Teachers, Try This: Helping Students Learn To Enjoy Being Bored

“I’m bored.” It’s a phrase that regularly comes out of the mouths of students.

But this Toronto teacher has found a solution.

Through a 10-minute “nothing period,” in which students are quiet and seated and able to occupy themselves, Margaret Fong's class has learned how to occupy themselves and their time when they don’t have anything to do. Some have invented games in this free time, or drawn comic books, others have come to relish the opportunity to just breathe. She’s seen this learning have a positive impact on students, and it’s been particularly helpful in her split classroom, keeping one grade occupied while she works with the other.

Here, she explains how she’s put this practice into effect, and offers tips for teachers who’d like to do the same.