Christopher Emdin: Teach teachers how to create magic

What do rap shows, barbershop banter and Sunday services have in common? As Christopher Emdin says, they all hold the secret magic to enthrall and teach at the same time — and it's a skill we often don't teach to educators. The science advocate (and cofounder of Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S. with the GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan) offers a vision to make the classrooms come alive.

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[stinknus]

Nothing kills an interesting subject faster than a boring teacher.

[kandwjohnson]

Many people commenting here have missed the point.  Chris is not saying that magic is ALL you need to teach, he is saying that teacher education is focusing exclusively on theory and standards and not preparing teachers with tangible skills they can use to engage students in the classroom.  As a former high school teacher who is now a teacher educator and researcher, I know that he is absolutely correct.  I agree that what is most engaging and conducive to learning will not be just the teacher talking.  Research shows that the students should be doing most of the talking.  However, research by Pekrun et al. also shows that teachers' enthusiasm is strongly correlated to student enjoyment and achievement.  Unfortunately this research also shows that students are bored most of the time in school.  And who could blame them?  School is boring!  We need to train teachers to be responsive to students' thinking and lived experiences and foster their curiosity and creativity if we hope for student engagement (which leads to achievement).

[rowanswmr]

As a teacher myself I know it is difficult to create and hold that magic, but when it happens, when you truly engage and hold that classes attention, there is no better feeling in the world. I LIVE FOR THOSE MAGIC MOMENTS!

[melexdy]

A system of memorisation and one of non critical thinking is the source of the poor quality of education.

Education with a goal not in grades but in learning!

Fun and learning are linked.

Watch Ken Robinsons lectures about education.

Im really fed up watching ppl trying to make a presentation rather than a solid argument..

[middleclassseabass]

That's it, we need to send all teachers to the hood, because that's where they will learn how to teach.

 None of that will help. What makes a good teacher is confidence and reading your students. You need to know how much your students understand and you need to know where they don't understand things. Missing any of these things will make you a bad teacher.

What do preachers and rappers have in common? Confidence. All of my best teachers had confidence and knew where students struggled.

[lissandro.farias]

WOW! This is a great lecture, Chris! Thanks for it. You've reawaken my teacher's soul to think more deeply.

[reginaldwright]

Magic is birthed from passion and love of content. If you say you can't sustain that magic for multiple lessons in a day... then ask yourself the question "Do I love what I'm teaching?" It's more to it than to just love to teach... You have to first love WHAT you are teaching... Without that, then you will grow tired every day from 1st to 6th to 9th period... James Comer says that no significant learning can occur without a significant relationship. George Washington Carver says all learning is understanding relationships. This is the essence of what Mr. Emdin is speaking about... Creating an opportunity to build a relationship of interest, trust, and for lack of a better term admiration for the teacher, held by the student.

[VZitSeV]

While I certainly agree with all what he said, I am wondering what can be the exact practical plan that we can implement in order to teach this magic? Yes, having teachers going barber shops or rap concerts, but practically speaking, how can we truly implement that?

[ge]

so do the preachers do that 4-5 times a day? rappers don't perform for 4-5 hours a show every day. The energy level they are creating may be good for those environments, were they want people to have fun and spend money either there or later or come back to the next show. A teacher needs students to want to come back for the next "show", but is it on the teacher to do that entirely? musicians have managers who delegate a lot of work to other people in a team behind the scenes. Just like a preacher will have other people. As a teacher we get a teaching assistant if we have a specific need with SEN students and they essentially are there to make sure those students aren't struggling. Teachers get no help to make the students want to come back to the next lesson. We just get told thats what we have to be doing and are expected to be masters at it.

i understand the idea that energy is contagious, but do students thinking a teacher is the best actually make it so? do they learn the most in those lessons or do they think the lessons are best for reasons other than how much or how effectively they learnt something?
The situations you gave are hollow in terms of learning, they aren't difficult. No one goes to a rap concert and says "i don't understand ". because they just have to listen and be entertained. Learning requires participation that is notably absent except for "can i get an ahmen". Not exactly comparable to "can i get the answer to question 10?" 

if teachers need to have such high energy levels then there needs to be more help available (like in finland where classes have two teachers) or less none-teaching related jobs for them to do.

[manaphyshipper]

He missed the main reason a lot of children are disengaged while at school, because they are forced to be there.
Barber shops, rap concerts, church, people choose to go their, it's their interest that drives there attention, the magic that people in those places create will liven it up and encourage them to return.
I have seen dozens of teachers with this magic, maybe not over flowing with it but they have it, they have engaging lessons. This magic can't be taught in a sense, I think it comes from experience. In the UK doing a teaching course you HAVE to have classroom experience on your course, so you learn these skills and see them action.
I find that society (in some countries) looks down on teachers and education, this feeds down to the children who are forced to go to place seen as "bad".
Then there is government's intervention... but that's a different story.

[Ifyoulovelife]

Life is a stage--literally in a classroom:)
Students have to be entertained to feel relaxed enough to readily absorb and mentally manipulate knowledge.

[PoxikFrostbite]

Building a narrative is one of most complex and nuanced thing that a human being can do. My own experience started through building compelling and engaging sessions of Dungeons & Dragons for my high school gaming group. Between that experience and my ongoing work as a player and researcher of gaming environments, I hope to be able to encourage and inspire others to follow their passions, whatever they may be.
Standards are like accounting documents. They are a moment in time which have no ability to grade retention or application. At some point schools will figure out that the journey of education, not the test score, is the most important element to gain from education. Being given an opportunity to solve a REAL problem is more valuable than any meaningless exercise. If you want kids to stay and invest in your community, show them the rough spots. I guarantee you those that take the work to smooth them will be forever changed and connected to your locality.

[Listenub]

still reaching out to our students and you Dr. Emdin

[radhikabhise]

What a wonderful speech it is and nice also amazing ideas for magic in the classroom is given by him keep it up 😊

[hunszaszist]

Wannabe writers, I recommend you pay attention, because what this man is talking about is not only usable in public speaches! * takes notes *

[KellieAlston]

Yessss! I have been a teacher educator for over 16 years and we definitely need to reframe teacher education. What a wonderful idea way to describe it--something that I have always purposed to do in my elementary and college classrooms.

[ElizaMogha]

I find the "magic" argument not thoroughly thought through. People usually create this magic when they are passionate or, at the least, enthusiastic about something.  Also, while an audience member can be mesmerised by a passionate/ magic speech, they might not be moved by the content of that speech.  

In other words, a kid may enjoy listening/ engage with his/her biology teacher explaining today's class, but not necessarily understand it or even feel intimidated by the complex concepts and terminology.

I understand what Christopher is trying to put across here and fair enough, but in my opinion, there is so much more in successful teaching and learning.

[ryleighloughty]

Teach teachers to be moral leaders, then the 'magic' will naturally appear.

[uncleapothecary]

I listen to these talks to get their cadence as well.  I'd love to up my vocal game for my kids.  It doesn't have to be extravagant, but little things help.

[lucasvinzon]

This guy is amazing. Not only because the subject is good, but also because he did, all the time, exactly what he was describing.