Chapter 3 - Celebrating Presenters

This weekend, I spent time watching two movies that I believe are excellent teaching tools for pre-service teachers. The first film was Stand and Deliver and the second was Lean on Me. In Stand and Deliver, a former technology professional, Mr. Escalante left his high paying position to teach in the East Los Angeles Garfield High School. As a master teacher and presenter, he was able to motivate and hone the skills of students from basic math, Algebra, to Calculus. Towards the end of Stand and Deliver, the students were accused of cheating on an AP Calculus Test by the Educational Testing Service. As a result, the students were encouraged to take the test again or they would be considered cheaters. They were given one day to prepare for the retest. During the preparation, Mr. Escalante stated to them that they are number one and the champions because they have the ganas (desire). He inspired his students to be the best and built their confidence to believe in themselves. Education became meaningful. I think that educators that enter the ranks from non-traditional routes that have "real world" experience is valuable to the students. As an educational advocate and future founder of a learning institution, I thought about my opportunities to present my message to supporters, stakeholders, and opponents about my ideas on closing the educational gap and dramatically reducing the dropout rate for African-American males. In the past, I have facilitated meetings and provided technology presentations to small steering committees and leadership groups. During that period, I would rate myself as competent presenter but not passionate. It is hard to be passionate about computers, software, and network infrastructure, except when you don't have them. The tips of presenting by Steve Jobs was fascinating. The first tip was have fun and the last one was present what you love. Are we having fun as educators? Are we passionate about our subject matter area? Or have we become cynical like the burnt out Social Worker because of the negativity of the job or environment? Is it possible for an educator to implement tips 1 and 10 if they don't love and respect the children? Children know if you are phony. I believe that tips 2 through 9 can be implemented by anyone, but 1 and 10 may just be out of bounds for many folks. Smile. How often are you greeted with a smile for normal outings? Unfortunately, many people are just not happy in their vocation, which makes the implementation of the tips very difficult. Some skills can be taught and learned. Loving what you do and having fun doing it is not common, so I believe that most people can benefit from tip 2 through 9. It is a process and it would take time to master them all, but you would definitely have to love what you do and feel a since of purpose as well to have fun. References Burmark, L. (2011), They Snooze You Lose: The Educator's Guide To Successful Presentations Menendez, R. (1988), Stand and Deliver Schiffer, M. (1989), Lean on Me