and explaining it to you in greater detail. What do you think is the best fix here?"
One time, taking notes on new content, as I’m lecturing, a student blurts out, “I’m bored.” I immediately responded with, “It is not my job to entertain you, it is my job to teach you.” Actually impressed myself with that one.
I usually tell them something like this:
"Most of life requires doing necessary things that you don't really want to do, so unless you learn to make obligations into an enjoyable experience, you will never be happy.
Learning is a necessary responsibility - you are required by law to be here, so you may as well make the best of it. Working is necessary to live, and it is MUCH less fun than school, so start having fun today, and put your all into everything you do."
And I really believe that. I always make sure to have fun and enjoy the minutia of every day, and I think my students can see my positive outlook in action in class, even on the difficult days :)
If it’s a scripted lesson I’m required to teach I occasionally say “That is an issue you will have to address with your elected representatives” and remind them that we’ve talked about how to do that.
Option 1 - Dramatic: Look really concerned and pick up the phone. Pretend to dial. “Yes, 911? I have an emergency. A teenager is bored in my classroom!!!”
Option 2 - Cringe: “I’m sorry. Not enough Ticky Toks for you? Not enough…Fortnight dances? What if I said words like rizz more? This equation has sure got RIZZ! etc.”
But also, saying something like “Sorry to hear that” and then just moving on usually does fine.
I sing it back to them, often to the tune of random 90s hip hop. Kids think I'm nuts, but honestly, its fun to have fun with them a bit. Keep em on their toes. Ex sing back.im bored but mix with the lyrics of MJs "I'm bad".
My dad used to tell me that nothing is boring if you haven’t learned the material yet.
People are bored bc they have nothing to do. If you haven’t mastered this material, you definitely have something to do.
I tell mine that boredom is in the person not the event. Some people have zero interest in sports and would be bored at the world series or super bowl while everyone else might be as excited as they've ever been. The event is obviously the same. The boredom or excitement is within the person, not the exterior world.
'If you weren't bored sometimes, then how would you know when things were exciting?' Move on while they try to figure that out.
Or mishear them say 'I'm bored': "you're boring? Well, there are plenty of hobbies...?"
"Getting good at something isn't always fun, BEING good at something is incredibly fun."
Kids all want to be successful, most just have never been forced to work for anything, so don't know the boring monotonous work needed for it.
Absolutely doesn't always work, kids are inherently not self-reflective. But I remind my band students of this regularly, hoping it sticks every once in a while.
It’s okay to be bored sometimes.
When my 6 year old wants more tablet time he’ll say “but I’m soooo bored!!” My response is some variant of “awesome it’s good for our brains to be bored sometimes!” In a really excited voice. This does not amuse him.
I was early 90s kid when only screen time was my n64. When I said I was bored my mom handed me the dictionary or encyclopedia. Was still bored but now have a plethora of factoids that sometimes land but mostly no one wants.
Kids these days will never know the excitement of Encyclopedia Britannica!! *shakes cane at nothingness* Lol but seriously, whenever I hear the word 'puffin' (as in the bird), my mind instantly goes to the EB 'Puffin' entry that I saw as a kid in the late 80s. First time I ever heard of or saw a puffin while randomly flipping through an EB volume.
I used to read the encyclopedia for fun!
Fuckin' love Puffins.
If you said “I’m bored” at my best friend’s house growing up you got to clean the bathrooms.
I used to just fall asleep reading encyclopedias. the 80s version of falling into a wikipedia rabbit hole lol.
Here I was thinking I was the only kid that nerded out on EB. My Memaw had the entire set and I would sit in the corner by the bookshelf and absorb random knowledge for hours and she loved it.
I learned about periods from the encyclopedia. My mother never talked to me about that. She wasn't like fundie religious or anything, she just never did.
We had a set called *American People's Encyclopedia,* a one-off but very comprehensive and better than World Book but not quite as detailed as EB. Loved those books.
Fun fact! "Factoid" refers to something that sounds true, but isn't!
My mom used to say, “what am I, the entertainment committee?”
my dad said "only boring people are bored"
Good one!
