How to deal with apathy in the classroom?

Apathy can be a pain for both teachers and students. Many people find their classmates, instructors, or students are apathetic towards class material when it doesn't seem to interest them. In such a case, presenting material in a way which encourages others to interact with the concepts or in a more relevant and exciting manner are good courses of action.

If you are a teacher struggling with apathy in your students, try considering what they...

Apathy can be a pain for both teachers and students. Many people find their classmates, instructors, or students are apathetic towards class material when it doesn't seem to interest them. In such a case, presenting material in a way which encourages others to interact with the concepts or in a more relevant and exciting manner are good courses of action.

If you are a teacher struggling with apathy in your students, try considering what they find to be engaging. You could even ask your students, "How can I make our lessons more exciting for you?" I once had a teacher for a course on Shakespeare who asked us to translate a scene of a play into modern, colloquial speech. My classmates and I found this to be a lot of fun because it allowed us to re-create the material in a way that made more sense to us, and it made slang appropriate for the classroom! It also really encouraged us to think about what was happening in the text.

If you are a student who finds that your teacher is apathetic during lessons, consider the possibility that this material is "old hat" to them. You could try asking them what their favorite part of a subject is or whether they have any special projects they could tell you about. For example, maybe your science instructor isn't very exciting when presenting biology, but is very interested in robotics in his or her free time! 

If you find your classmates are apathetic towards material, you could try a similar approach as I mentioned for teachers dealing with students. Try getting your fellow classmates involved in a project or club which gives you more freedom in how you engage with your lesson material. You could also approach your instructors and share any ideas you may have about how they could make your lessons more exciting. Above all, try not to let your classmate's attitudes affect your own quality of work. If you are passionate about a subject and your success in school, let that drive your perseverance in a negative classroom!