"A child knows when they are on the receiving end of a didactic exercise, or when they are sitting in the shadow of something else." -- Bruce Coville, young adult author

My colleagues and I have had many conversations discussing the best teaching strategies to use in the classroom. We are all in agreement that there are times you must implement some didactic pedagogy in order to give instructions or necessary terminology, but students in general usually shut down when this type of teaching takes place. Even with that said there is one teacher that always comes to mind when we are having these discussions - Mr. Gray.

Mr. Gray taught social studies. While there are some students that enjoy history and learning about the world, I was not one of them. On the first day of class, I looked at Mr. Gray and was convinced the school had plucked him right out the social studies book because he was just that old!! Little did I know that his class would soon become my favorite and I dreaded the thought of May coming and my time with Mr. Gray coming to an end. Mr. Gray was without a doubt a perfectionist when it came to the ends and outs of didactic teaching. He spent every period in front of the class, lecturing bell to bell. I am not one to sit still for long, but when Mr. Gray spoke - you became mesmerized! He was yelling, singing, dancing, or just making history come to life in the most animated ways possible. The students who normally checked out or weren't too concerned about graduating even seemed to sit up a little straighter in their chairs and pay more attention in class. Mr. Gray truly had a gift and he was a blessing to all who had him as a teacher.

I realize didactic learning usually isn't this successful, but I have had the privilege of seeing it done at its best. I seldom use the didactic pedagogy in my own class because I know my students are more responsive to either authentic or transformative learning. If I was the entertainer Mr. Gray was, I might be more willing to sacrifice myself to the wolves and lecture day-in and day-out, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. We all connect with our students in some fashion or another. As long as we determine what method of teaching best fits our personality as well as the students, we are better equipped to create a learning environment that is welcoming and effective.