Uncommon Common Sense

“Yesterday I died.” It’s a common feeling among students subjected to communication and teaching styles based on ‘common sense’.

“First tell them what you’re going to say. Then, tell them. In the end, tell them what you said, again.”

This is sheer nonsense. I doubt this recommended, repetitive rubbish was ever true. It continues to be so widely accepted that the adage has entered the realm of common sense used as a banner of justification and rationalization.

Learning, listening, and understanding require engagement, passion, and drama. We tune out robotic principles and approaches that use repetition as its underlining architecture. In our world of explosive information, we can’t waste time ‘killing’ our students with reciting, retelling, and recapping, unless boring your audience is your unspoken objective.

Storytelling, replete with key knowledge, open to questioning, discussion, and debate is the uncommon common sense that is acutely needed.

Enough said.