Building a Better Teacher

How do you get and hold students' attention?

It's always struck me that if a student is totally engaged in classwork, she will come in every day anticipating a new surprise. Involved students respond spontaneously, and will go well beyond what is asked of them.

What does this mean?

Attention! That's an important word. You can ban cell phones, I pods, I pads, etc. from the classroom, but you're still left wondering: What's the secret of gaining and holding teenage attention? The teacher who moonlights as a stand-up comic may be able to exchange quips with students, but really won't hold them for very long.

Look at what's on TV:

American Idol
Dancing with the Stars
The Bachelorette
The Bachelor
The Greatest Race
The Greatest Loser

As we all know, kids can become greatly fascinated by the contestants' public and private lives on American Idol or Dancing with the Stars. Each of these programs has short segments about the participant's background and effort in preparing for the show. The kids know and cheer for them, calling in their choices by the hundreds of thousands. For them,  it's the selection of the next president.

How can we adapt this student enthusiasm and involvement to the classroom?


Teaching English gives us that opportunity, and in the next blog, we'll explore how to involve students to the maximum, building natural enthusiasm....for your lessons.