Comments on: Yes, And…

By: Dan Barnes

Dan Barnes — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:54:02 +0000

Honestly, I’d be scared if I had a Will Ferrel in my class. I don’t think I could teach the majority of his characters. You raise an excellent point when you say that “knowledge is created from shared experiences.” That’s a big part of the reason I feel fortunate to be an English teacher – teachers and students get to have that field of discovery where we learn from each other where in other fields of study it could be much harder. Half of teaching is improv, I’m convinced. Whether it is the unannounced fire drill or the explosively angry student, we as teachers have to be ready to handle it all. As stupid as many students may think it would be, I wonder what might happen if some degree of role play is placed into education classes at the university level. I think of the first time a student got violently upset in my class and I constantly replay the scene in my head wondering if I could have done better. However, in order to be a good teacher, I think along with an improvisational event there needs to be a healthy dose of reflection. Did you truly handle the situation as best you could have? Without the reflection teaching becomes a stale practice. Steve, you and I know personally what it’s like when we’ve had a teacher who does everything exactly the same for the last 10, 20, 30 (?) years. No one benefits (teachers or students) without reflection on what we’ve done.

By: Dan Barnes

Dan Barnes — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:54:02 +0000

By: Steve J. Moore

Steve J. Moore — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:11:54 +0000

Yes! That episode is saved on my DVR actually, Williams is so talented. I’d love to see a buddy road-trip movie starring him and Lipton…

By: msstewart

msstewart — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:00:18 +0000

Speaking of improv and the Actor’s Studio, have you seen the Robin Williams episode? Sheer brilliance! He creates something like 25 characters in under 10 minutes.

I felt like my substitute teaching experience was improv. New class every day. I had to walk in cold. I learned how to read a room, to diffuse a situation with humor, to come up with something productive to do when no lesson plans had been left. The bar felt really low which was good for perfectionist me.

By: Steve J. Moore

Steve J. Moore — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:59:40 +0000

Thank you for your response Christine! You’re exactly right that using good planning is essential. When you plan well, then you get the chance to improvise.

I probably could have worded my private school comment better, I was trying to allude to the traditional, perhaps movie-influenced, vision of the private school. Thanks for pointing that out!

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:34:45 +0000

Nice post – great teachers have plans to structure learning as well as the skills of improvisation and flexibility. Knowing when to stick to those plans and when to roll with what’s going on in the classroom at the moment can make or break the day.

Only complaint with your post? Not all private schools use recitation and lecture. I would say that teachers in all settings can be as creative as they choose to be. Or not.

Glad I subscribed to your RSS feed. Looking forward to more good things to read here.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:06:27 +0000

Gosh, I miss you, Steve. Why is Missouri so far from Idaho? Probably because if the two of us were in the same state, it would explode from awesomeness.

This post is so timely. My school is hosting Quest4Arts, a performance troupe that works with the deaf and hard-of-hearing. Our focus this week, besides the obvious creativity and focus and teamwork, is bringing Shel Silverstein poems to life. So far, it’s been great. And I’m learning some theatre games that work with deaf kids (since some of ours from college don’t quite work with this population). Thanks for this post. I will share it with my colleagues :-)