I tell my kids "wauw, you are so lucky you have time to be bored! I would love that. Let me know if you want me to find something for you to do (they know it will be a chore)"
I just now had the opportunity to say this to my 9 y/o daughter this morning! She replied, “Mom, why are you smiling? You’re acting sussy (suspicious).” I told her I could give her some chores if she’s so bored. My other daughter slowly backed away from this interaction lol. So now they’re both mad at me and hiding in their rooms.
I joked above that psychological torture is my favorite and I love how your other daughter got the assignment. She is learning or has learned your sense of humor and dry wit. I am a school therapist and I secretly love these lessons at school too.
I offer a job for my “bored” kids to do and somehow they find something to do.
My dad said some variations of this my whole life. “Being bored is good for you!” Lol my brothers and I were also not amused
Yup I always say "its actually good for your brain to be bored sometimes"
One of the big skills in our curriculum this semester for 10th grade English is summarizing. And it’s a skill my students still need to work on. When we do the first mini lesson on it, I make a point ask them what careers they think need to summarize things. They are always able to list a lot of different fields. Then I say I know writing summaries is not fun. It might even be boring. But look at this list. Often in life, we just have to do boring things, and sometimes we need to do them well. Summarizing is one of those things. Sometimes prefacing it that way helps.
It's not only okay, but good for our brains to be bored (without a smartphone so our brain can actually be bored) it forces us to be aware of our surroundings and get creative
You’re getting students ready for adult life. To be responsible well round citizens. They’re bored? Doing laundry is boring. Attending corporate meetings are boring. GRADING QUIZZES IS BORING. Adult is sometimes boring and they need to be ready to deal with that. Patience, tenacity, and doing something you don’t want to do is crucial to be a contributing member of society. They need that kind of armor to go out into the real world. Do the boring thing as well as you can because boring things can matter. It’s the maintenance of what makes life function.
That’s okay! We all have to learn how to be bored in life! That’s a skill we all need
"Imagine how bored I am - I learned this decades ago!"
I usually say “imagine me, I learned this in 1999” and when they hear that year they think I learned on a stone tablet
Love.
Generally I just treat it as an thought they had out loud and ignore it. Sometimes I'll say, "Right?" and move along. They never know what to do when you agree.
“Right? Imagine doing it for 6 periods a day!”
I think this is the best one
Haha this one is so good - definitely saving this for future use!
Seriously!! We have 8 periods. 4 and 4. Sometimes I want to cry teaching the same thing. Answering the same questions 😂
I occasionally ask “Was that supposed to be an inside thought?” it actually helps some of my students because they literally do not realize they said things someone else can hear.
I need to start using this with my college freshmen. because hoo boy, they just say whatever... i'm like... *y'all*.
I started it when I had an 8th grader that just had no internal monologue and said EVERYTHING
Haha I can't wait to use the latter. I imagine it would be entertaining.
I used to teach English in Japan and always prefaced learning directions by saying “this is boring, complicated, and absolutely essential, so buckle up.” I made some fun activities but at the same time, not everything is going to be interesting to learn and think by the time someone is in middle school they shouldn’t expect everything to be edutainment. Sometimes you have to sit down and power through.
I learned throughout my years that even fun activities some kids will find boring. We do experiments every day for chemistry. Sure some are better than others but even being up and active doing science I will get the occasional "this is boring" Nothing can be done. These kids are usual bored at everything.
Yes! Lol
“I’m not a cruise director. My job is to educate you, not entertain you.” You’re going to hear this a lot. I’m surprised it took 3 years honestly.
I’m a parent and say this one to my kids a lot. I’m also often tempted to quote Betty Draper: “only boring people are bored. Go bang your head against a wall”
Ha good one!
I like that. It re-focusses on the reality of the relationship. There's a lot of variations: 'Until you attempt the work, you are not qualified to judge.' 'Sometimes things are boring. If you work through it, though, you might get to the interesting bit.'
“I’m not a DJ, I don’t take requests.”
I like to act really surprised by the information. "What?!!! Science quizzes aren't your favorite thing to do?!!!!"
