Elysha recently brilliantly opined on a topic that makes her and me a little crazy:
When parents or teachers suggest that a child’s behavioral problems stem from boredom — the kid isn’t being challenged enough in class or school isn’t engaging enough for them — Elysha can kind of lose her mind.
Rightfully so. Me, too.
This is a ridiculous reason for parents or teachers to excuse a child’s bad behavior.
In Elysha’s words, “It’s not compatible with a successful life.”
I love this so much.
“Some parts of life are boring,” she says. “They need to learn how to handle being bored.”
She’s right.
Meetings can be boring.
Chores can be boring.
Driving long distances can be boring.
Certain aspects of certain jobs can be boring.
Many human beings are boring.
Sometimes in life, we get bored, but that doesn’t give us permission to behave badly, stop trying, or act like imbeciles, regardless of our age or the level of boredom.
Even when it comes to our own kids, Elysha asserts.
“Everyone gets bored in school.”
“We don’t care if our child is bored in school.”
“They need to keep working and learning even when they are bored.”
It has yet to happen, and hopefully it never does, but good luck to the teacher, counselor, or administrator who someday says that our child’s bad behavior is because the school isn’t challenging enough.
You know what’s incredibly challenging?
Boredom.
And you know Elysha said while opining on this topic?
“Our kids need to learn to be able to be bored in school.”
I couldn’t agree more.
