One Way Not To Be Boring

If the #1 rule is to not be boring, then the next question is how?

I sat under Dr. Daniel Christiansen at Multnomah and during our OT History/Poetry class, he’d walk in, set up for lecture and say something like, “I have a lecture prepared for today, but is there anything you guys would like to discuss.” We rarely did. But it wasn’t until several years later that I understood why he would even ask.

Teaching the same lecture over and over and over again is really boring. And when you have a room of young people who have been looking at the material, why not explore what they’re seeing. It can be kind of a high-wire act (sometimes students come up with crazy stuff), but it’s never boring and it always taps into the engagement of the room.

So here’s a little exhortation to teachers every where: listen to your students. It’ll make class more interesting to them. And to you.