She remembers her male students during the 1950s who wore ties and sport coats or the females who wore dresses and nylons. One of her interviewees was a male student at the University of Illinois-Chicago who had on a t-shirt and bandanna and three-quarters-length parachute pants, and who decided what to wear from "whatever is clean." Another student wears flip-flops and jeans because if "class is boring, it's important to wear someting comfortable."

My first question is, do comfortable clothes or dressy clothes influence the learning process for a student?

My other question is, is a "boring" class the fault of the teacher or of the student, and who should take responsibility to improve the situation?

Last Edited on 7-Sep-2008 8:09 PM

On the other hand, one argument against an "anything goes" policy is that some sort of dress code does psychologically convey a message of discipline. Restrictions on "inappropriate dress" can subtly reinforce the idea that certain kinds of behavior are also inappropriate. Of course, then we're going to have huge debates about what constitutes inappropriate dress. Having school uniforms might settle the matter, but there are pros and cons on school uniforms as well. They may act as a "social leveler" and eliminate the silly contests about who has the latest name-designer clothes, but school uniforms can be costly and can give rise to resentments about stifling freedom of expression. Yes, we've gone too far in permitting excesses under the banner of "freedom of expression," but regimentation is the opposite extreme.

Question 2. (Boring Classes) This is not easy to answer, but let's first look at some of the reasons why students claim that classes are boring. From what students often say and write, I gather that they expect to be entertained, as if classes were TV shows or rock concerts. If they're in class primarily to "have fun" and be entertained, they have no idea what education is all about. Unfortunately, if one relies on students to make the class interesting (to offset the boredom), the result is a three-ring circus run by the class clowns. For a significant number of kids, the way to make class more fun and more interesting is to raise hell. It takes only a handful of hell-raisers to ruin a class for those who are there to learn and to make it impossible for the teacher to teach.

That said, teachers are obligated to at least try to make their classes interesting. That's a challenge for anyone, but I think it's especially challenging for those of us who teach grammar – which is, for almost everyone but grammarians and wordsmiths, inherently boring. I could write a dissertation about the dos and don'ts, but I've learned a few general principles. Teachers' enthusiasm for their subjects can go a long way toward offsetting boredom because enthusiasm is contagious. (So is boredom; if the teacher is bored, the students will be too.) Humor is a useful tool. That's not to say that the teacher must be a stand-up comedian, but an occasional bit of comic relief goes a long way toward countering boredom. Teachers also need spontaneity to offset boredom. Nothing is more boring than the class in which the instructor does nothing but read from a book or rigidly follow a lesson plan (possibly a five-year-old lesson plan). The most interesting teachers are those who treat each class as a brand-new experience in exploring the subject, with the flexibility to pursue new angles (sometimes introduced by students). They follow a guide to keep them on target but aren't straitjacketed by prepared notes. In my opinion, teachers who teach strictly "by the book" are often insecure; teachers must know their subjects thoroughly so that they can handle any tangents that students introduce and still stay on message.

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Rich Turner (The Curmudgeon Himself)

Last Edited on 8-Sep-2008 11:42 AM

Recently, however, I was tasked with enrolling students. Two female students came in together wearing niqabs and I asked them to remove them because as I said, I need to see that you are who you say you are. They complied and I carried on with the enrolment process but was interrupted by one of them asking with annoyance in her voice if they could put their veils back. I said if you must and she replied it is part of our religion, I said, actually it isn't because the Koran says, "Leave uncovered only that which is apparent," but this isn't the time to discuss this, if you want to cover up I won't stop you but it is rude. [If you need to check, by the way, it's Sura al-Nur, verses 30-31]. They covered up and I continued but they were audibly annoyed (not visibly, I couldn't see that. That's not quite true I could see their body language but not their facial expressions).

Last Edited on 8-Sep-2008 11:32 AM

Our local historical society was sponsoring a “Pioneer Day” for all the fourth grade students of the county. It was a “country fair” type of program, held at the county fairgrounds. The classes from each school were rotated through a number of stations, where volunteers showed the children how things used to be done in times past. My wife and I were asked to demonstrate how sauerkraut was made, since we still do that for ourselves each fall. Having all the necessary equipment and cabbage, we put down a 10-gallon crock of kraut, with each class observing every step of the process. I explained, asked questions, and answered questions as we went along. So we were seeing in front of us, and communicating with, each school’s class for nearly half an hour.

One spirited teacher led her charges to the bleacher at a lively step, and as they were getting seated she fired questions such as, “What do you expect to learn here?” Many hands shot up to answer. I explained how this was once a food preserving process done in many homes, and how we can have sauerkraut with our wieners or on Reuben sandwiches because of bacteria. I asked if anyone might be able to name other foods that were made using microorganisms. Cheese! Yogurt! Cottage cheese! Bread! Beer! Wine! These kids were junior microbiologists! They gathered around for a closer look with great interest when the time came. When I was finished, the teacher used what time was left to ask more questions about what they had learned, and the responses were again spirited, rapid, and numerous. It was gratifying!

Another group came along, from one of the more high-class communities no less. The only adverb to describe their assembling on the bleacher was “grudgingly.” They all looked as if they had been ordered to be there against their wishes. Most notable were the teacher and her assistant. They both sat with their faces propped in their hands nearly the whole time, staring left or right toward far-off places, communicating their wishes to be somewhere else. There were no questions from the children, and the little response to anything I asked did not indicate much prior enlightenment. There was little interest shown when the time came to see the tools and kraut close up. They left without a word from the teachers other than what was necessary to move them.

These instructors of a couple dozen students each were outstanding. They were teaching very effectively that day. It was evident they had been teaching just as effectively all along. That teaching was not from their schoolbooks. But the visible difference in the lessons and the effects that would certainly remain with the children were astounding!

Last Edited on 3-Oct-2008 7:43 PM