Teaching has always been a challenge.
Nowadays, it is even more so.
Students know more about how to tweet their friends than what's the square root of nine.
However, with a few well placed show business bits in the classroom, all is not lost.
Children with the attention span of a bag of potatoes will sit up when a teacher says they have something interesting to show them and proceed to tell a funny story, describe an exciting event, do a magic trick or just plain do something DIFFERENT.
Gone are the days of just lecturing kids and hoping that enough sinks in to keep them above water in society.
How do teachers cope?It's simple.
Use a little show business.
We live in an entertainment society.
Kids are constantly wanting to be entertained.
Why not use the desire kids have to be entertained while in the classroom?Your entire class does not have to be a circus or a variety show.
However, using a little show business makes the "medicine go down" a lot easier.
Imagine students coming into class and the first thing they hear is you reporting on the top news that came over the 'Net.
Perhaps you shared with the students the story of your last trip to Great Britain...
with a British accent! Maybe you invite a "guest" (who happens to be an actor) to explain how they escaped the fighting at the Little Big Horn.
Maybe you could even do a little magic trick that explains a principle in science.
The options are enormous.
School is in session...
the stage is set...
the curtain goes up...
you're on!