I am a huge fan of stand-up comedy. If you look at my Netflix profile, all it recommends are stand-up comedy specials. Stand-up comedy is a uniquely American institution. Stand-up comedy is similar to Jazz or basketball. However, like basketball, there is no denying that stand-up comedy is becoming an international phenomenon, and some of the best are coming from outside the US. I'm not sure where my love for this uniquely American institution started. I remember hearing George Carlin when I was younger; the wordplay entranced me. I soon learned that lots of my favorite shows growing up in the 90s were led by former stand-up comedians.
Being a stand-up comedian is a weird job. Ask any comedian, and they proudly declare they don't have a "real job." Perhaps they've tried other paths, but they've always known that the corporate office life wasn't for them. Their personality and demeanor are not meant for "normal." Maybe the truth is comedians don't have "real jobs" because they love what they do. Mark Twain once said, "Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life."
Being a PE teacher is a weird job. I get to facilitate games for children all day. Plus, the perk of not working over the summer and having other significant holiday breaks is hard to argue. Some current teachers worked other jobs first but couldn't take the monotony and searched for something more creative. We know it's not the great pay that attracts teachers to the job. Good teachers really do love what they do.
I started in the Montessori classroom and quickly discovered I had a knack for creating fun games or simulations to wrap up a unit they were studying. I'm a fan of John Dewey, and I genuinely believe that experiential learning, or "learning by doing," confers many benefits. I know I am not the only teacher who does games and simulations, but I don't think it is common enough, and I wish more classrooms utilized this method.
When I had the opportunity to become a physical education teacher at my school, I jumped at the chance. One of my favorite parts of classroom teaching, creating games and simulations, is now my full-time job! I get to create games that teach the concepts from the classroom every day instead of just once in a while. After six years, I have over 150 lessons in my repertoire, but the excitement of finding more makes me excited to come to school every day.
Crafting and delivering jokes as a stand-up comedian is a creative process, much like preparing and conducting lessons as a physical education teacher. Both professions demand constant honing of material and adjusting it based on audience reactions or student engagement. In comedy, testing and refining jokes is crucial, just as a PE teacher continually fine-tunes their lessons to ensure student understanding, participation, and, most importantly, fun. This level of creativity and adaptability is what excites me the most.
In both stand-up comedy and physical education teaching, the audience or students are not just passive recipients but active participants. A comedian draws energy from the audience's laughter and reactions, just as a PE teacher relies on student enjoyment and involvement to foster a positive learning environment. Taking questions from the audience is akin to 'crowd work' for a comedian, demanding quick thinking and adaptability to respond effectively, much like a PE teacher's readiness to address the random oddball question that always seems to pop up.
When the kids are extra squirrely, and it seems you can't get their attention, this is similar to a comedian having a "tough crowd." An effective strategy for comedians is to acknowledge the awkward energy that the crowd is giving off. It's better to take what they give you versus plowing ahead with your predetermined set. I'm sure you have had an experience as a teacher having to scrap what you planned on doing and quickly pivot to something more effective with your students.
A comedian usually saves their best joke for the end. This is called their "closer," and this joke needs to leave a lasting impression that puts a bow-and-tie on the show. Arguably, one of the most critical parts of PE happens after they are done playing. A PE teacher's end-of-lesson debrief connects the day's activities to their classroom curriculum. This enhances that classroom content by embellishing it with play and personal experience. The children are more receptive to empathy with other cultures because they experienced a chunk of it firsthand by playing their traditional indigenous sport. Sports are a part of culture, and PE is a unique place to build awareness of culture through play.
Finally, to speak frankly, a good teacher better have a good sense of humor because those kids can say some pretty weird stuff. Days don't always go as planned, so being able to roll with the punches and laugh off a particularly tough day (bad set) is invaluable. However, our job as PE teachers is fun, and if the students know we enjoy what we are doing, they feed off that energy the same way an audience syncs up with a comic who is genuinely enjoying themselves on stage. So, I hope you finish your year laughing at and with your students.