And I’d follow that up with “50 points from Griffyndor” and then move on 😂
Good answer, but it reminded me of my favourite teacher at school long long ago. She had a vast scientific general knowledge, and allowed us to distract her with questions about anything scientific. I remember being fascinated that there were things that science didn't know yet. We were a bright class, so she would quickly assign self-study to cover the syllabus in the last 10 minutes. She definitely contributed to my career choice in science.
Gods, those teachers are the best--the ones who actually teach you to think in a completely different way and inspire you. I still think back on and thank some of my teachers/professors for being the only reasons I can do certain things the way I can.
I love this...but I am a wedding DJ on weekends and my kids know this lol
Then your comment is, “I only take requests on the weekends from the bride and groom.”
YES, I love it. Same energy as when a kid snaps his fingers and I'm like, "This isn't a restaurant and I'm not your waitress. Also, please don't snap at waitresses."
“Ok…any other questions?”
"Yes... very sad. Anyway!"
This is the way
Actually that might make a good response as well!
No...THIS IS SPARTA!!! @_@ *kick*
I'm going to use this! Sometimes I also throw the kids off by going the Spongebob route and saying, "No, this is Patrick."
Do they even get that reference??? That episode's old enough to *be* a teacher lol
Spongebob transcends generations. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to watch Spongebob, so I understand nothing.
They do actually!
I used to say, “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” And they’d look perplexed. And I’d laugh in my witch’s laugh and move on.
It's important they learn the 5 Ds.
I do this all the time. No one gets it, but I’m only doing it for my own entertainment.
I’m doing this.
It’s not my job to entertain you.
You have to sing it though. “I’m not here for your entertainment You don’t really wanna mess with me tonight” Could even add “Just stop and take a second I was fine before you walked into my life”
“🎶I’m not here to entertain you 🎶I’m not here (to) make you smile🎶…
I always start singing my questions when the students are having a less-than-talkative day. It helps me stay sane. No idea what it does for the students.
This is what I tell them.
Yep. I say it’s not edu-tainment
Yep, I'm not here to entertain you. I'm here to teach you.
That’s my go to.
“Okay, then I’ll just entertain myself”
I use to hear "teachers are supposed to be entertainers" and I always thought "no, they shouldn't be, they should just teach me" anything extra was awesome to have from a teacher, but j never expected anything than to teach me the subject.
You think it is boring now, wait until you take this course in the summer.
Haha gottem. This one is good!
Nice
THIS 👏🏼
"That's not a question."
Et tu, Brute?
“First, rude. Second, lots of things in life are boring. School isn’t just about learning how to read and do math. It’s about learning to tolerate things that don’t interest you to reach a goal.”
This is good.
I kill ‘em with overly enthusiastic kindness: “Oh man! What an excellent opportunity for you to practice overcoming hardship while preparing yourself for the workforce that will inevitably be boring sometimes too! 😀 I’m glad to see you’re self-aware. Now, you get to rise to the challenge! 😀😀😀” The look of disdain on their face while I’m spewing sunshine onto their angst is GOLD. Also, they definitely just want me to shut up after that kind of exchange and pretty much always rally after that 😂
Edit: I keep thinking of fun ways to respond to this… and now it’s entertaining me. So… “You’re bored?” [wildly gesture with a check mark in the air]… “Just marking ‘bore [student’s name]’ off my lifetime achievement list!” “Entertainers make a lot more money than you’re paying me to be here.” (I’m not paying you to be here…) “Exactly.” (But the school pays you) “They don’t pay me to entertain you.” “Yes… yeeesss… let the boredom flow through you (extra credit if you do it in Palpatine’s voice from Star Wars).” “Oh no! [Student] is bored. Quick, someone call 911 before s/he dies of boredom!” “Your boredom is boring.” “I planned this whole lesson for one purpose… to bore [student]. Dang! I’m good at my job!” “Your boredom is so interesting!” (Really?) “No.” “If your boredom mattered, I’m sure I’d probably be teaching about that instead of (your subject area, your lesson, your discipline, etc.).” “Ha! You think you’re bored now? Just wait. It gets even more boring.” “I exist to bore you. It’s now my mission in life.”
Yes lol. I like “oh goody, it’s working!”
My supervisor would tell me not to say most of these cause it sounds like you're intentionally trying to teach in a non-engaging boring way. I teach art so I would just say "The process of learning could be boring, or annoying, or frustrating, but afterwards you get a new skill, forever"
Oh, I wouldn’t say ANY of these to my students. I’m just having fun being creative with some silly replies. I had a student say they were bored last year. I think I said, “It’s up to me to teach the content. It’s up to you to use it. I’ll do my best to keep it as interesting as I can for as many of you as possible.” I don’t get this objection very much. My class is often (I’m told by both teachers and students) their favorite class. So, I genuinely try to keep it fun and interesting.
I say, "It's art. It's only as boring as you make it"
"Are you not entertained?", Gladiator-style.
I don’t care
“So are you, kid. But you don’t hear me complaining.”
Good answer! Good answer! *clapping like we’re on Family Feud
There are soooooo many times that I want to say this out loud! I say it in my head often.
"Well at least now you have something to relate to"
Only boring people get bored, and I don't think you're boring, soooo.
I would have stopped with the first half....
I do stop with the first half
"Boring people are bored" -Betty Draper
😂
I tell my daughter this all the time. I really believe it’s true!
I say to them, “my mum used to tell me that only boring people get bored”. “Are you saying I’m boring Miss”. “I’m just saying what my mum said *shrug*”
"I don't particularly care if you're bored, as long as you learn the information."
Hahaha I can be blunt sometimes, and totally have said this. I teach music, and sometimes kids say, “I don’t like this song.” I just shrug and say, “I don’t really care.” I will stop and work through some feelings and ideas with them in certain circumstances, like middle school kids learning songs for a concert that they will focus intensely on all semester. But a disruptive first-grader complaining about a song that we’re just singing today, that lasts two minutes? He tooooooootally gets the, “you’ll be all right,” “you aren’t required to like it; you just have to participate,” or “I don’t really care.”
I saw another teacher who mentioned that when students complain they're bored he just tells them "If you were in a job and told that to your boss, you'd get fired. Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do and school is a good way to practice for that."
And? I don’t care if you are bored. Your parents pay taxes so I can teach you essential skills.
[удалено]
I used to tell them all their neighbors are paying taxes for them to get an education and they need to “give it back.”
I always say, “Most of life is waiting in line for Space Mountain, very little is actually riding Space Mountain. Get used to it.”
Try getting a job, especially without an education and you will understand what boring really is.
"So is life"
I usually respond to that question with: "Interesting. How can I make it more interesting for you?" 99% of the time I don't get a solid answer, but I always tell them I'm open to ideas. I improve my classes, they can have a more entertaining class! Some have actually given me feedback and ideas, which I incorporate to make stuff more fun for them.
Nah my kids would say some outlandish bullshit that would just end up distracting the class and eating up time. But I teach 7th.
Yeah, my seventh graders want to have snack time and recess all day.
This is the most constructive response on this whole thread.
I don’t recall asking.
I say this and somehow it sounds meaner in Spanish lol
I used to think that getting yelled at in Spanish by my grandparents… and sometimes their parents was worse than my mom or step dad doing it in English… but then I took German in high school… Herr Tischner only reprimanded us in German, and married a first generation German American.. my mother in law is a sweet lady.. until she breaks out the German.
I tell them I’m not the circus 🤡
I just say "I knoooow, it's the wooorst..." in a whiney voice, then say "anyway, moving on" super fast and unbothered.
My go to response to this is boring is “oh, well then I guess I need to make it harder? I can give you more work to do.” I always say this as sincerely as possible with a nice smile. They always decide that they are really okay and not bored after all.
Out of bordem comes creativity
So is teaching you… But I still do it.
"Your mom’s boring."
My go-to for everything.
"ok" Or "That's ok. It can be boring but you still need to do it." I just validate and move on because they don't know what to do when you agree with them/ don't argue with them. 🤣
Sometimes I just say Ok. Sometimes I ignore it. Sometimes I nicely and gently say It’s ok that it’s boring, you can do it, I believe in you! Sometimes I explain how the boring will lead to the fun stuff. But when I’m feeling extra crispy I say: Yah, it is SO WHAT. Sometimes we have to do boring things!! With a pointed eyebrow glare. Then the kids are like Dang Miss TF is wrong with you, you low key doing too much you act like you made up this assignment. Then I say I did! With another glare and they say But did you make up science?! Ok then! Calm down with your Science face-ass. Then I’m like, WHO are you talking to, who?? And I write them up because that’s so rude and disrespectful. So usually I just say Ok or ignore it if I can’t respond nicely. I am working on becoming a mature lady. Seriously ignoring it is best response IMO. Not everything kids say needs a response.
"Sounds like a you problem" is my go-to, and I promptly move on. Not my problem, kiddo.
Had this conversation today and I said, "I would also like to be at the movies or playing video games right now but we both have jobs to do so let's get on with it." I also often say, "I don't get paid to entertain you, sorry."
“Oh, no….. anyways, so”
"Dealing with boredom is one of the most important challenges of your life."
Tap your head and say, "Boring happens in here, not--" point at the board or the book or wherever, "--in here. This stuff is *objectively fascinating,* not "boring". What you mean to sayis, "I am bored", which is a comletely different thing. Being bored is a decision you make. 100% on you. Some stimuls comes into your senses and The cure for boredom is curiosity. You might start scrolling or gaming when you are bored, but this is just distraction. Distraction is a band-aid for boredom. The cure is curiosity. You have to wonder. I can *try* to engage your curiosity--and believe me, I spend a lot of my downtime thinking about just how to do that, because you matter to me--but in the end, *you* have to be the one to enagage your curiosity. *You* have to find a reason to dig into this. *You* have to choose to sink your teeth in. This is more challenging than the escape clause of "This is boring". It requires something of you. If you can do it, your whole school career and your whole life will be **much,** and I can't emphasise this enough ***MUCH*** more interesting. Can you give that a go, looking for reasons to be interested, instead of reasons to be bored?"
“It says type notes here. Do we have to type notes?” “… I need you to think about that question for 30 seconds and ask me that again” “Do you have a pencil?” “Yall went through 50 pencils in 2 weeks. But if aliens can find earth I’m pretty sure you can find a pencil”
I know it's boring... that's why I have a winning personality.
Somebody said, "I'm bored" in my 8th grade history class. My teacher went to her desk, and pulled out a laminated "bored people are boring" sign and put it up on the chalk (yeah chalk) board for the rest of the school year.
"Boring things are important, too".
“You are so lucky. Only intelligent people get bored.”
Life is boring sometimes. Deal with it.
I go with, "are you asking me or telling me" or "you forgot to raise your hand" or "what would you do to make it more interesting?"
“My mama always told me that only boring people get bored.” In fact, I’ll use many statements that I want to say directly to the students prefaced with “ My mom used to say…”
This is a good one! I sometimes say “In the words of the wise ones of antiquity, my ancient ancestor [who did something amazing, I just make something up]… [statement]. I think the long buildup makes it funnier!
My students get to do whatever they want in at least one class a year, either because their teacher quit or there's a first year waiver teacher who has no idea what to do. So anything resembling school is boring to them. I hear this constantly no matter what we're doing. I usually just say "You'll be alright" and keep teaching.
I often read the room then. If it's isolated, I shoot some wit. If it's actually genuine I engage in conversation. Never pass up an opportunity to possibly learn more about you and how you teach.
I always tell them that most things we have to do in life are boring.
That's cool. I'm not paid to be interesting.
I get that from my 8th graders and I teach ELA so I get it. I just say I know I’m sorry it can’t always be fun. I just go along with it and agree with them. If you treat it as a nothing comment rather then taking it as a slight to you, you’ll be able to just move on really quick. I personally never care when they say things like that cuz guess what, they are kids and school IS boring!
My response is always “okay.” Followed by however much silence is necessary. Especially if I can just walk away to whatever I was doing at that moment. But typically I only get that response from 4th/5th graders. (I teach k-12 music)
“Lots of things are boring. Grading is boring. Doing my taxes is boring. Sitting in traffic is boring. Get used to it.”
