Boosting Flatline Teaching

There is a certain stability in the expected, and a certain predictability in boredom. Is this what keeps students quietly passive in the linear world of note taking and copying from blackboards and overhead screens? If the controlled atmosphere of scribing on flat surfaces ensures a certain stultifying order of things, then schooling has little to do with being inspired. I find that sidestepping curricular demands can provide a needed boost to a sense of pleasure in learning. An educational game, a conversation about real life, a get-up-and-move-around activity, a rythmic recitation or a song can add depth and colour to the otherwise bland decor of school. In the end, I believe these so-called "unnecessary" activities provide connection and richer meaning to learning in the classroom.