Checklist for class: pencil, paper, pillow.

As many of you know, classes can be a chore. Some students may like to learn something new every semester, but every class is different, and every professor teaches differently.

Some teachers try to involve the students more in class, using group work or forcing students to answer questions. Others teach with lectures or Power Point presentations, easily becoming boring after half an hour.

All teachers include questions and tests within their lesson plans because this way they know if students are learning anything. So exactly what makes a boring teacher?

Perhaps a lot of teachers have been doing it for so long that they don’t care anymore, or they use outdated methods for lecturing. A lot of it could also be the students; if a class is a gen-ed, chances are the class is not part of their major and the student is only taking it for credit.

In other words, the topic is not something people get excited about.

“I’ve had a few boring classes in the big lecture halls,” said sophomore history major Becky Slutz. “All the teachers usually use are Power Points which are boring to us, but the teachers can’t do much else with so many students.”

One question that arises in boring classes is if the teacher makes you bored, or the fact that you don’t want to be in that class is the source of the problem.

“With one class I didn’t like the subject,” said Ana Gatze, a freshman textiles, apparel and merchandising major. “And the teacher made it boring but other professors I’ve had have made the subject interesting before.”

Of course, each student gets engaged into subject matter differently, but it seems like most students in my classes are either figuring out Sudoku, texting or falling asleep. Obviously, they are not even trying to learn what is being taught. So can teachers or students be held accountable when material isn’t retained?

“The teacher must be prepared, enthusiastic and ready to challenge, to coax and to be patient,” said English instructor Joe Bonomo. “And the student should be fully prepared and ready to participate, especially when the subject matter is challenging or difficult to relate to.”

Although students can sometimes lose sight of why they’re in college, the teachers’ jobs still revolve around making the subject matter interesting, whether the students will take an interest in it or not.

Most often the teachers that have a lot of enthusiasm and excitement for the subject matter of the class will engage and excite students as well.

“A student should remember that learning a new subject is not an academic exercise, but a gift,” Bonomo said. “And a teacher should be able to make a subject matter, whether he or she’s surrounded by the latest online/media equipment or whether he or she’s in front of an old-school blackboard.”