Have you ever wanted to be an actor or actress? How many people do you think have dreamed this dream? Would you ever think it was possible to be an actor or actress?
Teaching is a profession that is filled with so many other professional duties, that sometimes I wonder if in a way, our role as a teacher can also force us to be like an actor or actress. Have you ever had this thought?
After reading Pippi Longstocking and Matilda, many of my students have asked me if I am an actress. Now, I can definitely say that I am NOT an actress. Nor would I ever want to be due to my fear of microphones, and audiences, however, I thought it was an interesting question to ponder. Do you ever feel that as a teacher, you play the role of a teacher for your student audience?
I absolutely come to school feeling like I am an actress everyday. I feel I am much more animated and sometimes even show interest and enthusiasm for things I may not want to. However I know that if I don't "act sometimes" my students wouldn't be near as engaged and the tone of the class is set by my mood as well. I agree with you that I have never wanted to be an actress, but I certainly do feel like I am most of the time.
ReplyDeleteWith some classes, I feel that I am more of an actress than other classes. I tend to play it up more for classes that are struggling--to have more buy in and to catch their attention. However, I have to feel that I shouldn't go way over the top so that the focus of the lesson isn't the content but the fun delivery--so I try to stay somewhere in the middle. It is interesting that with a class that I co-teach, I don't use so much drama. Perhaps I am more "serious" when another teacher is in the room, or I play it straight much more. But that could change over time as co-teachers become more comfortable with each other's teaching style. With certain subjects, it lends more interest to act--sometimes I even make up dumb songs for the reading strategies and that can help them remember the wording of the strategies to better form metacognitive skills. I say act away!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I have been an actress, writer, and co-director before--and it's a fun way to think about teaching.
I think that sometimes I should be more of an actress in class. I am very animated and as Alison said I do show extra enthusiasm for things I do not necessarily love, so I am an actress in that way. But when it comes to classroom management, I would like to say that I have mastered the I'm always cool teacher act. I have a little ways to go with that. I think that if I keep what my audience thinks of my actions in mind I will be better at seeming calm and collected. So actress or not? I guess it depends on the day.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that teachers are actors in many ways. I sometimes describe being a teacher as being an actress, secretary, executive, baysitter etc... all wrapped up into one job. A former principal once told me that much of our job is to "entertain" the kids and present information in a way that interests them. He believed this wholeheartedly because he said "kids have the ability to get any piece of information you tell them without you--computer etc... It's your job to make it interesting." It would be interesting to hear arguments against that thought.
ReplyDeleteMy teacher prep program was combined math & science. The science students actually had one of the drama professors come in to work on acting and presentation. I was pretty jealous that our math group didn't have that; especially since math people tend to be so dry anyway. I think it's really important to become leaders that the students want to work for, so I suppose I don't have an argument against Tara's thought.
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