How do I create enthusiasm in my 10th grade students?

Question

I teach a very technical subject designed to prepare them for a career and they are falling asleep with boredom. They don't realize what an awesome opportunity this is. They also think that employment with the the top-notch employer who sponsors the program is an entitlement. It's not. What games or activities could I use that will both teach them and make them enthusiastic so they can take in the curriculum, which is designed for adults.

Answer 1

You're making the assumption that your students actually WANT to learn what you're teaching them.  The only reason they even BOTHER to show up in class is because adults REQUIRE them to.

So start with the assumption that your students really would rather be having fun and playing video games, which is what they'd really rather be doing.

They'd probably rather be using their mind power to decipher the information in the quantum field, with which our brains are entangled and affected by, so they can discover the secrets of the universe through their own imaginations and a freer method of personal exploration.  In effect, they'd rather daydream.  It's good for creativity and imagination.  In this age, when we have the technology to move into having more free time, it's only natural for our imaginations to want to take the extra time to soar.

Since everyone is different, everyone has a different imagination.  Trying to force all these different ideas into one rut of education is what's turning everyone into zombies.  They bury their beautiful imaginations under rules, regulations, and expectations.  Then people wonder why kids explode in school and start killing people.  They think it's better to die than live in a world where everything in your imagination is beaten into nothing more than a dream that will never come true by parents and teachers who force kids to do things they really don't feel like doing.  It's torture to watch your own imagination die due to the demands of parents, teachers and responsibilities.

We're getting down to quarks in the universe, and seeing matter duplication in the quantum field.  We've seen things that are small enough now, and it's time to look at bigger things again.  Explore the universe, this time with the benefit of information from the quantum field, which will alter our experiences as this quantum field is also the power behind hallucinations.

If the brain can hallucinate by accident in the form of delusions, it can be trained to hallucinate on purpose to alter the way we see the world, and to discover the true nature of matter.  If a hallucination is real enough to cause physical injuries, what is matter made of if a hallucination can be intentionally applied to existing objects to make them look how we want them to look?

Reality isn't as it seems.  The younger you are, the more you sense this, hence the boredom of students, and your excitement.  As an adult, you've lost touch with the magic they still experience as young people. You are excited because you see it as ONE great opportunity.  They see it as boring because it is ONE opportunity you're excited about, while they only signed up for the class because it seemed like the least disgusting of all the choices available.  That is why they're not interested.  Now, how you solve that problem is what I'd like to hear from you about.

Answer 2

First of all....NO sexual content or myspace pages...have you SEEN the news lately??

Perhaps you can find some ways to motivate them by giving them some choices...If there is a big topic to cover...can they have the choice of writing a paper, or giving a presentation, or building a website? If you must test lots of content...can you survey them to see if they prefer smaller quizzes, or one big exam? Another motivator is to often times include WRONG information in your presentation...and tell students that if they pick up on the error, then they get a _______ ?

Just remember that listening to lectures is boring! You should never spend more than 50% of a class session lecturing.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I was a tenth grader last year too - show videos! everyone loves videos - find ones that apply to what you are teaching. Also, try to have the employer come in and give a presentation and have him tell the kids that employment is not garunteed.  Above all else, do more than stand up front and talk - thats just inviting kids to zone out. Do hands on activities and projects that relate to the career.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

Oh, I can feel your pain!  My wife is a teacher with fifteen plus years experience in the middle school level.  Her are some options that work with any age group any subject:

First and foremost, a student needs to feel as though he or she has a sense of empowerment and choice in the classroom.  When designing assignments, give them more than just on appropriate choice.  Let them work in small groups to solve real problems regarding the material, the same as they would have to to on the job.

Making the material "fun" may not be the answer like giving out stickers for the best solution.  What you can do, though is to integrate popular culture into the lessons where needed.  For example, using a well known song to build a mnemonic device.

Finally, the biggest motivator that so many professionals overlook is the teacher's attitude and presence in the classroom.  When she thought the work were getting tedious, the students picked up on that.  I'm not suggesting becoming Chelsea Cheerleader, just that they know you are doing you best to help them along.

Answer 5

What is the curriculum you're teaching?  

Answer 6

I was a tenth grader last year.  It is difficult for me to prescribe help because I do not completely understand your curriculum.  However, I found the easiest way to have a teacher hold the attention of their class is to use things that appeal to students at that age, such as text messaging, myspace/facebook, or even sexual content (very light of course) in the lesson.  I hope this helps.  I feel your predicament is quite troublesome, as my peers and friends have these attention loss tendencies.  The best of luck and I hope I helped.