By Erin Rebello

We’ve all been there at one point: the words your teacher is speaking seem to be fading away and you just can’t concentrate – the class is too boring to stay focused. As a student, you’ll likely have to deal with your fair share of mind-numbing classes over the years. Although they can be difficult to handle, here are some ways to approach and perhaps even improve a boring class.

Do Your Research About the Class Before Signing up for It

If you’re a high school student and have the option to choose your classes, you should definitely be doing a bit of research about the class before putting it on your schedule! You might think that a class seems interesting, but consider looking at the syllabus or talking with the teacher. As well, you can also get in touch with students who have taken the course in the past, to ask for their opinions on the course and get a student perspective. Doing research will prevent you from taking a class you’re disinterested in.

Try to Engage with the Class

If you’re only passively taking notes during class and not doing anything else, even the most interesting course can seem incredibly boring. The best way to improve your interest in a class is by engaging with its content. Engagement looks very different depending on the class, but for most courses, asking and answering questions is a great start. Participating will give you a better grasp of the content you’re learning, and is very beneficial in the long run. An added bonus is that your teacher will love you for participating in class, and you might even get extra credit!

Speak with Your Teacher

Communication is key to any good relationship, and a teacher-student relationship is no different. If you’re having trouble engaging with the content, speak with your teacher about it. Although it might be scary to speak with your teacher, they’re humans too and they care about your learning. Feel free to talk about specific issues with the course, and perhaps some (reasonable) ideas for changes that would make the class more interesting. Many teachers are always trying to improve, and are searching for ways to make their class more engaging for their students, so they will likely appreciate your feedback. If they choose to implement your ideas, you may find immediate changes in how interesting the class is!

Consider Deeper Issues

Finally, if you find that you’re constantly having trouble with being interested in the class, there may be a deeper problem at play than simply being disinterested in the subject. Last semester I took a physics class that I thought was really boring, and I was constantly falling asleep in class. This was a recurring pattern, and I ended up speaking with my doctor and soon learned that I had a health issue that made me feel more tired than normal. Similarly, there are conditions like ADHD and depression, that make it difficult to engage with a class. If you think that you might have an underlying medical condition, you should speak with your parent or guardian, and talk to you family doctor for further direction.