Standing tall in the ER

Thanks, Bob Reich, for being such good company in the ER last night, and delivering such timely thoughts on teaching, learning, retiring, aging, living…

"…Teaching is not about conveying facts or thoughts or even theories. It's about conveying energy and excitement. If my students wanted to know what I think about something, they could read my books. What I could give them in the classroom was my enthusiasm, curiosity, and enjoyment about the subject we were learning about. Rather than use our classroom time together to lecture, I wanted to grab their interest, stir their own excitement. I had to figuratively grab them by the shoulders and shake them, laugh with them, run up and down the aisles of the classroom, asking them questions, keeping them surprised and engaged. 

If I couldn't touch their emotions, I couldn't get them to think hard. Touching their emotions meant connecting with them. Telling stories that illustrated the points I wanted them to understand. Having them tell their own stories. Using humor—not telling jokes but punctuating our lessons with self-deprecating stories drawn from my life (some of which I've shared with you in these pages) and with gentle digs at conventional wisdom. 

When they laughed, they opened themselves up to being receptive to the more serious things we talked about. Laughter made even the largest classes intimate. We were all sharing in the joy of being together. Every class was different. Each had its own personality. Every semester was like meeting a new person, gradually getting to know them, coming to understand what made them tick, how they thought, what they considered interesting or alarming or amazing or funny…"

— Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America by Robert B. Reich