Hi Kevin: I agree that excitement, anticipation, enthusiasm are all dymamic learning environments, and they're contagious too. When the teacher presents an environments that's very upbeat and lively, that catches on, and I think students would prefer sitting in a class where that is the norm, and because of it, they contribute to that "upward flow" of interest, attention, and participation. I don't think this has to an artificial thing either. All of us have the capacity to be ourselves while displaying genuine honesty, care and compassion, and natural in our delivery, especially if that tends to be upbeat. I'll tell you, we should be very excited our students have chosent ot take our classes, and there's no reason not to give some happiness and good vibes back to our students. Regards, Barry