Why we should all pay attention in class!

This was my Public Speaking presentation a week or two back. I'm terribly sorry for all those who missed it, since it was really fun to give.

Have you ever daydreamed during class?

Have you ever pretended to sleep while your teacher’s back is turned?

Have you ever passed notes during class, or played with papers?

Have you ever simply been looking at stuff on your phone during class?

If so, this talk is for you.

It is VERY IMPORTANT to pay attention during class.

One reason to pay attention is that teachers notice people who aren’t paying attention, who didn’t do the homework, who are playing on their phones, and if they haven’t, they will, and they will start asking you surprise questions, and paying extra attention to you. Do you want more questions to be asked of you?

Another reason that you should pay attention is because, if you don’t pay attention in some classes, you lose opportunities to ask questions about the homework, to learn something new, and more!

Some teachers can give extra assignments to the people who either don’t pay attention, or the people who try to get less work to do in the short term. Sometimes it’s easier to do the homework now, because you don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.  

Paying attention during class really can help!!!

One thing that comes from paying attention in class is that you learn new things. If you pay attention during, say, public speaking, you just might learn something about public speaking itself, or about any assortment of topics, such as pets, owls, deodorant, hotel rooms, Ms. Cristina and other topics.

Something else that comes from paying attention in class is that the homework can make more sense. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll know when your public speaking talk is due, and what the topic is supposed to be like, and why your planned topic might not work.  For instance, I was planning to do another presentation about authors, but this talk is supposed to be persuasive, so I decided to do this topic instead. I actually like it a lot more.

Finally, if you pay attention in class, you can ask questions about the things that don’t make sense to you, and you can note down the most interesting things that you learned in class today. Teachers are there to help you LEARN. They don’t WANT to be ignored, while you suffer the consequences in homework. They want to help you, and if you need help, the BEST thing that you could do is pay attention in class!

Paying attention to class is easy to do. You can do it with virtually no tools at all, or you could use a notebook, and a pen with a fun color. You don’t need a phone or a laptop. You don’t need to pretend to fall asleep, or to be giggling in the back. You can talk during lunch!

Paying attention in class has lots of benefits. You can ask questions, learn new information, and the inevitable homework can make more sense. Pretending to pay attention doesn’t work, not really.

A part of what we’re here for is to learn, and paying attention in class is the quickest and easiest way to learn new information.

So, get ready to learn some more, today, and in the big wide world out there. It’s easier to learn here.