A majority of U.S. high school students say they get bored in class every day, and more than one out of five has considered dropping out, according to a survey released Wednesday.The survey of 81,000 students in 26 states found two-thirds of high school students complain of boredom, usually because the subject matter was irrelevant or their teachers didn’t seem to care about them.

OK, I’m not saying that I’m the bees’ knees of teaching, but these poor students never had the pleasure of enjoying my Constitution dance on Constitution Day each September that I performed while wearing my polyester bicentennial dress from 1976.  Neither did they witness my one-man, three-act play reenacting the events that led to the Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison.  Those were some good times in the 12th grade classroom.  I challenge you to be bored while I’m making such a fantastic fool of myself!

Admittedly, some of the teachers in our schools are just bad.  There’s only so long worksheets and movies can keep a student motivated.  But, there are also great teachers who can make subjects like physics and economics come alive.  Many students still get bored, however, because they can’t immediately see how these subjects are relevant to their grand life plans.  I didn’t get how Calculus fit into my aspirations, but I still found it fascinating (didn’t help me from getting any better than a “D” in the course my senior year, but my senior year choices weren’t too kind to my GPA).  I don’t remember ever being bored in class … it was too challenging.

I’m not sure how I feel about the “my teacher doesn’t care about me” part.  I cared for my students and wanted them to get excited about American Government (I met with mixed results here), but what is the students’ definition about caring?  Is it that the teacher isn’t sympathetic if a homework assignment isn’t done because a girl is torn up about a recent breakup?  Or that the teacher just “doesn’t get” an adolescent’s need to wear baggy jeans that share underwear preferences?  Is it possible the student is frustrated that the teacher took away her cell phone and she subsequently got grounded?   Teachers certainly must care about their students, but teenagers also have a flair for the dramatic.

The story ends this way:

Yet, three of four students surveyed said they expected to earn a high school diploma and go on to college.

“Students may not be doing the work to get them to that point,” Yazzie-Mintz said.

You think?

We have students who aren’t learning (through their fault or the fault of the teacher) and who are apathetic towards their education but, by all means, they certainly should sign up for another four years (or more) in the classroom.  And the value of a college degree drops yet another notch.