![]() ![]() “Because there is nothing better to spur creativity than a blank page or an empty bedroom,” he said. In an interview with GQ magazine, Lin-Manuel Miranda credited his unattended afternoons with fostering inspiration. And children came to appreciate their empty agendas. ![]() Only a few short decades ago, during the lost age of underparenting, grown-ups thought a certain amount of boredom was appropriate. Children could expect those kinds of futures and they got used to the idea from an early age, left unattended with nothing but bookshelves and tree branches, and later, bad afternoon television. Agricultural and industrial jobs were often mind-numbing few people were looking to be fulfilled by paid labor. Those who had to work had it a lot harder. They went motoring and stared at more trees. When not idling in drawing rooms, members of the leisured class took long walks and stared at trees. Memoirs of pre-21st-century life are rife with tedium. People used to accept that much of life was boring. The sooner you learn it’s on you to make life interesting, the better off you’ll be.” You think it’s boring now? Well, it only gets more boring. And I’m going to let you in on a little secret about life. “That’s right,” a mother says to her daughter in Maria Semple’s 2012 novel, “ Where’d You Go, Bernadette.” “You are bored. Life isn’t meant to be an endless parade of amusements. School, let’s face it, can be dull, and it isn’t actually the teacher’s job to entertain as well as educate. If kids don’t figure this out early on, they’re in for a nasty surprise. Despite the lesson most adults learned growing up - boredom is for boring people - boredom is useful. And not as some kind of cruel Victorian conditioning, recommended because it’s awful and toughens you up. And how can anyone - child or adult - claim boredom when there’s so much that can and should be done? Immediately.īut boredom is something to experience rather than hastily swipe away. If someone around here is bored, someone else must have failed to enlighten or enrich or divert. “I’m bored.” It’s a puny little phrase, yet it has the power to fill parents with a cascade of dread, annoyance and guilt. More important, it spawns creativity and self-sufficiency. And if Einstein valued the benefits of boredom, shouldn't we?īoredom teaches us that life isn’t a parade of amusements. The goal is to teach our students to utilise boredom, not avoid it. It's ambiguity will create a great discussion with your students. Here is a handy poster for your classroom wall. I can’t think of many teachers I know who would ever get the space or downtime to be bored - but at least our students and children can make the most of these "I'm bored" moments to go and create something. If we can switch off the distractions of the 21st century for a moment we are more likely to get into a headspace that spawns creative ideas. The kind of boredom I'm referring to is when we isolate ourselves from those things that overly stimulate our senses. When a child attains a state of boredom there are many spin-offs - one being the increased capacity to generate creative ideas. The parents left very grateful that they no longer felt pressured to fill up their children's lives with stimulating activities, and they understood that periods of boredom served a purpose. I then proceeded to explain the bountiful benefits of boredom (backed up by research). I said that the most effective way to respond is to smile and say enthusiastically, "That's fantastic! Did you know that being bored is good for your brain?" And in the bemused pause that follows say, "Now go and play". I was speaking at a parent information night at school when one mum said "My children keep coming up to me and saying they're bored, and I feel guilty that I'm not keeping them occupied." One thing I do have in common with Einstein is that I have a positive view of boredom. Many children, and parents, think it's bad to be bored. In a century where our children can be surrounded 24/7 with entertainment and stimulation, boredom gets a bad wrap. If Einstein knew what we have become his brain would likely turn in its bottle. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |