Dooley Noted: 11/1/2015
I’m a good teacher, learning how to be great.
I’m learning how to resonate with my audience.
Today, I was shuttled back to my high school history classes, when I went to see the Broadway show, “Hamilton.”
The story was a modern pop/rap/musical interpretation of the history of Alexander Hamilton.
I was embarrassed to remember only one major fact from high school: this man was shot by Aaron Burr.
Lin-Manuel Miranda took an amazing biography of Hamilton and turned it into the most fun, interesting history lesson I’ve ever received. I won’t soon forget it.
This reminded me of the kind of teacher I want to be to my students and patients.
I can’t be the average doctor, going through the motions.
I can’t be the average boring anatomy instructor. I can’t expect rote memorization from my students, just to watch them cram it to forget it a few weeks later.
I have to resonate with my audience.
I have been warned that getting to my students’ level will ruin my power of expertise.
This might be true.
But I am hired to teach. And if I can find a way to make the material resonate, then I should.
If I describe the finger flexor tendons like Destiny’s Child, I might get a few laughs.
But they might remember Flexor Digitorum Profundus (FDP) as Beyonce, and Flexor Digitorum Superficialis (FDS) as the other two members of the band. They have to move to the side as Beyonce goes farther to her destiny, just like FDS parts its tendons to allow for the passage of FDP to the distal phalanx.
Or that cervical segments 5, 6, and 7 make my biceps look like heaven!
Or that cervical segments 6, 7, 8, make my lats look so great!
Rhyme it. Rap it. Get it to resonate.
Learn your audience. Stay fresh. Give people adjunctive learning tools to help them with their textbooks.
From the show tonight, King George reminded me the job of a leader:
“It’s much harder when it’s your call.”
Pull out all the stops to teach.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley