Wow - what Steve said. I love not only his approach but his
advice as well. How to Win Friends and Influence People is a
Great idea - more teachers' lives would be easier if they'd use
such techniques.

Steve, you should be Sec. of Ed.

> Bring the lesson into their world and into what interests them.
> Let them talk and give them a chance to answer questions.
> Find out what they like and channel the lesson into their
world.
>
> Go to Wikipedia and look up "How to Win Friends and Influence
> People." If you want them to listen to you then place the
> attention on them and not the lesson. Talk about the other
> person more than you talk about the lesson. Ask questions that
> lead toward the student's life and then relate the history
> lesson to that fact about them. Who cares if you are not on
> target with your curriculum. If they are learning, this is
> better than what you describe above.
>
> Buy the book Verbal Judo by George Thompson. Learn to use it
> to your advantage. It's tactical language. "Think like they
> ought to be thinking" is the message in verbal judo. "If you
> can't control yourself, you can't control the situation."
> Verbal Judo is about removing "you" from the equation to make
> room for the student to take ownership. George Thompson says
> to remove bias. That's emotion, anger and condescension from
> your speech. This gives the student ground to stand against
> you which is what they are doing. Loosen up and use words to
> your advantage. Anger, resentment, condescension and other
> negative emotions will drive the students to self stimulate
> which will go against your wishes for the class.
>
> Create context for the student. What's in it for me? Why do I
> want to learn this history crap. Relate to them and don't
> shove it down their throat. You don't need a power point to
> make it interesting. Just sit against your desk and talk to
> them as equals and make it fun and interesting. Laugh. Let
> them laugh and talk.
>
> If you get angry and react against the students, they will
> likely reflect it right back at you and you won't get anything
> done at all. You might as well go behind your desk and wait
> for summer break. On the other hand, if you relate it to their
> lives, they'll remember the content and remember you as well.
>
> Eventually, you'll learn to balance the making it interesting
> part with actually teaching the content. Not too much of
> either will be just right.
>
> Steve

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