Making the Geezers laugh...

As a new lecturer/professor, whatever I am, I've been trying to figure out who I am and what in the wide world of sports I am supposed to be accomplishing in each class. These students pay a fair amount of money to be in a classroom with me, but it is not a commercial relationship. This has lead me to an observation.

Teaching is a hell of a lot like being a stand-up comedian in an old-folks home. While I have not ever held this position, but I can guess from my experiences in church and band when we played or sang for old folks. My imagination gives me an image that is remarkably similar to what I do every day.

Nearly every day, I stand in front of a group of people who are...

• confused as to why they are there and
  
• who would prefer to be in bed.
  
• Many of them are on drugs or the influence of something.
  
• Without fail at least one of the audience falls asleep during my spiel, and
  
• they resent all attempts to make them get up, move around, or interact with each other.
  
• None of the audience really trusts other members of the audience, and
  
• they displace these feelings by revealing cynical/skeptical opinions about me, my topics, and my being there.
  
• The fact that I dress up or down results in criticism from some quarter.
  
• I have no real idea where they are coming from or what they might be interested.
  
• Many of the members of the audience miss their home and familiar surroundings.
  
• The male members of the audience wish to find the prettiest thing in the room and stare at it or touch it.
• The females wish to be pleasant and not attract too much attention.
• There is drooling.
• I am expected to do my little song and dance, but actual attempts to be cute/charming/etc are frowned upon.

Of course, this implies some stereotypes, but it is close enough to keep me up at night.