I have a lot of sympathy for Geoff's point of view on this (copied
below).

My stock response to "this is boring" is "that's why they call it
'work.'"

I think that the thrust to make education entertaining smacks too
much of consumer culture.  It assigns yet another responsibility to
the instructor.

> This teacher angst regarding student boredom ceased to haunt me
> when I realized that it really isn't my job to make the subject matter
> interesting.  I remind students that people their age have found this
> material endlessly fascinating over the centuries - in other words, I put
> the responsibility back on them.  So when a student complains "This stuff
> is boring!" my response is "I really don't care!  I love it.  I'll explain
> to you what makes it fascinating to me, and I'll keep on explaining it
> until you understand it."  So the response that it's hard to interest the
> uninterested is really very well taken.  Many students - the bored, the
> apathetic, the cynical, dare I say the mindless - make it a career to be
> uninterested and try to put the responsibility on the teacher to entertain
> them.  My former shrink used to counsel that a child's favorite toy is its
> parents, and I think the same advice holds true for students and teachers.
>  It's a little late in life for me to become a game show host or, God
> forbid, Vanna White.  I've already had one mid-life career change, and I'm
> not about to have another.  And besides, once a student finds out that
> lack of interest will translate into lack of a passing grade, interest is
> suddenly rekindled.
>

-----------------------------------------------------
Sincerely, Robert Einarsson
please visit me at
http://www.artsci.gmcc.ab.ca/people/einarssonb

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