Do you think school has to be serious?

Well, other people might be there to learn. And if the teacher is wasting time dealing with you then you are depriving them of what they are there for.

If you want to be a ass ask to use the restroom and be a dork in the hallway.

You have no right to interfere with the learning of others.

It’s not about being “serious.” You’re there to do a job. School is pretty much the last time in your life where everything you do is about you and for you. If you choose not to make the most of it, that’s your loss, but disrupting the process for others is definitely out of bounds.

so you must be that jerk who sits behind me in chemistry talking while I’m doing everything I can to learn a difficult subject. And if you’re in college like i am, I am paying to be there, so I want to get the most out of my time there as possible.

not all the time
ugh
that’s why there’s this thing called recess!

Honestly, yeah.
I don’t think I’m particularly omg!HARDCORE about school or anything, but I understand the need for respect towards the teacher and the school itself. I don’t mess around in class because I just don’t see the point in that, when I mess around about school it’s on my own time.

Yes, I think the structure of education being a serious and respected time is important.

Um, go to my school please, then answer back

I think that schools often don’t make enough allowances for the differing learning styles of children. One thing I’ve hear about the difference between boys and girls is that boys need to be active much more than girls do. Girls can sit still for long periods of time in the way boys have great difficulty with.

The other thing is that just because children are running around and making noise, it doesn’t mean they aren’t learning. They often can take in stuff while appearing to be focusing on something else. I’ve seen classrooms that work like this. They look like chaos, but it seems the children learn just as well, if not better than kids in more traditional classrooms.

So I don’t think people who want to “have fun” should be bashed without getting more information. We all learn in different ways, and there should be a way for all of us to be in learning settings that match our learning styles. Rhector63 may be in the wrong place. It’s not that he is just disrupting everyone else, necessarily. It could well be a failure of the educational system.

As a teacher, I believe that there is a place for levity and “fun” in the classroom. However, it can’t be that way all the time, because then it would be day care. Most teachers that I know understand the value of both strict lecture and more freeing events, but it’s difficult to use “fun” learning activities if the students don’t behave during more structured classes.
High school students are a volatile group, and their attitudes can turn in an instant. Speaking for myself, I try to keep a more structured classroom until I get to know students. If they seem like a well-adjusted class, we can do more fun things. If, on the other hand, the class (or just one person in it) is disruptive, disrespectful, and immature, I keep a firmer reign on them.
It was most evident when I was teaching at both the junior high and the high school. Most of the high school students loved the class and thought I was goofy and funny. We played a lot of games and did not take ourselves too seriously. At the junior high, however, I ruled with an iron fist. The classroom rules were much more strenuous, and we did a lot more structured work. There was an occasion where a few of my Junior High school students were working with my high schoolers, and complaining about my teaching style and how I was so strict. My high school students were shocked, and came to me asking how I could be two different people.

Sorry this is so long. My advice, @rhector63, is to stop “pissing off” the teacher, and maybe class will become less serious.

Consider Clown College

haha clown college!! thats funny @MrKnowItAll

Asking to have some levity and fun in the classroom is fine. I remember laughter in first grade and laughter in senior philosophy seminars and plenty of laughter in between. This questioner is talking about breaking rules and pissing the teacher off just for the fun of it. @daloon, are you defending that?

@Jeruba Not defending it, but trying to suggest that there is a place it comes from, and it’s not necessarily him trying to disrupt the class, just because he’s a jerk. This stuff comes from somewhere, and I think it usually because the schools don’t have the interest or the ability to customize education for all kids.

School should be serious, The teacher is not only trying to teach, but also doing a job. And people are there to learn, even if you are not. Maybe you do not want to learn, but you shouldn’t interfere with the teacher, who is trying to do his/her job to teach those who do want to learn. Unfortunately you have to be there even if you don’t want to be, but the least you can do is be mature and keep your mouth shut.

It doesn’t have to be dull, but yes it should be taken seriously. Respect the other people in your environment, be they teachers or students. There is a time and place for everything.

@daloon, I would agree with you in general. But this person says he is trying to disrupt the class and make the teacher angry.

I read a description of a math class using project based learning. http://tinyurl.com/lpy6xv The class was very open. As described in the book, the classroom was rather noisy and at any given moment many students were socializing rather than studying math. The net result, however, was that in comparison to a traditional class, the project based class students performed better and had a much greater appreciation of the importance of mathematics.

If there is not fun in learning then the school, which would be most schools, is doing something wrong.

Serious time when it comes to homework, studying, quizzes and tests.
Fun time when you’ve done all that.

@daloon I know we beat the subject of male/female difference in classroom style learning to deat but c’mon, really , more energy in the boys? serioulsy, that makes no sense…all kids, gender irrespective need to get up and move

@MrKnowItAll dude, clown college is hard to get into

Socializing, working together on projects, ambient learning, moving around, etc., are not disruptive when the class is structured to be that way. The question isn’t about traditional teaching styles vs constructivism (which would be interesting, but it would also be a different topic). It’s about not paying attention, not behaving, breaking rules, and deliberately vexing the teacher. In what educational environment is that behavior conducive to learning?

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Do you agree that there are differences, on average, in the behavior and learning styles of boys and girls? That’s all I’m talking about. If I characterized it in a way that seems ham-fisted, I’m happy to use other terms, just so long as we agree that, on average there are gender differences in learning styles and behavior.

There are also differences in outcomes.

@daloon yes there are differences observed (through studies) but I don’t attribute those differences to inherent differences between males and females of our species

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Ah well, that’s a different question, but one well worth asking.

@daloon I think it’s been asked a lot
in that I’ve discussed it a lot over the past couple of years
with people over the internerds and not
it’s hard because people are so set on seeing gender differences

OMG, clowning is so very hard. In one of my improv classes, we had a clown come in to teach us for a session. That was a class that separated the improvisers from the dilettantes, that’s for sure!

No, @rhector63, don’t waste everyone’s time just to amuse yourself by upsetting the teacher. You’re obviously bored. You should tell your parents or even your teacher that you’re bored and maybe they can find something that will engage your brain.

Honestly imagine yourself in the teacher’s place and think about you’d feel having to deal with some kid trying to piss you off. Put yourself in the place of the other kids in the class who want to learn the subject. See how you’re feeling angry? So don’t do that to other people. That’s empathy.

i think you can learn and have fun at the same time. my psych teacher was a pretty chill guy, and the entire class was like, in love with him, because he showed everyone respect, treated all of his students as adults, and was hilarious. i’ve never laughed so much in a class, and i still remember almost everything he taught us (which is saying a lot. i’m in my second month of summer. what is school?)