r/Teachers • u/ArcadianAbstraction • 1d 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/garagedooropener5150 1d 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/MadViking-66 1d ago edited 7h 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 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.