Why is school so boring? 10 reasons why you might struggle with boredom at school –
What we're covering..
Introduction 👋
Have you found yourself feeling completely fed up of school, wondering, “Why is school so boring?”?
It’s normal to feel bored with things that you do regularly, and you’re definitely not the first person to feel that way.
Today we’re explaining 10 reasons why you might feel bored at school, and how you can make it feel more fun!
1. Nobody has explained why you’re doing it 🤷♀️
Ever found yourself sat in a lesson wondering “what’s the point?”?
Schools can sometimes forget to explain the purpose of the lessons they’re teaching, which can make the lesson feel boring and pointless.
For a lot of students, it’s important for teachers to explain how you’re going to benefit from each lesson, so you can feel invested in it.
Lessons can help you with things like:
- helping you to get qualifications, that help you to get a job (and make money!)
- help you to prepare for exams How to study for exams 🤓
- teaching you the information you’ll be tested on in exams
- helping you to get ready for adult life
- teaching you skills that will give you an advantage in jobs that you get e.g. reading, writing, maths, managing money, social skills
2. School isn’t personalised 🪞
In many schools, everyone learns the same things, in the same way, at the same pace.
This one-size-fits-all method might work for some, but for many students, it can be a recipe for boredom.
Each student is unique, with different interests, strengths, and ways of learning. When the teaching doesn’t match our individual needs, it’s easy to lose interest.
3. Your classroom is formal 👔
Classrooms can often be quite formal, with things like:
- rigid timetables
- expectations for students to be quiet for most of the day
- students having to follow a lot of instructions rather than learning independently
- lack of colour and excitement in school decoration, wall displays etc.
- uncomfortable desk seating
- not allowing a lot of creativity
This make students feel:
- uncomfortable
- like they can’t be themselves
- scared of making mistakes
which can lead to students feeling bored and disengaged with school.
4. You’re not getting enough help 🤝
Schools can often have lots of students in one class, meaning students don’t get a lot of individual support or attention.
If you’re struggling with work, you might feel like you’re getting left behind and get bored of trying.
5. There isn’t variety 🎨
Schools often rely on strict routines, repeating things like:
- the timetables you follow
- the rooms you learn in
- when you get breaks
- the types of lessons you have
Whilst this structure can be really helpful for schools, it can also make school feel too predictable and boring.
6. You don’t get to choose 🙋♀️
Giving students more control over their learning can help them to feel more engaged in lessons.
Often school timetables are chosen for you, and you don’t get to choose much about what you want to learn.
Allowing students to choose subjects, projects, or how they demonstrate their understanding can make learning more enjoyable.
7. You need more breaks 🥪
Everyone needs breaks to stay focused!
If you’ve got some really difficult topics to learn, too much work without breaks can be tiring, and encourage you to get bored of the work you’re doing.
Balancing work with some time to relax keeps us feeling fresh and ready to learn. Making sure that you have enough breaks can help students to feel focused and prevent burnout.
8. You don’t connect with your teacher 👨🏫
Developing a positive relationship with your teachers is extremely important for you to feel comfortable and supported when learning.
Sometimes, students and teachers can struggle to develop good relationships, which can make it difficult for you to feel interested in what they’re teaching.
Teachers might not deliver lessons in a way that engages you and makes you feel excited for learning, which can lead to boredom.
When students feel connected to their teachers, they are more likely to feel engaged in learning.
9. Some lessons don’t relate to real-life experiences 🌍
When lessons in school don’t connect to real life, it can make things boring for students. It’s like learning things that don’t seem useful or important for their everyday lives.
Without seeing how lessons apply to real situations, students may not be interested and might find it hard to pay attention.
10. Your work is too easy 😏
If you’re one of those students who gets work done really quickly, you might find yourself waiting around for more work or things to come your way.
If you’re not being challenged, it can be easy for school to start to feel boring.
How to make school more fun 🤹♀️
To make it more fun 🤹♀️
1. Make sure you understand how each lesson will benefit you 🎁
For a lot of students, it’s important to understand how you’re going to benefit from each lesson, so you can feel invested in it.
