Not exactly in the zone…
April 3, 2009
It’s hard to keep focus when you’re a math student. I’m the teacher, and even I realize that.
But, I think I’ve seen the pinnacle of disinterest with one of my students.
He manages to pay attention is class well enough. Or, at the very least, he’s staring forward during class, which gives the illusion that he’s actually paying attention.
The problem comes when he’s taking a test. He’ll spend several seconds staring down at the paper–filling in an answer or two–and then spend several minutes staring dead-ahead. Almost as if he expects the board to still be full of instruction. The worst part is that I have no idea what I can do about the problem. And it is a problem. His test scores are abysmally-low.
Thing is, I’m not a doctor. Or a psychologist. Or any sort of a person who would know what the hell ailment he may have. He may not even have a diagnosable ailment. He may just be extremely bored.
Regardless of the cause, I find myself staring at him, staring at the board in an effort to mentally time how long he’s distracted during a test. His distractions are distracting me.
Which is, um…
Distracting.
