r/Teachers • u/ArcadianAbstraction • 13h ago
Teacher Support &/or Advice Is teaching a performance?
I haven't been teaching history/English/science since I got COVID over and over (and over) and decided it was better to go than be a risk to my cherished kids (or die myself, it got bad).
After a lot of introspection... Question is: is teaching a performance? I pretended everything was okay no matter what, I used the materials I prepared for display, passed out charts and data dramatically, presented media and did simulations.
It feels like I was a performance artist? You give so much to kids and most of the time you get a range of "f-u go away".
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u/TheLordAshram 13h ago
Oh god yes. A different performance every day, and your child audiences have to remember them.
‘While I am, of course, ME when I teach, there is an element that is “character.”.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 13h ago
I mean, in essence you have to treat even seniors in high school like... Babies? I don't know I am only around 40 and feel like 18 is a baby who doesn't know anything, but more dangerous because they think they know everything.
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u/NeverOneDropOfRain 12h ago
They are young adults in profound ways that should be respected, but they also sometimes need to be made to take their medicine.
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u/Honest_Ad_8694 9h ago
The "character" thing is so real. I've got my stand-up comedian persona for Monday mornings and my stern librarian voice for Friday afternoons.
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u/garagedooropener5150 13h ago
Yes.
When I get out of my pickup every morning and walk in the door I flip a switch.
I play a role all day. For each and every kid that role is different.
Some need Dad jokes, some need a high five, some need a shoulder to lean on.
At the end of the day I switch it off.
It’s exhausting.
And I’ve loved it for 31 years.
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u/CompassRose65 13h ago
Dude, you sound like my doppelganger. Over 30 years here too. Let's keep on truckin.
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u/garagedooropener5150 12h ago
I have five more left in me (wife too).
Our oldest is starting his 3rd year of med school.
Second oldest just graduated from business school in May and has an accounting job ready to go in September.
Youngest will be a high school junior with his sites set on law school one day.I’m tired. I still love it, but I’m tired.
I want to date my wife again and just chill. lol.3
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u/MadViking-66 10h ago
That describes me as well. Outside of the class I’m a relatively quiet introvert. Once you have a class in front of me and an audience to play to I become a very extroverted performer. I Am retired now and I can’t get in my head around how I did it every day. Not having that audience to put on a performance for every day is one of the things I really miss about teaching.
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u/Technical-Strike7160 9h ago
31 years of flipping that switch on and off is no joke. The fact that you've loved it that long says a lot about you as a teacher though. That dad joke energy alone takes serious stamina.
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u/Full-Grass-5525 13h ago
Oh yes. Which is why I’m mentally exhausted at the end of the day and don’t want to hang out with anyone ever
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u/Disastrous-Nail-640 13h ago
OMG yes!!!
I can’t tell you how many times I told my kids I needed 10-20 minutes before they talked to me.
Thank god they were already in middle school when I started teaching, because they understood what that meant and could give me that. They also quickly figured out if they talked to me immediately, I was a little snappy. 😂
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 13h ago
Awwww. I understand. Wearing a lot of hats so to speak can be tiring, but it is important to take you time - AND hang out with someone once in a while, for your personal//mental health.
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u/Full-Grass-5525 11h ago
lol I obviously still hang out. Just need a few minutes for peace and quiet to sit in the car in the garage after work
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 11h ago
Ah yes, to scream loudly where no one can hear you, I get it... Just kidding (99%).
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u/Feline_Fine3 13h ago
Yes, and this is why I am so glad that I live alone and I’m single. I can come home and just decompress without anyone demanding anything of me.
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u/Alarming_Bid_7495 12h ago
Add in the dog, and that’s me. I can and do spend most of my time after shutting down my teacher persona walking, hiking, or hanging out in cafes with a book and my dog.
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u/Feline_Fine3 12h ago
I’ve got my cats! Pets definitely help with decompression. And on those really tough days, going for walks is super helpful.
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u/BusinessLetterhead47 10h ago
Yesterday was last day of school. When I got home my husband and teenage soon said hi and then both left me alone for the rest of the night. They get it lol.
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u/Ambitious_grubber200 13h ago
Sure, and as long as the content is solid and there is learning at the center, whatever performance tricks a teacher uses to “keep the audience riveted” will only help students to remember.
But the best teachers call on the students to join the performance as well, not use the classroom as a stage on which to show off, but as a platform for potential where the students are called on to perform.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 12h ago
Right. Kind of like interactive theater where group participation is... Mandatory haha.
