This is Daily Dadspeak—daily reflections on becoming a dad, while still growing up myself. You can find the full mini-pod audio list here.
December 5, 2021
What makes a good teacher? On our walk to school today, I asked my kids. Their answers were clear and unanimous: a good teacher is fun. Some words they used: they’re funny, they make jokes, they do fun stuff, they have a little bit of energy, and they wave their hands around a lot.
I suppose this surprises no one. Kids love to be entertained, right? But what does this have to do with teaching? I asked why they think it’s important for a teacher to be fun and, well, I’ll let my kids explain it:
“We learn because she’s catching our attention.”
My other child agreed:
“And people are in la-la land, and she makes some sort of joke, we all laugh, and then we pay attention.”
So wait, can you sum up why having fun helps you to learn?
“We understand it because we’re paying attention.”
They learn because they’re paying attention. Huh. So, paying attention is a prerequisite for learning. And having fun or being engaging is one way to get that attention. If I were a teacher, I’d be paying attention to that advice.
→ I bombed at being my own kid’s teacher. When I dug in, I found out why.
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