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Teaching always has its theatrical moments, but should teachers purposely aim to be entertaining, rather than being authentic or authoritative?

Over the years, like many professions, teaching has had many competing narratives about teacher comportment. Today, the notion that teachers must make their lessons engaging and entertaining has become increasingly popular, with varied reception.

In 2023, EdWeek wrote about the debate of whether teachers should have to be entertainers. In response to that article, many more teachers recently took to social media to make their own opinions known.

The following is a collection of the most popular themes.

Authenticity is key

鈥淚鈥檓 absolutely not an entertainer. Not now, not ever. I鈥檓 not an actor, performer, or clown at the circus. I鈥檓 not putting on a fake persona for attention and engagement. I am an educator and a carer. I build relationships with students and show them how valued they are. I help them grow a love of learning by being present and interested in them ... I am myself.鈥�

鈥淭he best advice I received was to just be yourself but always ahead of the students. Just be yourself鈥攅ven if it means you鈥檙e considered 鈥榖oring.鈥� Students are at school to receive an education, not an entertainment show.鈥�

鈥淗owever you [teach], you have to make the class interesting and engaging; I have seen a lot of really creative ideas for that. Enjoy being with your classes. If you do, they will sense that and listen carefully to you.鈥�

鈥淭he unusual, the unexpected, and the seeming contradictions, these are your tools for attention and creating questions to be answered or discovered. But entertainment is different. It can also be one of these tools, but only when it is integral to the learning, not as a [standard operating procedure] all the time. You have to be YOU.鈥�

鈥楨ntertaining wasn鈥檛 in the job description鈥�

鈥淚 was told in my education college class, 鈥楾eachers are like actors, the show must go on even if we are sick, or tired, or not feeling it.鈥� ... Another thing teachers are expected to do, but are not paid enough for. We have so many job titles but [are] only paid for one.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 only surviving middle school because I鈥檓 an entertainer.鈥�

鈥淵ou have to put on a performance every lesson, doesn鈥檛 have to be singing and dancing but it doesn鈥檛 matter how you feel you need to be focused, positive, and dynamic. Particularly exhausting if you have had a full teaching day.鈥�

鈥淥ur district literally purchased a program for us to entertain kids with. We are expected to put on a dog and pony show all the time and the program is constantly shoved down our throats ... We went from 鈥榢ids are bored at school,鈥� to 鈥榢ids have to be constantly stimulated鈥� all day long. It鈥檚 exhausting and ridiculous ...鈥�

鈥淚 felt like I was an entertainer, magician, enforcer, mother, nurse, and oh yes, someone who did her best to engage and encourage children to read and learn. I did it for over 40 years ...鈥�

鈥淚 feel like I have to, but when I get home I don鈥檛 have a lot of energy left for my own kids.鈥�

鈥淚 always felt like I had to be 鈥渙n鈥� every day. It was especially difficult if I was going through stress in my other life. I had to block that out of my mind in order to give them my best effort.鈥�

Balance is needed

鈥淚 try to make my lessons engaging, but it is not realistic for every lesson every day to be the most exciting thing ever. At some point, we also have to teach students to focus and work on things they aren鈥檛 excited to do ...鈥�

鈥淟ife is boring sometimes. Children need to learn how to be bored.鈥�

鈥淐hildren are not 鈥渙ne size fits all.鈥� Some love the 鈥渉ey guys, we鈥檙e going to have FUN!鈥� approach. Some respond better to a calm environment. Some vary according to mood or what is going on in their lives. Teachers try to provide what they need all the time. The ones who overtly 鈥榩erform鈥� are often doing it for themselves.鈥�

鈥淚t is takes all kinds of styles to teach all kinds of students. It is a dynamic position to teach every day. Each class has their own community culture developed with the teacher.鈥�

鈥淭here are times to be energetic and 鈥榩erform.鈥� There are times to be calm, thoughtful, patient, and primarily helpful.鈥�

鈥淲ell, we can present material and concepts in engaging ways and hype an assignment, but at some point, students just need to write an essay.鈥�

Entertaining and learning can be an effective partnership

鈥淚鈥檓 retired and bumped into a former pupil who said 鈥業鈥檒l always remember the day we turned our room into a Victorian classroom. I was so glad we didn鈥檛 learn like that anymore.鈥� To have a lesson be remembered 20 years later cannot be wrong. [For those that were curious]: Yes, I was dressed in Victorian clothing and was a strict disciplinarian.鈥�

鈥淵es! But we can teach them to entertain each other, too? In my HS classes, I require slide presentations to be 鈥榠nteractive.鈥� Students must use guessing games, unscrambles, fill-in, Pictionary, or charades to teach the material on each of their slides ... Class goes by so fast and they鈥檙e more likely to remember everything down the road because of the positive and challenging connections.鈥