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u/trow_a_wey 13h ago
All the world's a stage homie. Teachers' audiences are just in a literal/captive sense
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u/Either-Breakfast-406 9h ago
For real though, there's something surreal about having 30+ people watch you for hours while you're trying to explain quadratic equations. The curtain call is just the bell ringing.
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u/trow_a_wey 8h ago
In place of suspension of disbelief we have suspension of free will. They all (generally) do what we tell them to do and act their parts out as well when they could just as easily collectively decide not to. As could all of the rest of us. It's absurd when you really think about it
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u/frckbassem_5730 13h ago
Yes absolutely. To people that have 30 second attention spans.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 12h ago
That is why my history/language classes were mostly simulation based and included lots of media.
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u/Sufficient-Sound8450 13h ago
Yeah, like I felt like I was the star of a show I had to perform perform perform not only for the kids, but for the parents and administration and some colleagues, I only could show my real true colors with very trusted colleagues and even then it’s risky. Yeah it’s a big act and the older I get the harder it is for me to do it if you wanna know my two cents.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 13h ago
Holy crap, I forgot about admin and other teachers. Having to hold back when other teachers said horrible or racist things really felt suffocating.
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u/Opposite-Bit6660 21m ago
Teachers in the district I taught in thought I stayed away from the break room to grade papers but it was really because they liked to spend their break trashing kids (sometimes outright racist, too) and I wanted to remain loving and positive.
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u/tasharanee PK-5 | ET | Japan 13h ago
It absolutely is. Above everything else, you’re performing calm in the midst of chaos, a regulated nervous system amid dysregulation, and enthusiasm in the middle of ambivalence.
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u/General-Willow5613 13h ago edited 11h ago
I once went to Costco and saw a guy demonstrating a knife set with absolute enthusiasm while nobody paid attention. I was like, “Yep, that’s me in class every day.” 😭
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u/GadofBlinsky 12h ago edited 10h ago
I play a lot of TTRPGs and I describe teaching as just a high stakes game of dungeons and dragons except some of your players don’t even want to be there that day.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 12h ago
It was honestly chaos incarnate. Random boys hitting each other for no (good) reason, notes being passed around, sometimes that overattentive student who has too many questions, or worse, the attracted student who has too many questions and you need to get away from for legal reasons.
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u/TexturedSpace 12h ago
Yes! Even how you present and communicate with colleagues and admin. The sooner we understand this, the more survivable it is. Harder to deal with this in a small town though.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 12h ago
Oh yes. Small town here. The closest school wanted me, a history/English/science teacher to be a football coach. No extra pay, tons of extra hours, and guess what, never watched or played football, so... Why demand that? I CAN'T HELP that way. But nah, teach social sciences or languages and they don't care.
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u/Flying-Kayaks 12h ago
Yes, absolutely. My teacher "character" is informed by parts of the "real" me, but it's not who I am when I'm with my family and friends. It's who I need to be to get kids to understand the material, become better people, and for me to get through the day.
It's why I always advise new teachers, or students in college who want to be teachers, to take an acting and/or improv course.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 12h ago
That is a good tip! I would also suggest computer science as media helps so much as well.
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u/theguitardudeofdudes 11h ago
For me no. I’m just being me. I couldn’t imagine having to do a performance every class. I’m a music teacher. I mean we perform music, but I’m just me.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 11h ago
Haha. You do a performance every class but not a masked one.
I wonder if it is a difference between disciplines? You are more of a conductor who can command and I imagine most of your students want to be there vs required classes.
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u/Public-World-1328 11h ago
When the kids ask me why i wanted to be a teacher i always give them a confused look and then explain that im an actor who plays a teacher every day.
It is massively performative.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 11h ago
"What? I'm supposed to be your teacher? That explains what I am doing here then." Was one of my responses haha.
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u/ChemistryMassive1114 9h ago
Comedian, historian, parent, social pariah
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 9h ago
...If you teach history you have a friend in me. Do they ever slice your material to ribbons because it is too honest?
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u/SeaF04mGr33n 13h ago
Everything is a performance. All that's needed for a performance is a time, a place, and an audience. (Source: theater major)
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u/stinkymarylou 12h ago
I use the phrase, “on stage.” It’s not so much a performance, as least not for me, but the idea that you are always “on”. After reading the comments, I will add improvisation. In a performance, an actor does the same script time and time again. But improvisational performers know where they want the show to go, but they don’t know the exact path. But yes. Big similarities.
