I have always been a performer
I enjoyed the theater all the way back since childhood. I was always a trainer at work. If you put the two together, you get a teacher. I try and bring entertainment to the classroom witrhout disguising the subject matter.
When I started teaching I paced to distraction. As I got more comfortable I settled down and re=directed my energy. I have almost completely changed my personality. I was introverted and now am very gregarious. I have become a class clown and I can see how entertainers are enraptured by their audiences. I feed on it!
I am an edutainer with aspirations therein,
To walk the boards of the CEC stage and lecture with semantic phrase.
So where do these asirations spring?
Is it from tis forum herein?
Nay, twas not from here I fear, but from a yearning deep witin.
A yearning to hold an audience in awe and speak the lines that Shakespeare spoke so many years afore.
So no greasepaint need I adorn when I make my daily roster call,
For in my heart a radiance grows
Bursting forth so all will know,
Truly a teacher born.
Like you Marcus, I too have been (and still am) a performer, a stage musician, to be specific. You must bring those skills to bear in the classroom. At the core of communication is the listener attending to the speaker; if that does not happen, no communication can take place. I am known to go off topic occasionally, because if I can tell a quick related joke or story (that may not really assist in learning) I have given their minds a break, regained their attention and re-energized the classroom. In so doing I have made the class more enjoyable AND more efficient, because with renewed focus we will be able to move forward faster.
Let's hear it for the entertainers of the world in all vocations - ministers included.
I'm still active in Community Theater as both an actor and director. IMHO my stage experience has been invaluable to developing a successful teaching style.
I DO need to watch my pace however - some days I take off lickity split.