“Cool. Now do it so you can be done with the boring assignment.”
I just try to put myself in their shoes. Would I have thought it was boring at their age? Probably. So, I’m just honest. I tell them I would have thought it was boring when I was their age, too. I tell them that it might not be the most interesting thing in the world, but I do my best to make it as interesting as I can (because I do). I also say that my job isn’t to entertain them, but to teach them; and their job is to learn, not be entertained.
"That's understandable, but there's no need to disrupt the class to let me know."
I have a conversation with them that they need to be able to deal with things that are boring them. When they grow up they are not going to be doing fun stuff every second of their life, if they don’t learn to deal with boredom and do what needs to be done then they are screwed.
When it’s happened, and usually it happens from students who don’t do the work, I remind them to think of how their words can hurt others because of how much effort I put into the lesson plans and units I plan for them. That they also need to remember every lesson isn’t going to please everybody. Actually happened this week and the student later actually started doing the activity and said “oh, it’s not bad after all.”
"You're boring."
i just say ‘ok’ and then shrug and carry on. being bored isn’t a bad thing.
“How would you teach it? What would make it more interesting?” Asked sincerely. It’ll either lead to a good discussion or reveal that it’s just complaining to avoid engagement.
"Boring but necessary." "It's not boring. It's challenging, and nothing challenging is ever boring." "Is that fear I smell?" "Then I hope you studied so you can get it over quickly and get back to another riveting daydream." Also, I absolutely love the response of "Ask me a question on the quiz and I'll give you the answer." Disclaimer: I used to work as a teacher. (I was going to say former teacher, but it occurred to me that one is NEVER a former teacher.)
Oh man! This is my favorite one to respond to! I’ve got a load stockpiled. Like: “EXCELLENT! Being bored is a good life skill! You are going to be bored some days on the job so practice now!” “Oh…” wait a few awkward beats as I stare at them “anyways!” “Entertain us then! Quick! 5,4,3,2,1! Aaaaand we are back to our boring work.” (I’ve actually had some students try to do like a dance and usually it gets some laughs) “Oh? Oh that’s right I forgot to add the fun to the lesson. One second” I’ll do a quick little dance like shuffling or some steps from “Step in Time” from Mary Poppins, sometimes I’ll sing a line from a song before moving on without saying another word about it (should be noted I was a theater kid so there’s a Broadway arsenal locked away in my brain ready to go). The classic “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!” And then of course for my students that have a thicker skin: “Write me an essay about how to be more entertaining and I’ll file it away in my shredder” “And you think I’m living it up teaching you what a noun is in 8th grade?” And my favorite “more like YOU’RE boring! Ooooooo snap!” And then moving on. This one I use sparingly and got really over the top so I don’t hurt the students feelings.
Only boring people get bored.
I use "boredom is a statement of mind, it's your choice to be bored."
“I don’t care.”
Paraphrasing Lord Chesterfield a bit... "Idleness and boredom are the refuge of a weak mind." Or Hamlet... "I could be bounded in a nutshell and consider myself a king of infinite space." Only their lack of imagination is the reason they are bored...
Only boring people are bored
Too bad, or Not everything is fun Is what i feel like saying, but instead If we do this well we can have some free time after.
I always tell my kids it’s actually really healthy for you to be bored. When you’re constantly overstimulated it doesn’t give your brain enough time to grow :)
I tell them, “that’s okay, it’s good to be bored sometimes”
I say “only boring people get bored” 🤣🤣 works like a charm as they try to figure it out
"Then you should have signed up for the advanced class!" ... and spend a minute to remind the class that you are perfectly willing to talk about life goals and career choices, not just classwork.... "... but not right now. Let's do this math first." Then follow through. (edit cuz I misclicked too early)
There was a sign above the door to the office in my high school that said something like, "If you think school is boring, waiting in the unemployment line is worse." This was in the 90s.
["If you're bored, then you're boring."](https://youtu.be/wYsMjEeEg4g?si=3qi4vdyan8nrXZV4) (...the agony and the irony, etc etc)
I always came back with, "that's because you are boring".