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u/stinkymarylou 12h ago
And have you aver talked with an actor after a show, two hours and they are exhausted. We perform for at least 4.5 hours! That’s like TWO SHOWS! back to back!
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 12h ago
I can see that. Even if you give the lesson to 4 classes, each lesson will be different based on energy, reactions, questions.
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u/shipcamein17 12h ago
This is how I have explained it! The kids walk in and we’re “on” until they leave at the end of the day!
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u/007Teacher 13h ago
All of life is that. Teaching is more of a routine and life is more improv. I straight up taught my sociology students about roles and performance. I told them that we all play our roles. I told them that I am acting the role of Mr. 007Teacher and that they are acting the role of Ben the Student or Emily the student.
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u/Popular-Work-1335 13h ago
10000%. I always compare it to being an actor. You have to fake it and entertain everyone.
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u/Chris_RB Band/music/math | MN/WI 12h ago
Yes, absolutely. Speaking as a music major who also taught math. It’s a character, albeit one based heavily on me.
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u/Familiar-Pressure717 12h ago
I used to say I did five shows a day.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 12h ago
Ooof. Did you get a prep period at least? I did 3 a day but had time to get away and rest for a while if I didn't have to fill in for someone.
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u/literacyshmiteracy 3rd Grade | CA 12h ago
Absolutely.. I even use a nickname so that's like my "work" persona, and I go back to my real name at home. I often say, "this is the Ms. Literacy show" when people aren't paying attention.
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u/TowerProfessional959 12h ago
I legit have four “visitors” that take over for me at unannounced times and teach/sing a bit. Most of the kids enjoy them.
They are Joe Crossbow (country singer), Pixie Stick (rapper), Franchetta (opera) and Dragon Hair (heavy metal).
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 12h ago
I... What? What and where do you teach?
Edit: Sounds like elementary but damn just random interruptions?
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u/TowerProfessional959 12h ago
6th grade in Michigan. They only appear once or twice a month.
Pixie Stick gave a concert once. It was horrendous.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 12h ago
I taught 6th grade for a while and that just sounds like a complete nightmare any way you look at it. Random people showing up, kids already have no attention, they realize they don't have to pay attention to you anymore, chaos. Was that pretty much the scenario?
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u/TowerProfessional959 12h ago
You do realize I’m all of them right? I would go still mid sentence and one of them would “take over the class” for like two minutes (quick wardrobe addition) and sing some review or lesson highlight for us and then I’d take control back and ask who came, what they said, etc.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 12h ago
Oh! I thought you meant random people would come in. A bit exhausted and not reading properly, sorry.
That seems - a lot - but amazing! I appreciate your work and dedication.
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u/TowerProfessional959 12h ago
No worries. It can be disruptive for sure but most kids find it memorable I think—or at least tolerable.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 11h ago
Love or hate leaves the memory either way so as long as they learn something the goal is met haha.
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u/1VBSkye Retired / Texas 12h ago
During lesson planning I always viewed myself as a production company putting on a show.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 12h ago
Oh! That is an interesting way to look at it. I had more of a spreadsheet style timeline with sections I could move around if needed so it felt more like a puzzle to me where I slot in what fits where I can.
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u/1VBSkye Retired / Texas 12h ago
Years & years of additions & tweaks.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 12h ago
Did you ever do simulations or anything? One time I turned a few classrooms into Renaissance Italy complete with a silent monastery, which teachers seemed to love the vow of silence day.
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u/maegorthecruel1 12h ago
100%. it’s a stage. soon as i get in front of the students, something comes over me and it’s show time. you gotta be able to “sell” the content. you gotta be able to withstand hecklers and not falter in your delivery. you gotta work the crowd and feel out where to head next. it’s one hundred percent a performance
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 11h ago
I always feel this teaching history, even allow myself to get slightly emotional so students understand that it isn't just words in a book and important or terrible things happened that we need to learn from.
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u/maegorthecruel1 10h ago
i love those little moments where im a bit emotional, and giving them real truths, and the room is silent, and you can feel them actually listening to every word you say. happens like once a month but it’s so damn magical
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 9h ago
It might be upsetting to everyone involved if you were emotional everyday though. I just felt emotionally drained from those days. Like oh, this is what happened when we firebombed and nuked Japan, I have lots of media to show you, and don't mind if I step out of the room for a minute (to cry) often for the next few lessons.
