Film and Television (From Feb. 5)

Teaching is like film and television. You have actors who are like the students. And you have directors who are the teachers. All of the “behind the scene people” are like the support staff. I don’t know where the principal would fit in. Maybe the executive director. Looking at this connection it’s actually humorous to me now to stand in front of the class and “direct” them. I imagine myself cueing the actors to their proper place and directing them on how to say their lines. Standing at the board today teaching a math problem actually made me giggle. “First you do this” , and I wrote the problem down. “Now you write it down…” “Ok now the next step is what?” I’m trying to draw out their “acting ability” or their ability to try to solve a problem. I also like the connection that if you have no direction from your director, the resulting movie will be a bomb. Just like in teaching, if the teacher isn’t willing to do what is necessary to help the students succeed, you can see the results in the students’ work. I also think that if you didn’t have the support and staff needed, the teacher can’t be a success.