Robert Black

In the Navy, in business and in the classroom, one's initial appearance is important as a first step in commanding respect. Good grooming is a given. Then, I favor wearing a suit (or sport jacket and well pressed slacks), clean shirt (of course!),tie and shined shoes. Comments from my students show that my appearance helps them to decide that I am a professional. During demonstrations, the jacket comes off, the sleeves are folled up, and I project interest and excitement about the project.

Students often will ask a relevant question that requires some deviation from that day's lesson plan. The checklist helps me get back on track after dealing throopughly with the student's question.

Often, I am assigned to a classroom that has individual computer monitors. These can be a distraction; sometimes a student will go on line while I am calling the class to order! When this occurs, I inform my students immediately that if they try to multi-task in my class, they will fail. This gets everyone's attention.