Ya know those conferences you are sent to where you really just can't stay off of your phone (because that's where your friends are), or are distracted by the lady sitting next to you vigorously typing on her keyboard, & that is all you hear-- the sound of her nails hitting the dang key board. Let's not mention the humans who bring their crochet projects... I mean really...I'm not judging, but that stuff is mega-distracting when you are trying to pay attention to the sound of Charlie Brown's teacher standing behind a podium puking information at you that you probably need to know but just can't absorb. Yep, that's when I usually have to go wander the halls and see if there is anything cool going on elsewhere. Maybe swing in to the bathroom, take a few mirror selfies to send to my friends, fill up my water bottle, & then head back in, hoping regain *some* type of focus.
Well, what if I told you there is professional development out there where all of that stuff CAN go on around you, BUT you are sooooo busy paying attention to the speaker everything around you kinda disappears. It's true. It's called Deep Dive. (AKA the REAL LIFE experience of Teach Like a Pirate.) If you don't know what TLAP is you must live under a rock. It's ok, I lived there too. Just move the rock so you can sparkle. Dave Burgess brings the magic & does NOT sound like Charlie Brown's teacher...more comparable to the Micro Machine guy from the 90's. So you better listen up quick, otherwise you'll miss something.
Little did I know in my earlier days that the "PIRATE Life" would be for me. (read earlier post for a little on my backstory) Let's just say I rolled my eyes at Dave Burgess when he Skyped my school & I remember saying,"I'm not here to entertain kids." YIKES...right!?
TEACH LIKE a PIRATE...A SnapShot of the In Real Life Experience
#1. "If you can't explain why someone should pay attention to what you're saying, maybe you shouldn't be saying it."
Let me start off by saying that I had to pee sooo bad, like getting fidgety in my seat, but I did not want to leave the room in fear of missing something. I waited for the planned break...gasp, I know this should be documented in history. I was also sure to fill up my water bottle during the planned break (this is another escape tactic that is used frequently)
The trip begins with a big huge slide show. Not the kind of slide show you would expect from an Educational Keynote. I mean, I was hooked at, "HOW TO BE A BETTER LOVER."
Why would I, or anyone for that matter, want to miss anything that appears to NOT be school appropriate?! ALL IN, right here. Hook, line, & sinker. And yes, I snapped a pic & sent it to my husband. I had to let him know that I was in for a real treat with this presentation.
#2 "Heat up your grill." I like my steak medium rare but it can still be cooked to perfection & you gotta have a hot grill. You don't "drop a steak" on a cold grill so you need to heat up your lessons, just like your grill. In reality, THIS IS YOUR HOOK, what can spark some curiosity? How to be a better lover did it for me and tens of thousands of other humans around the North American continent. Let's not mention when he brought out the Victoria Secret Bag & said not to tell your parents about the
inappropriate
lesson (Civil Rights
Lesson) that was about to happen. This was one of the parts where I was drinking water & it almost shot out my nose. Thanks Dave, I made a fantastic first impression on my new friends.
#3. "Why will I be successful in your class if I've never been successful before?" This is exactly what I thought going in to this...thinking, this guy better be good because I just used my "Britney Spears in Vegas funds" to see this show & "I didn't spend two days out of my classroom to hang out in a hotel bathroom." Let me tell you, he delivered Life Changing Lessons to a room of adults by marketing ---->pitching -----> & then tricking us all into paying attention & not wanting to leave the room. If you don't know what a "Life Changing Lesson" is, grab a copy of his book... because
I don't want to give away too much information... duh.
But wait...there IS more!
Not only did I sit though an entire keynote presentation, I attended an "intimate" (that is what the Missouri State Teachers Association #MSTA kept calling it...lol) session called a Deep Dive. This was in a smaller room with about 50ish other teachers. The magic happened here...literally. I think I learned more about history during this session than in any history class I ever attended. I take that back-- my college history teacher was a taxi driver in New York City, so I remember most of his stories about that.
I. DID. NOT. leave this session one time.
Um yeah, "You've heard the stories, but ARE YOU READY FOR the EXPERIENCE?" (his 1st day of school attention grabber)
Twitter chats (this is my Monday night party..8pm CST just incase you were wondering), so at this point I had heard the stories. And YES, I was sooo ready for the EXPERIENCE. I also spent a few days prior to attending recapping myself on his book, Teach Like a Pirate. I wanted to be fresh on his stories, just like going to a Kenny Chesney Concert. I have to be sure I know all the words to every song.
Passion----BRING IT into your classroom. I'm just gonna tell you, if he can explain the whole Benedict Arnold switching sides with a magic trick then I can work in my love for country music, fitness, and personal development books into my lessons. And YOU can do the same with the stuff you love. Trust Me. YOU CAN!
Not creative....hmmmmm....there are questions you can ask yourself to help spark your creativity because YOU are CREATIVE. I'd tell you the questions but you can either go see him in person and/or purchase the dang book. There are three of them & they work. So, "I'm not creative" is not a good excuse for your lessons to sound like Charlie Brown's teacher. Presentation is EVERYTHING! I think he said something like, "Learning & Fun must go together." I don't know about you but I enjoy school more, as a teacher, when it is fun!
Oh, yeah, he said something like, "Honor your creativity by creating a capture system to write down your ideas" . BOOM genius. You don't want to lose your creativity by being distracted by life. I don't know about you, but I know I get a little pissy if I have a good idea & can't remember it when I'm ready to think about it.
REMEMBER: "Perfection stifles CREATIVITY" & sometimes the best stuff comes from a failed attempt(s) at something you thought was planned perfectly.
Between his magic, throwing in some awesome "life" stories, & the movement of the Pirate Guy dressed in blue around the room I didn't think it could get much better until this....
"If what you know can help someone, you have a moral responsibility to SHARE IT" MORAL RESPONSIBILITY to SHARE the stuff that you know will HELP OTHERS! Life FREAKING changing words right there!
He threw in another one of his passions of Origami and
had us make amazing visual for the message he was speaking (you'll have to see it in person to get the full effect) Let me tell you, this was the end of the presentation & I was not only hearing what he was saying, I was LISTENING! If it wouldn't have been for #TLAP, I would NOT be where I am today with what I am bringing into the classroom. So here I am, feeling a little like Carrie Bradshaw sharing because I can't be selfish and keep to myself the Keynote Speaker that was able to keep me entertained by making learning fun while using his life passions to help me level up my instruction. No matter what grade you teach, you WILL be able to apply EVERYTHING that he says to your teaching life.
So with all of that, I did NOT wander the halls once during the Keynote or the Deep Dive presentations, & the experience was more than amazing.
If Dave is EVER presenting near you, GO. Beg, borrow, steal, for the PD funds to go.
Until then, grab a copy of his book or drop me your email address for a chance to get your hands on my extra SIGNED copy. Yep, I'm nerdy like that. I have two signed copies. Don't forget to snag a copy of P is for Pirate as you are loading up your Amazon cart. It's pretty amazing, too.
Thanks Dave, for leaving me fired up, eager to start implementing some PIRATE into my instruction, & for encouraging me to SHARE my knowledge, passion, & stories with others. It was like you were speaking to me.
xoxo,
Lisa
PS. If you don't know about Twitter Edu Chats, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE reach out! I would be more than happy to help you get set up. Just FYI, I'm kinda a bully when it comes to talking people into trying things that I am passionate about. Peer Pressure is my tactic. #piaratepassion
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