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Also a big thing for me is that i get too much HW, i dont think teachers realize they are overloading me and thats why im always stressed out, tired, and not focusing in class.

Teachers should communicate with other teachers in different subjects so they know whats going on. I do HW from 2:10pm-2am everyday and it leaves me exhausted. I do understand that HW is essential in all classes especially in Hist., Govt., and Math but sometimes its just too much. A page there, two essay here, a speech, a project. They all add up and sometimes it literally is imposible to finish.

It is now the end of the first quarter and teachers are piling the work. The lack of sleep leaves us grumpy and uninterested in school. So the only way to get us back is to allow us to socialize (cutting HW seems impossible) When i socialize in class even in a group discussion (because we all know students go off topic) I regain some energy and focus or even 5 minutes to ourselves at the end of class.

I understand that being a teacher is hard, and sometimes you might want to just run out screaming but sometimes you just have to fake a smile, laugh, or just take 5 for a breather.

I do sympathize teachers, they have one of the hardest jobs.

Teachers need to realize they are not entertainers.  They cannot compete with the Xbox or a blockbuster movie.

Sometimes you have to lecture.  If you can help the student see how the material applies to their life it helps.  (Even if you have to show them how learning this concept is a means to an end...ie a diploma.)

Teachers often beat their heads against the wall and try changing their style and lessons to get the kids motivated.  in reality motivation should come from within.  The parents should be instilling a love for learning to the child LONG before they come to school.  Sadly, teachers have to assume this role in some cases.

As long as the teacher truly loves his or her job the student will see their passion and that is usually enough to earn their respect and attention.

In reply to #1:

I have to agree that technology is the major reason students are bored.  I teach high school in an urban school district where technology is limited.  As a result, my overhead projector just doesn't do it for them.  It would be great to have a SMARTBOARD.  Other than developing creative methods to teach and provide for stimulating lessons, I've tried to make the classroom environment bright and colorful with print rich materials related to my content area.  I always tell them I you are bored and do not want to listen to me, read the tips for Being and Active Reader, look at the definitions for Testing Vocabulary Words or Lit Terms.

The tone of the voice, the way they speak. If you speak solid than the class will be miserable. But if you could speak with such tone that is friendly or funny etc... you are more likely to find your students entertained. No matter what your students are always going to be 5 years olds, because just like 5 years old get bored easily with a toy after 30 minutes imagine the students! So give them a new toy, play with your students keep them going with new things, do class outside of school maybe in the park or library how about in a museum?

In reply to #2:

As a student, I don't really agree. Having to copy down a powerpoint slideshow for notes is just as boring as coping an overhead. I do not really understand why my teachers are so excited about smart boards and other stuff like that when I would just rather listen to an interesting teacher lecture about something important to me. My favorite teachers are the ones who make whatever they are teaching interesting and imortant to me; they laugh, joke, relate what they are teaching to everyday life, and most importantly, include the students in the lectures. It is not technology's fault of why students are becoming bored in teachers' classes but it is the teachers themselves and their own personalities.  Older adults, I think need to stop blaming the youth's problems on technology and maybe more on the adults of this era or maybe just a shift in moral values over a generation or two.

Look at the world today's students are in and compare it to that when we were school children.  The internet has made the world smaller providing information overload.  Students today never knew a world without computers, cell phones, high tech video games systems like wii or video conferencing. They are shuttled between homes of divorced parents and have been forced to grow up faster then anyone before them.  In my classroom subscribe to the methodology of edutainment.  If I can keep them entertained then they will forget about all the issues and learn.  They feel safe as I listen to them.  I am a big supporter of DWOK (Different Ways of Knowing).  Not all children are going to learn the same way.  You need to be creative and stimulate the auditory, visual, sensory, and physical learners.  If you make your lessons personal to them they are not bored.  Give them ownership of their education and I know you will see a difference, especially when they feel you believe in them.  When a teacher tells me that their students are bored I ask them have you ever asked them what you can do to better serve them.  You would be surprised that they are very willing to tell you why some teachers are very successful with them, while others they simply turn off.  Ultimately to me it comes down to the fact they in the outside world are over stimulated and then in class under!

I agree that teachers need to engage students, and maybe update their lesson plans for each group of students- but what bothers me is that all this sounds like "lets keep them amused just like TV, and computer games, and all the other technological devices do.." but what happens when these kids get to college, and some of their lectures are 11/2- 3 hours long, and the professor "lectures" and expects students to listen and take notes?  With all this focus on "entertaining" lesson plans in High School and the lower grades, are we really doing our kids a service and preparing them for the "real" world, which I am sorry to say, is about "doing what you professor, or boss wants, even if you don't want to." I think we are raising a generation of spoiled and self-indulgent kids who may not make it past the first year in college, the shock and work-load will just be too much. And we must take the blame for this-

Having been a high school teacher, graduate professor, doctoral/masters/bacherlor's student, all the classes where I have paid attention have 1 common element- a passionate instructor. A passionate instructor typically comes with a depth of knowledge, confidence, enthusiasm, and the ability to communicate. No need for a mandatory attendance policy, no draconian policies, no technology, and no games or self-esteem building exercises. It didn't matter if it was a 100+ lecture hall or a 15 person seminar course, if the instructor loved the subject, it was always contagious! My experience as a professor is the same- when my teaching assignments are aligned with my passions for the subjects I am the most motivated enthusiastic instructor. I see the immediate reflection of my attitude in the faces of my students. If students aren't paying attention, ask yourself how you can make it more interesting for you to teach? What excites you? Then find a way to incorporate that into your lessons. The kids will see how excited you are and it will eventually catch on. You'll both be happier!

One aspect of teaching that I struggled with, is the need to see productivity a certain way.  Is learning silent and orderly.  Students aren't always bored because they say, "I'm bored."  Rather, we have to look at as an attention getter, the subtext of which might more accurately be, "I have no business here,"  "I'm not included", "I don't feel challenged," or "I don't want to engage with this particular question."  It is so much easier to say I'm bored.  I believe a push in a more specific direction is needed when a student expresses himself this way.