Janis Livsey

I find this situation often involves one of the talkative students that other students will be observed rolling the eyes when they are called on. I find that this is a good time to state who else can provide us with information on this topic.

Jason Smith

I have found 'personal' to be misleading and refer to it as a 'professional' story. Even terms such as 'real world' and 'outside' can trivialize our efforts in the classroom, which I also attempt to steer away from and avoid myself. The professional stories that my students share have been much more on point since changing this phrasing.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

David,
Good reminder for us all. Think about what we what to share because it can be spread throughout the world very easily.
Gary

David Runde

Keep personal stories to a minimum and only on the topic. Do not give students any personal information you do not want on Facebook.

Valid personal work experience adds to the learning environment.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Hi Jessica,
Wow, a new one to me and I have been teaching a long time. This is one of the enjoyable things about our job, it is never boring and there is something new coming up all the time, as in this case. You handled it well.
Gary

Linzel Levine

Hi,
I realize when dealing with uncomfortable personal experience its always best to keep the focus on the topic and not lament on the negative aspect of the story.

jessica coe

Yes, this is very true. An example of this is when I was discussing prostheric heart valves to my class and a student raised her hand and said she could "vouch" for the prostheric heart valve having a "ticking" sound because when she was a stripper she gave a lap dance to a male who had on no watch, but she could hear his watch ticking. I had to take control of the class and change the conversation topic very abruptly to say the least. I had no idea how to deal with that statement besides simply ignoring it and moving on.

Jessica Coe