Well now that you mention it, there's nothing wrong with having a little fun once in a while! > There is, however, a big difference between teaching in college and > teaching in secondary or elementary school. A college course has a short > class time (2-3 hours per week) and a clear through line to the end -- > 15-16 weeks and the semester is over -- whereas a high school English > class meets, typically 40-50 minutes a day, 5 times a week, for forty > weeks (unless on "Block Scheduling"). Add to these schedule differences > the notion that pre-college students are "captives" who are not paying (or > borrowing) money to attend classes, most of whom would rather be somewhere > -- anywhere -- else, and you have a very different situation. > > Entertainment in these classes almost seems necessary sometimes. If we can > add humor, games, etc. to our enthusiasm and secure grasps, we're > virtually required to do so. In our methods classes, we are often told > that we need to use a variety of techniques to teach. Games and humor add > very useful tools to the teacher's toolbox. ----------------------------------------------------- Sincerely, Robert Einarsson please visit me at http://www.artsci.gmcc.ab.ca/people/einarssonb To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/