- Make sure you understand how every lesson is going to benefit you — ask the teacher if you’re not sure! (In a polite way of course, you could say something like, “I’m keen to know how we’re going to be using this lesson to benefit us in the future”). 💡
- Think about how you can use what you’ve learned in school to help you at home or how they might link to real-world experiences. 🤔
- Treat every lesson like a training programme for your future exams. 💪
2. Ask teachers for more variety 💃
You could ask your school to do more fun things for variety like:
- Theme Days: Organise theme days where everyone, including teachers, participates by dressing up or bringing elements related to a chosen theme.
- Rotate Seating Arrangements: Rotate seating plans to make the classroom feel new and refreshing.
- Interactive Projects: Organise more interactive projects and group activities into the curriculum to break away from repetitive lectures.
- Field Trips: Arrange more field trips related to the subjects being taught. Real-world experiences can add excitement and variety to the learning process.
- Guest Speakers: Invite guest speakers to share their experiences and insights, providing a different perspective on the subjects.
- Flexible Learning Spaces: If possible, rearrange the classroom furniture or use alternative learning spaces within the school to change the environment.
- Student-Led Assemblies: Organise student-led assemblies where students can showcase their talents, work, or lead discussions on interesting topics.
- Show-and-Tell Sessions: Arrange show-and-tell sessions where students can bring in items or share experiences related to the subject.
- Student Choice Days: Arrange days where students have the opportunity to choose the topic or activity for part of the class, giving a sense of ownership in their learning.
- Outdoor Learning: Take classes outdoors when possible, to enjoy a change of scenery.
3. Keep up with the classes 🏃♀️
To stay engaged at school, it’s important to make sure that you’re keeping up with the lessons and understand the work. To help, you can:
- Create study groups to learn more with your friends outside of lessons.
- Explore online resources, educational websites, and platforms that offer explanations, tutorials, and practice exercises.
- Politely ask your teacher for extra resources, worksheets, or recommended things to read, to help you with the difficult lessons.
- Ask a friend who knows the subject better to help you – they’ll probably see it as a big compliment!
4. Try and tailor your learning 🧵
- Whilst you might not be able to drop subjects you don’t like, there might be activities you enjoy, that you can tie into your studies. Why not ask the teacher if you can somehow incorporate activities you enjoy into your work? For example, if you love making posters, ask if you can make a poster about the lesson topic! 🧑🎨
- Be honest with your teacher if it’s a topic you struggle to feel engaged with, and ask their advice on how to make the subject work for you. 💬
- Try and find things that interest you personally in the topic. For example, learning about monarchs in a history lesson might not excite you, but maybe there is interesting history and stories about their pet dogs that might make it more interesting? 🐶 Do some research and digging to find things that make the subject more interesting for you!
5. Challenge yourself 🏋️♀️
If you’re not being challenged, it can be easy for school to start to feel boring. To stay challenged, you can:
- Look at what else is going to be covered in the curriculum for the year, and start studying ahead for those topics.
- Learn more independently.
- Take on extra activities and clubs at school that might challenge you more.
- Help your friends with their studies and improve their understanding.
6. Get to know your teachers 👩🏫
If you don’t connect with your teachers or enjoy their teaching style, it can make school work very boring. To help get to know your teachers better, you could:
- Ask about their experiences at school
- Learn more about their job, and what inspired them to teach
- Ask them for help with work
7. Take breaks 🧘♀️
If you’ve got some really difficult topics to learn, too much work without breaks can be tiring, and encourage you to get bored of the work you’re doing.
Make sure to:
- Take your allocated lunch and break times to do something fun.
- During lessons, take brain breaks if you can feel yourself struggling.
- Take breaks from long times spent on computers.
- Drink water at breaks to keep yourself hydrated!
Conclusion 👍
So that’s it!
There are lots of different reasons why you might start to feel bored at school, such as:
- Nobody has explained why you’re doing it 🤷♀️
- School isn’t personalized 🪞
- Your classroom is formal 👔
- You’re not getting enough help 🤝
- There isn’t variety 🎨
- You don’t get to choose 🙋♀️
- You need more breaks 🥪
- You don’t connect with your teacher 👨🏫
- Some lessons don’t relate to real-life experiences 🌍
- Your work is too easy 😏
The good news is, that with a bit of effort, there are lots of things you can try to make school more fun!
If you know any friends or family members who might benefit from learning about reasons why you might get bored at school, share this post with them!
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