Why don't students do the work they are supposed to do in class?

Question

Students are always set tasks to complete in class time and I am trying to find out why they don't complete what is set for them!

Answer 1

Either they just don't care about their grades or the teacher has set an unrealistic goal for the students.  

Answer 2

were teenagers we loveto hav fun  

Answer 3

Even though I was a honor's graduate, took 3 AP classes my senior year and passed all of the exams and graduated a 4.0 GPA, I do not consider myslef to be a geek or a nerd. In class, students like to socialize and have fun. I like to do my school work when I am home. But if it was an assignment that had to be completed and turned in by the end of class, then I did it.  

Answer 4

do u honestly think kids give 2 sh**s about school we jss go cuz we have to  

Answer 5

lack of motivation and there parents dont care what happens to them. these kids have no respect for them selves, they just want fun but dont understand that if they keep doing this they will never have a good life. theyre probably put down by others and feel worthless maybe if you help them wake up and smell the coffee they will do better but if they wont help themselves why should we.

Answer 6

Hi! I am studying to be a teacher and I am assuming you are in a classroom with students..... It is probably because many students now are lazy. If they do not have a reason to complete what is set for them in class time, they will not do it. If it is for a grade, not all students are motivated by grades. Sometimes if they think they can do the assignment later at home or another day in class, they will not do it during the set time. Mainly, my advice to you (if you're the teacher) is to give them a motivating reason to get it done. Such as "The first table to have the work done correctly and nicely will get a point (or a treat)" Or "This is for a grade and if it is not complete by the end of the class period, you will have to stay in during recess (or lunch or after school... whatever) I hope this helped!!

Answer 7

It depends.  I am assuming this is your classroom.  Think about the environment.  Are the students working together or separate on the task you want them to finish?  It will take longer if they are allowed to collaborate.  Are there interruptions in their work (PA announcements, trips to the water fountain, restroom, etc)?  Is it too quiet?  I know this is an issue for many of my students (and myself) so I opt to play classical music at a low volume all day long.  Consider these things and maybe you will find some ways to alter the environment to fit your needs.  You could also consider having the students finish at home to motivate them to complete the assignment.  Lastly, if the problem is very big, tell the students that they only have the class time and you will collect the assignment and grade the completed work.

Good luck increasing time on task in your classroom.  =]

Answer 8

Like many have said before me, students lack motivation. But not just that, they are bored. By the time your in high school, you know most of the things they are teaching, because you have learned before in other grades, and they are reteaching it.

Plus, most students, are tired after 6 classes, and tend to slack off in periods 5 and 6.

I guess, because they don't want to be there, they try to make the most of it, and do the work, at home. Where they can watch tv, and listen to music while working.

I myself am one of those people, i work better when i have music, or something else. But my school doesn't allow MP3's when doing work.

I get bored easily, and always have boring teachers.

I think if teachers tried to make school fun with games where you learn, but it isn't just school work, or had a movie day, students would have more of a reason to do work, when it is given, or if they could listen to music when working, it would get done.

This is just mine opinion, but as a junior in high school, i guess i speak for a lot of teens. School is just boring, and as long as the work gets done, who care when it gets done, as long as it is done on time.

I hope i answered your question, and if you are a teacher, i hope you understand, and try to do something i metioned above. Students, just need something that makes school enjoyable, cause most students just need a break from school work, day after day.

Answer 9

Some people just work faster than others.  When I was in school I was always having to take things home to finish them, cause I knew that if I wanted to do a good job I had to take my time on what I was working on.

Answer 10

Because most of the time, students have been doing work in class all day long. Sometimes it's nice just to take a break from work and then just do the work later. I don't really appreciate everyone saying all teens don't care about school and their grades or future.  I am a 16 year old sophomore who has a 4.0 from working hard in school. I want to go to OSU majoring in neuroscience, and then go to Johns Hopkins for medical school to either become an anesthesiologist, an oncology pharmacist, or a dermatologist.

Answer 11

Not all the work is completed because it takes time. Assuming you're the teacher, you are used to the work- if you're a good teacher you will have planned the lesson, had access to all the information and answers and have probably taught the same thing so many times before it comes automatically for you. You also may have the answers, which they don't.

Classroom settings tend to be a place that makes work the hardest to complete and the classrooms lead to in-productivity. There are so many distractions, they are very unoriginal and this bores he pupils. You should also note that different people exceed in different environments - some need music, some need background noise and others need silence etc. You can not cater for everybody's personal needs and preferences. I doubt that nobody completes the work, and if this is true, it should be obvious that you are giving them too much.

In addition, the school day is hard, long, incredibly stressful can be very boring and tiring. You cannot expect everybody to work at a great speed when they have essays, exams, revision, assignments, countless other subjects and projects on-going throughout lessons and at home. You may consider yourself to be perfect, but not everybody is - they need a break once in a while.

You also have to consider the fact that there is a great lack of motivation when this is taken into account. They are not going to receive a reward or any credit for completeing the work, and they have other priorities at school.

A huge thing teachers do not understand is that many people bother to put the highest amount of effort they can into their work, which means taking longer over it because more work is done, you have to think about how you're going to make it better, and it takes longer to make it look its neatest. You are saying that they don't finish the work, but I have a feeling that you would be more annoyed if they didn't do the work properly, or not to the standards you expect.

Personally, I am a person who has put the most effort I can into every piece of work I have had over the past four years, taking unbelieveable amounts of time over the work, when others would have done it in a few minutes. I always make it very presentable, and 80 - 90% of the time I get the best mark in the class, and I'm always within the top five results. Do you thnk I get credit or benefits for this? NO!

The teacher puts a nice comment on the work that fills me with pride and brings some happiness to me, making me feel as if the effort I put in was worth it. However, it's always others who are chosen for trips and visits taht I would love to go on, and which many of those going are unsuitable for. I stand and watch my peers who don't get the marks and don't put the amount of effort in their work as I do, be chosen to represent the school, do something different than everyone else and receive benefits that look great on CVs, and which are lmost qualifications, that I would love t have, and which I cold make use of in my future. I think I'm treated unfairly and utterly unappreciated, but I continue to slave over my work and pour so much effort into the work, knowing that nothing will change. If I'm confident I'll do great in my exam, why should I put so much of myself in a project that has nothing to do with the exam?

Put yourself in the pupil's shoes, and think back to when you were at school. All the pressure, stress and work, would you never give yourself a break when you needed one,and wouldn't get one at home because of all the homework you've got?

Remember that if everybody fails to complete the work, you're giving them fa too much work, obviously.

Answer 12

so they don`t have to do it at home,

and there will be less time for school and more time for fun at home

Answer 13

motivation, or lack of i should say

Answer 14

it's boring  

Answer 15

For me personally:

there is no possible way for me to be productive in a classroom setting.

there are way too many distractions.

its even worse if the teachers insists on having the room dead silent.

i need noise in order to complete my work.

Answer 16

they are young and think that they have all the time in the world to finish everything.

Answer 17

When I was in school before college, most people didn't do their work in class because they wanted to spend the time socializing with their friends instead.

Answer 18

Are you a teacher?  Well it might be that there is too much work for assigned for them.  That is one case. They just don't have the time.  You would know this was the case by looking around and seeing if the students are actually working and not talking, which is case 2.

If the class environment is talkative and all the students are just talking and laughing with one another then you know that there is not too much work.  The teacher would have to give them stricter discipline so then they know they have to work.  If it is case 1: less work just needs to be assigned.  If 2: the teacher needs to tell them if they don't finish it in class, it is for homework.  That usually made me focus more in class.  

Answer 19

Kids just lack motivation in school these days. Too much computer and texting, not enough school work. They don't have goals for careers, don't look at their lives in the long run.