Teaching is Everywhere

I’m not the only one who sees teaching connections wherever they go am I? 

Some of them are obvious. Like when we are at puppy training, and there’s a comment about a puppy having learned to refuse to do something, because it just wasn’t fun. Ha, sound familiar? We have to learn to do things that aren’t fun, but perhaps we can find fun ways to learn how to do them! 

But then there are less obvious times, like when the vet tech comes outside to pick up the puppy – in these COVID times things are aa little different – and I find myself telling her glowingly about my puppy, about how she knows how to sit, how she’ll behave better if she’s bribed with a treat, how she does have ‘down’, but she won’t stay there very long… I’m pretty sure that the vet tech knows all these things. I’m also fairly certain that every puppy owner believes his or her puppy is the cutest and best puppy in the world. Yes. There’s a definite connection.. I felt a little bit like multiple parents at open house 🤦‍♀️

Then there’s those things that you see, that you’re experiencing, and you think… Oh my goodness, how can I integrate this into my teaching? Like lines at Disney. Instead of being bored waiting, we are engaged and interested by the by-play, the characters, the little signs… We know exactly how long we’re probably going to wait, and there’s something in between this sign and the next sign, and we’re ready for it. The ride is such a small part of the whole experience. Well, how can I replicate that in my teaching? How can I make the boring slow learning the engaging part, so the ride is the cherry-on-the-top. I might add, that my husband was not amused by all these musings while at Disney.

Then there are dining experiences, obvious things like creating a playlist that’s like a menu, but then more importantly, how to entice… How to tempt the customer to try something new? How to use images and word play to make something sound more interesting?. Taste tests, samples ... so much that can be brought into our teaching.

What about arguments, threads on social media? How do our interests and passions direct our thinking? Can social media commentary be used as a tool?  I saw the quiet kids participate when behind a screen (during distance learning), so there’s an important connection there too.

Everywhere I look, I see something that ties to my teaching.

Everywhere.

Ideas to grab interest. Real world connections. Valuable to me. Connecting with my interests. 

My husband calls it an obsession. I call it good practice. If it isn’t interesting or relevant, if there is no purpose ... then how do I compete with everything else out there? If students are enticed into the learning, if they see a point in the content, if they are shown how this is replace them to their lives - if all those factors are in play, then I’ll have success.