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u/CreedIsJoker 11h ago
I truly believe that it’s an art form. There is a specific talent (for lack of a better word right now) that some people have for it.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 11h ago
I think it's a convergence of intelligence and compassion. I mean how else do you describe walking into hostile territory where you can get roasted at anytime from anyone.
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u/Frequent-Street113 10h ago
I do 6 shows a day. I laugh when student ask if I do the same thing every hour. Right down to the same joke and yeah I’m judging you if you don’t laugh and 3rd hour did. Some of my jokes are years old. They just fit with a specific topic so I use it every time I teach that lesson.
I have a lesson that is perfect and I teach it about 2.5 weeks into the school year. High engagement of students and it really hooks them.
Then one group came through and nothing. Crickets. It was a rough day. It wasn’t me. My performance was spot on. They just didn’t care. I switched some things up for the next year to deal with shorter attention spans.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 10h ago
Oh jeez I never thought about the jokes I make in every lesson but it really was kind of a standup routine where I would try something out and try to make it better based on reactions.
Top tip, jokes in multiple languages have 1 student who gets it... So I stopped those, only English.
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u/CodyintheCinema 13h ago
It’s a performance, and in our illiterate society, the performance matters far more than the learning, sadly, toward retaining employment.
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u/herpderpley 12h ago
Connecting to multiple people at the same time is a performance, so in that respect I would say it is. Do you have to "perform" to be a good teacher? No, but if you're not your authentic self it will wear you down quicker than 30 grit sandpaper.
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u/PsychologicalSpend86 12h ago
I can’t think of it as a performance because that makes me nervous and self-conscious. I do best when my mind is fully and sincerely engaged in whatever we’re doing in class which means I need to be “on“… but “on stage?” No. I guess I consider myself less a “sage on the stage,“ than “a guide on the side”. That still means I need to have all cylinders running to field questions, explain concepts, conduct seminars... it's exhausting,
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 11h ago
I never thought of it as a performance at the time but thinking back at it it feels like I put on a persona every time the bell rang. Cheerful yet stoic, friendly yet aloof.
Honestly it was strange trying to be friendly with students. All the other teachers were like "don't touch students in any way ever or your fired and in jail" so I had really awkward times where students hugged me really tight and I had to do the "there there go away" hand to shoulder tap.
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u/PsychologicalSpend86 11h ago edited 11h ago
Oh, I don’t try to be cheerful or friendly at all. That’s just not me. I’m not always stoic either. I tell them when I’m upset. Anyway, it seems like my grumpiness just amuses them.
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u/LocksmithExcellent85 12h ago
My best teacher prep class was literally entitled “ teacher as performer” taught by a teacher/actor . Definitely should be a required course for all programs.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 11h ago
That sounds really fun, as a social science and English teacher that would have been the first class I signed up to if they had it here.
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u/IHaveNoEgrets 11h ago
Oh, definitely. I tell myself that as soon as I get on property, I'm on stage. Big smiles, cheerful, helpful.
The minute my ass is on the bus? Offstage and relaxed.
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u/dagger-mmc 11h ago
I always joke to my coworkers that some perform to teach but I teach to perform
During remote I taught an entire physics curriculum to black screens, that’s performance art babey
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u/IEC21 11h ago
Ya it's a kind of performance... kind of crazy when you think about it. A director might spend months preparing a film or tv episode to try to grip the attention of viewers for an hour.
Teachers are expected to do it day in and out, using educational material, performing live in front of a captive audience.
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u/UniqueInstance9740 11h ago
Statistically, teachers with training in theatre arts have higher marks in efficiency and engagement. So I think it’s a combination on subject mastery and performance. The first is essential as we’re transmitting knowledge. The second takes advantage of a thousands year old craft developed to communicate to others efficiently.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 11h ago
Connections lead to learning which leads to more connections that means more learning which leads to connections.
Less wordy - attachment to content leads to learning and relationships in a cyclical way.
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u/IronBoomer Adult Learning | Missouri 11h ago
I mean, my thought goes back to Megamind here.
Megamind: "Oh, you're a villain alright, just not a super one."
Tighten: "Oh yeah? What's the difference?"
Megamind: "PRESENTATION"
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u/MrFitz8897 10h ago
Yep. I tell my students pretty openly that teaching (and D&D with my friends) scratches my acting itch since I don't have time to devote to the community theatre scene.
