Finding Opportunities

Last week, my wife, son and I went to the public library to hear entertainer Jay Stetzer perform. He is not so well known out of the local area but he has recorded music albums for children and does storytelling shows for them. My son absolutely loved the 45 minute show. The show, itself, was free and was a nice evening with the entire family.

These are the types of opportunities for which I want my students to look; for which I want them to keep their eyes. I am not referring to a child’s entertainer as it would not be the right genre for most of them. Still, there are opportunities out there, opportunities that do not cost money, that can provide them with enjoyable experiences.

The experiences serve a couple of purposes. First and foremost, it is an enjoyable experience. Students are under a lot of pressure (I have even been known to add to that pressure) and if they can do something to help alleviate that, it is helpful. Second, over the course of the semester, students will have to write many papers, and give many speeches, some of those even for my class. If they have the flexible to pick the subject matter, and they can find something recent and something they enjoyed, they will have an easier time completing the assignment. They will probably also have more fun and probably get a better grade as well.

It sounds to me like that is a win-win situation.