Page 128 - How To Sell Yourself

Selling Yourself in the Classroom 127
simply the ability to make the audience feel that you’re telling this story, saying these words, communicating these ideas for the first time and spontaneously. It’s a vital part of acting because every performance following opening night is a repeat, but it should still be as fresh and interesting as it was the first time.
Why has no one ever stressed that same notion with teaching? It deserves consideration. Every Algebra I class is essentially the same as every other Algebra I class. The teacher needs to keep the image of the “first time” in his or her presentation in order to make the material fresh and interesting for the students, who in fact are hearing it for the first time.
Most of us are what we are and have certain academic strengths and weaknesses because a particular group of teachers excited us and another group turned us off.
A good teacher must have a tremendous desire and an excel- lent ability to get the message across to the student.
Dull teachers can make a bore out of exciting material, but interesting teachers, good teachers, can make magic out of what would otherwise seem to be very ordinary material.
Perhaps it would help if the designation “teacher” were given only to those who were interesting in the front of the classroom and a different name given to those who merely presented mate- rial by rote.
Enthusiasm and knowledge
It might seem like a revolutionary idea, but think of what a difference it would make in our ability to educate if all teachers were required to develop good communication skills in addition to their academic requirements. It happened to me and I’m sure it’s happened to you. There were times when going to school was a joy. And there were other times when you were literally sick before the school bell rang at the start of the day. The difference was almost always the teacher’s ability to create interest and en- thusiasm in the classroom, no matter what the subject.
If material seems to be boring to the teacher, it will be boring to the class, but the reverse isn’t necessarily true. Just because the teacher is interested in the material doesn’t necessarily mean the class will be interested.