Chewing loud, clicking pens, and clothes that do not match are some of my biggest pet peeves. But there is one thing that grinds my gears the most: class clowns. They are nothing but an annoyance and a distraction. Their constant need to be the center of attention hinders my attention span, and overall performance, in class.

I am a person who likes to absorb what the teacher is saying, so when I study I am able to think back to examples of what he or she had said. But lately, when I try to think back, all I can remember is the class clown’s joke about the Odyssey or the time he or she coughed up a lung just to receive the spotlight he or she desired. I now find myself anticipating the next joke and distraction because they occur every five minutes.

Allow me to add that every class has their own attention seeker. Whether it is history, math, or English, there is always one kid that distracts. I find myself trying to tune him or her out, only to pay more attention to the classmate and not the teacher. The funny thing about their jokes is that the class clown’s the only one laughing. What kills me is that he or she will crack jokes at the expense of a student, causing embarrassment. It has come to the point of the year where students are immersed in academics and do not have time for all of this clowning around. This is high school, not elementary. Our future relies on how we do here and now, and I do not want put that on the line because of some silly jokester.

All in all, these comics are the reason I have trouble in class. To me, a joke that is not even funny should not be put in the way between my education and me. If

you look up annoyance in the dictionary, class clown will come up as the definition. I am not accusing the jokester of being the reason why I get the grades I do, I am merely saying that they have a part in it. If I had to describe class clowns in one word, I would say “distraction.” 

Brandon’s Entry: 

How many times have you heard a teacher ask a student to respond to a question, when the student was not paying attention?  The student then struggles to come up with an answer or admits that he did not hear the question.  Not all students who fail to pay full attention in class are bored or disinterested in the material.  I consider myself a good student, but I have been known to lose focus in class.  My biggest challenge to paying full attention in class is my constant concern about meeting all of my deadlines and getting all of my work done, which overrides all of my other thoughts.

It sounds slightly ironic that I would stop paying attention in class, in order to worry about getting my work done.  To explain, before each class, I create a work schedule in my mind.  When I receive an assignment during class that I do not anticipate, I often stop listening to the teacher.  Once I readjust my schedule, I then realize that I have missed portions of the lesson.  I then have to rely on friends to fill me in on what I missed.

Failing to pay attention in class can have very negative consequences.  For example, it can result in errors in homework, gaps in notes, and a lack of information needed for tests.  There is nothing worse than getting a lower grade on a test because you missed a portion of the lesson the day before.  Therefore, I am making every effort to stop reorganizing my schedule during class.  When I find myself dwelling on my schedule, I try to refocus and put aside those thoughts until after class has ended.   Believe me, this is a daily struggle for me. 

Not every student who fails to pay full attention in class is a daydreamer.  Some of us are simply preoccupied with thoughts of studying for the next test or completing the next project.  I recognize that paying full attention in class presents a great challenge for me.  However, they say that knowing that you have a problem is the first step.  Therefore, I will continue to make an effort to stay on task and to stop worrying about my schedule.

Gustavo’s Entry: 

I don’t normally drift off into space during the middle of one of my teachers’ lectures but then again nothing is ever really normal at all. If someone is bored enough they are going to find, and succumb, to the many distractions buzzing around in the classroom, or they’ll even try to distract themselves at times. Not that I don’t find my classmates drawing, chatting or even spinning their pens on top of their fingers very captivating, it’s just that those distractions just aren’t enough to capture my attention. I’ve come to the conclusion that only my mind can distract myself. I occasionally get these bizarre images inside my head during class, and they mostly consist of my teachers and classmates dressed up in all sorts of different costumes as class goes on. These costumes can range from cheap frog masks covering a quarter of the face to unbelievably realistic disguises that look exactly like Bugs Bunny, just with a different personality. Although these illusions seem overwhelmingly intriguing, I take a deep breath and try to focus so I won’t fall behind.

So I just sit there with Winnie the Pooh at my left side and Spiderman at my right, trying to block them out, while Mufasa from The Lion King teaches the lesson. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple and it doesn’t stop there, what happens next is that very soon I will begin to lose sight of reality and the characters beside me come to life and assume their true personality. After that happens it’s difficult for me to snap out of it without assistance. My eyes and face freeze into place, creating a blank expression, while my imagination shifts into maximum overdrive. Regardless of what’s actually going on in the classroom, I see characters throwing a football across the classroom, shouting, playing poker and above all fighting to prove their manliness. This doesn’t occur very often and that’s probably for the best, but if you or anyone sees me staring at a pencil for five minutes and tries to bring me back to the real world, don’t be surprised if I look disappointed, I was in the middle of a really entertaining hallucination.