Captivating Boredom

Out of My Skull: The Psychology of Boredom by James Danckert and John D. Eastwood
Harvard University Press, June 1, 2020

Boredom has had us in its grasp recently in ways that are both familiar and new. That the subject has long been the focus of research may be of particular interest to educators, many of whom have heard the word “bored” often, sometimes from students and sometimes from deep inside our own minds as we contemplate another curriculum renewal plan or next steps. Authors Danckert and Eastwood have used brain and social research into the state of boredom to recast our view of it through a lens of possibility, both positive and negative. It is easy to accept the findings that creativity and the seeds of change can find impetus in boredom, legitimizing its role in our lives, but the authors also make the case that unrecognized or unaddressed boredom can lead to a failure to launch our best thinking or to maintain constructive agency over our actions. What to do about boredom is summed up in a call to use it to create meaning. For teachers and parents, this means prioritizing the development of children’s intrinsic motivation, seeing and encouraging students’ longing for meaning, and ensuring that wellness strategies are part of the relationships the child has with school and learning. Helpfully, the book avoids the easy paths when discussing boredom. In the process, it makes of boredom a captivating, sometimes humorous, often profound argument for understanding it better and seeing with useful clarity both its human potential and pitfalls.