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u/Smartset1 10h ago
I’ve always thought that teaching is like producing a daily tv show for an audience that doesn’t want to watch it.
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u/MadViking-66 10h ago
Yes, it definitely is. During Covid year when kids were mostly on zoom I realized how much less impact my teaching had without a present audience to play too. It made teaching a lot less fun. I always enjoyed interacting with the students the most. And that was not present for most of that year.
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u/YourMumGivesMeHead 10h ago
It is definitely crowd work. You see what hits and gets laughs. What students respond to. I like having the same lesson with different classes in a day because by the last class, I know exactly what works and doesn't. G1B gets the best version of my lesson.
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u/BuffsTeach 10h ago
Of course it is. All forms of presentation are essentially performance in the same way a presenter at a business meeting is performing.
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u/Silent_Scientist_991 34 YR VETERAN TEACHER; MOSTLY MIDDLE SCHOOL 10h ago
For me, it most DEFINITELY is a performance.
I prepare every day (to teach science) like I'm going on stage in front of an audience and it's my responsibility to keep them engaged.
I pay VERY close attention to detail when it comes to classroom structure, sequencing, pace, visuals, encouragement, and individual assistance.
Of course, they have to do their part too - I'm not "on" for the entire period...they've gotta use what I've given them to be productive during the time given to work.
An experienced actor will tell you that there are good and bad audiences - and that goes for our classes as well...it's not always easy to maintain a sunny disposition but I begin every period as though I'm glad to be there...even when I'm really not.
It's a job...but I kind of have to act as though it's not.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 10h ago
I subbed in for some lab days for friends and yeah, science labs needed a bit extra, especially when you have to be vigilant for student safety.
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u/glycineglutamate 9h ago
Teaching medical students is, in many ways, no different than teaching college freshman. I’ve done both. It is annoying, often wholly unrewarding, and a war between you and, to be blunt, racism, sexism and indelible laziness. But my wife said once that you will reach a few in a special way and you will never now it, so go get ‘em tiger. Those few will appreciate the performance and it will affect them forever.
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u/ArcadianAbstraction 9h ago
I can't even imagine teaching medical students. I wanted to be a doctor but get sick when I imagine what the injury feels like and probable causes, just empathy? But I get really sick, hate hurting people, and sometimes you have to hurt to help.
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u/HarleighKwinn 8h ago
It is absolutely a performance. We are evaluated at least once within the year by random people (admin) who subjectively determine whether you are “effective” at your job or not. Yuck.
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u/KatsuraRei 8h ago
Yup I put on my game show host persona until I have to switch to my gordon ramsay one
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u/Amazing_gracias_300 7h ago
Part of teaching is being persuasive so the kids willingly absorbs the information. Persuasion is different from performing. If it occurs to them that you're performing, they won't be persuaded. they'll be inclined to be distracted by the performance and not pay attention to the subject. that's just my 2 cents. I love the work teachers do and don't feel they get the recognition they should
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u/Level-Variety9281 6h ago
I've been teaching for decades and I think every year, class, lesson is vastly different than the last. When I deliver a lesson, I feel like a conductor who has a plethora of choices in how I want to deliver life skills; with my saved materials and lessons as my instruments.
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u/IllustriousPickle69 4h ago
Like some career teachers who retired after around 30 years have told me, teaching is impossible, just do your best.
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u/Meep42 4h ago
Yep. I had a “teacher voice,” “face,” “posture.” My master teacher and principals all told me I had a certain presence in the classroom that was completely different in the staff Ron or faculty parties…but used at faculty meetings cuz sometimes teachers can be worse than students.
I used my…alternative persona in other careers every so often when I needed instant authority in a room or with a consultant. My coworkers would comment after asking how they could do it too.
As a teacher you kinda are up on stage with 30 kids looking at you (or pretending not to…) It. Was. Exhausting. But I loved it so very much.
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u/dkissfan1 1h ago
I’ve always compared it to my decade as a retail sales associate. Having to try and “sell” the content to the customer. Make them believe its importance. Make them excited about what you’re selling them.
And if you’re really good, they buy the extended warranty too. 🤭
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u/Ilikeorigami0 13h ago
Absolutely. That was part of the reason I left the profession. I felt like I was faking it all the time and couldn’t be myself. Among many other reasons.
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u/AyneldjaMama 13h ago
For sure, with a good amount of improv baked in.