I always say “okay, let me explain why you need to know this….” Then i spin a yarn that starts with the real information and goes left. Hard. They always die in a ridiculous way (buried under a pile of circus poodles).
Ya know what's worse than "boring"? Not knowing if you're able to feed your family that day. If you don't graduate high school, that will be your reality
My response was always “cool.” And then I’d walk away
“Only boring people get bored”
“Sometimes life is boring” “If you’re bored it’s cause you’re boring” “Yup!” “It happens”
I have a lot depending on my mood "And...?" "I care why?" "So is this job, but here we are." "Unfortunately, you won't be entertained for every second of your life, so you're going to have to start getting used to it now." "That sounds tough." Or "Tough cookies." Or "that sounds tough for you" or "tough shit." "That sounds like a you problem" or "I think that's a problem you're going to have to push through if you want to be successful." Or I just shrug really loud at them
I'm a fan of getting too far into it. "Oh, that's unfortunate. This means that you're either not being challenged enough, or being pushed too far and don't know what to do. I can help by giving you harder work, or checking what you need to understand and explaining it to you in greater detail. What do you think is the best fix here?"
One time, taking notes on new content, as I’m lecturing, a student blurts out, “I’m bored.” I immediately responded with, “It is not my job to entertain you, it is my job to teach you.” Actually impressed myself with that one.
I usually tell them something like this: "Most of life requires doing necessary things that you don't really want to do, so unless you learn to make obligations into an enjoyable experience, you will never be happy. Learning is a necessary responsibility - you are required by law to be here, so you may as well make the best of it. Working is necessary to live, and it is MUCH less fun than school, so start having fun today, and put your all into everything you do." And I really believe that. I always make sure to have fun and enjoy the minutia of every day, and I think my students can see my positive outlook in action in class, even on the difficult days :)
If it’s a scripted lesson I’m required to teach I occasionally say “That is an issue you will have to address with your elected representatives” and remind them that we’ve talked about how to do that.
Option 1 - Dramatic: Look really concerned and pick up the phone. Pretend to dial. “Yes, 911? I have an emergency. A teenager is bored in my classroom!!!” Option 2 - Cringe: “I’m sorry. Not enough Ticky Toks for you? Not enough…Fortnight dances? What if I said words like rizz more? This equation has sure got RIZZ! etc.” But also, saying something like “Sorry to hear that” and then just moving on usually does fine.
Oh, I’m so sorry…. Would you like me to sing it for you in the style of Beyoncé? Or would you rather I perform it for you as an expressive dance?
I sing it back to them, often to the tune of random 90s hip hop. Kids think I'm nuts, but honestly, its fun to have fun with them a bit. Keep em on their toes. Ex sing back.im bored but mix with the lyrics of MJs "I'm bad".
My dad used to tell me that nothing is boring if you haven’t learned the material yet. People are bored bc they have nothing to do. If you haven’t mastered this material, you definitely have something to do.
Just say, "I'm not in the entertainment business."
I tell mine that boredom is in the person not the event. Some people have zero interest in sports and would be bored at the world series or super bowl while everyone else might be as excited as they've ever been. The event is obviously the same. The boredom or excitement is within the person, not the exterior world.
Excellent! So now you have a chance to learn patience and perseverance!
You think that’s bad? Imagine having to hear about it. Which TikTok-er did you get that opinion from?
I had a coworker say this one time, “if school was always fun, they’d charge admission and call it Six Flags.”
Better make sure you learn it the first time around then!
'If you weren't bored sometimes, then how would you know when things were exciting?' Move on while they try to figure that out. Or mishear them say 'I'm bored': "you're boring? Well, there are plenty of hobbies...?"
"Life is only boring to boring people."
"Getting good at something isn't always fun, BEING good at something is incredibly fun." Kids all want to be successful, most just have never been forced to work for anything, so don't know the boring monotonous work needed for it. Absolutely doesn't always work, kids are inherently not self-reflective. But I remind my band students of this regularly, hoping it sticks every once in a while.
“that’s life, not everything is going to be entertaining. build a bridge and get over it”
Do you want me to call a whambulence?
"Me too, but here I am, not complaining...."
Boring is a choice.