Teachers don't care, and they're boring me

Less than half of middle and high school students think teachers care about their problems and feelings, and less than a third think teachers make school exciting, according to massive national survey released today.

The "My Voice" report also found that 47 percent of students think school is boring, with far more boys saying so than girls.

The survey was conducted between fall 2006 and spring 2008 by the Pearson education company and the Quaglia Institute. The results are based on the responses of 414,000 students in 569 middle and high schools in 32 states.

They show that "while teachers have the potential to inspire students, they are not doing so in ways that students recognize," survey founder Russell J. Quaglia said in a press release.

The survey found gaps between boys and girls. While 43 percent of girls agreed that school is boring, 52 percent of boys did. Ninety-one percent of girls agreed that going to college is important, while 82 percent of boys did.

The survey also found that students feel less positive about schools and teachers as they get older. Forty-one percent of middle schoolers surveyed said teachers make school an exciting place to learn, but only 28 percent of high schoolers did. Asked if their classes help them understand what's happening in everyday life, 46 percent of middle schoolers said yes, compared to 36 percent of high schoolers.

The report concludes: "It is naive and ignorant to expect students to say in school, let alone graduate and take the next steps toward reaching their fullest potential, if every year they are in school they feel less supported, less connected and less inspired to learn."

Ron Matus, state education reporter

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Comments

[Bob H]

Oscar, yes the curriculum may dictate that you teach ancient Rome, but that doesn't mean you have to teach it in a dry, uninteresting way. History is more than just boring dates and battles. C'mon, make it exciting for your students!

Maybe I was fortunate in that I had - for the most part - competent and engaging teachers who made a big impression on me. And I retained a lot of material that was taught.

Don't blame the curriculum for your shortcomings or the fact that you can't reach your kids.

[Tim]

Is anyone surprised? Honestly. The schools are forced so much to focus on the FCAT they teachers have not time to try and engage their students with things that would be more interesting and would peak their interest to learn more about the subject.

[terminator]

good comments on both sides.
agreed kids need to understand they are in school to learn not to be "entertained".
when I was teaching I always told them if it was so boring they should drop out, get a job, start paying their own bills and "join the real world" as no one's begging you to be here. that usually shut them up pretty quick.
we as adults realize there are a lot of hoops to jump through in life and many times it's not all that exciting.
I liked college a lot more since you had more freedom and flexibility to do your own thing as opposed to K-12 which is pretty regimented.
Many kids come from homes with no or little self discipline which is why so many struggle.
Schools need to be reformed. There needs to be more vocational, technical and alternative schools, more home learning, virtual school etc.
Let everyone find their own path.
As I would tell them, everyone can be educated it just may not be at that particular school or at that particular time but eventually they will come to value education.

[T]

Oscar, good thing you don't teach my kids (since you spelled bored the wrong way).

However, as a former teacher, it was obvious that more and more kids spent all their time in front of video games and TV's and expected that from a teacher. I also got sick of the kids having to have the answers and all test being yes/no, multiple choice, true/false. No one wanted to think.

I hope I taught my kids to think on their own and figure out solutions rather than have someone else give it to them. Too bad we can't say that about all children

[WOW!]

This might be one of the worst things i have seen. Why dont we do a comparative study to how students felt 50 years ago? Why is everyone supposed to be the same? Everyone is supposed to enjoy school? Arent there some people who enjoy skateboarding and some who dont. What makes us all special is our own unique interests, thoughts and feelings. AND sometimes, we might even have to do something we dont enjoy because we understand that we have the responsibility to do it. I cant remember the last time i felt like paying bills or cleaning, but i have to do it anyway.
I would hope that students would enjoy their teachers and classes, but if they dont, who cares? That doesnt mean teachers are doing a bad job.
I would hope everyone is able to find a job they love in this world, but realistically many people dont have jobs they enjoy. They continue to work there because they enjoy eating food and feeding their families. Do their bosses come up to them everday and make sure they are having fun?
We act as though we have to adjust to the students, when in actuality the students should adjust to the teachers and the schools. When they are out in the real world how will students adjust to the world, when they have been taught it is supposed to adjust to them?

[Holly]

Our school systems are broken; we keep applying old, tired methods that need to be changed. School is NOT about "entertainment," it's about THINKING and learning. I would imagine, our new Messiah, Barak, is going to fix the problem! I think NOT!

[idiotwind]

Find both errors in this quote: "It is naïve and ignorant to expect students to say in school, let along graduate and take the next steps towards reaching their fullest potential,"

Gosh, wonder where this journalist went to school.

[Kevin]

Sure hope we have an overwhelming need for ditches to be dug in the future. Get a clue kids, if you think school is boring wait until you get a job that you end up with, as opposed to one you chose and trained for.

[Heather]

I will say one more thing. We need to stop thinking teachers are here to raise our children. Also give them better wages. You get what you pay for. Parents need to stop complaining when their children don't do well in school, It just might, probably be your childs fault, or part of the parents for not being there for their kids.

[oscar]

Give me a break! Of course they are board, to most of the students engaged means entertained. As a teacher, I look daily at 150 students who want me to do a song and dance and make them feel excited to be here. Sometimes it happens, but it cannot be a daily thing. We have a job to do, and that is to teach them.

No crap ancient Rome isn't exciting, but that is what the curriculum dictates. I would like to teach the philosophy of Spongebob, and advanced video game theory, but that is not what they need to get into college.

How about they get interested in something themselves, and then learn about it. That is the motivation they need.

[Teacher]

I wish more teachers applied half the enthusiasm that they could. I do counsel students as needed because I remember they are also human beings whose life is sometimes way worse off than mine - and if I can be that one adult that tells them they are worth something than I will do it even if its not part of my curriculum - but you are both right, there are a good number of teachers who will not step out and do that. I try to make the curriculum as fun and exciting as I can - but sometimes math is just that...however, I do try very hard to reach out to all my students and help them achieve something greater. That *is* my job.

[Heather]

As a former student I remember certain teachers who didn't inspire me for ANYTHING. Then again I remember a few who to this day I can think about and say yes they gave me good advise. My senior counsler told me that I was not college material and I should go find a man and get married and raise a family. (I could kick her A#&).

[A.H.]

Let's see here... no raises, barely a living wage, parents that don't care, administration that doesn't care... and you wonder why teachers don't have the excitement to teach the ungrateful brats.

You get what you give, plain and simple.

[david]

Wow, 12:31. As an intelligent person, who did make it through high school and go on to get a college degree, I have to say that I would have applied myself, tried harder, and learned more in high school had at least one teacher tried to make learning interesting. Instead, they all sat emotionless and unavailable at the front of the classroom and read the lessons from a book. These kids are telling us what they need to be better students and citizens, and we owe it to them and listen. Support is, by no means, coddling.

Absolutely ridiculous. Teachers are to provide an education, not edutainment.

A teacher's job is to teach the students, not counsel them and talk about their personal problems.

A teacher's job is to teach the students, not make every day a fun party for them.

At what point do these people stop getting coddled?