Barry Westling

Hi Paul: Humor works great for spontaneous, "in the moment" redirects. Planning a comedy show is obviously over the top. Some teachers are naturally humourous and are able to incorporate that into their lessons - in appropriate doses. But I think we need to be nartural versions of ourselves, not artificial versions of someone else. So, if humor doesn't work to redirect students, maybe a story, a past work sitaution, or sometimes even changing topic or sequence and moving to another activity. One sure fire way to gather attention is to relate everything back to the career area the students… >>>

Hi Eileen: A good guest speaker serves many beneficial purposes, and is one of the better activities we can plan. Answering questions, giving a different perspective, just hearing another "voice" with a differnt spin is usually interesting and enjoyable. Also, sometimes a guest speaker will validate information the teacher has emphasized, which helps build trust and respect for the class teacher. Even contrary opinions can be useful for discussion, as that promotes critical thinking, and an opportunity to reinforce the prefered responses and material. In any event, guest speakers usually evoke inspiration and inhanced motivation for the students, and that's… >>>