Students at Lakeland High School are no strangers to being bored in class.
Classroom environments are not built for entertainment, and the Lakeland students agree.
Most people get bored during the lecture portion of class. Teachers droning on and on about whatever it might be that day can cause students to zone out in class, whether that be intentional or not.
Lakeland freshman CeCe Miller said that she has a hard time focusing when the teacher is giving a lecture.
Freshman Payette Walkington said that she gets more bored in her free time, but she will get bored during a lecture if she already understands the material being explained.
“It depends on if I already know something,” Walkington said.
Sophomore Marissa Benson also stated that she gets bored when her teachers are giving lessons.
Lessons are less than entertaining, students unable to focus on the droning sound of the teacher’s voice.
Free time can be just as harmful to students’ focus, however
Senior Sydney McDonald said that it depended on the teacher, but she most often gets bored during her free time, especially in the last fifteen minutes of the class and when she has nothing else to do.
Juniors Kylea Bartram and Jenna Olson both said that they get bored during both their free time and their lectures, depending on what the class is doing and what they have to do that day.
Every person that was asked said that they get less bored in class when their friends are in the class with them.
While having friends in the class certainly helps fight off boredom, that’s not always an option.
There are other ways to combat it, however, and the Lakeland students had a few tips.
McDonald recommended having a pencil in your hand during lectures so your brain has an external focus while the teacher drones on.
“I recommend having a pencil in your hand so you have something mess with” McDonald said.
Olson said to take notes during a lecture to force yourself to pay attention.
Bartram suggested chewing gum if it’s allowed and to bring an extra activity for your free time. She also said that making your notes look nice is a way to engage yourself in a lesson if you find your focus failing.
“Make your notes pretty. Use different colored pens and highlighters,” Bartram said.
Miller suggested trying to talk with your friends during free time to eliminate the boredom factor.
Walkington said that you should focus on the task at hand, whether that be a lecture, an assignment, or other work.