Teach was a recurring desire. Not that doing lectures were insufficient to calm my spirit. But the heart felt the need of a closer contact, narrow and continued with the audience.
Until the call came to occupy a chair at a higher education institution. It was the opportunity to realize the old dream of uniting theory and practice, academic knowledge and professional experience.
I imposed one condition: "I want the last class on Friday night." The course coordinator deemed unusual request, asking me why. The answer: ". Because I intend to compete with the pub selling refreshing beer, with the letters of fun card games and the natural fatigue that killing everyone when the week is ending If my class has students will be because I'm on the right track."
One of the good teaching bases is discipline. No autocratic and coercive discipline, but that purposeful and constructive. My initial problem would go beyond grabbing the attention and attendance of students. It was necessary to convince them of the need of one hundred minutes a week to jointly develop a consistent work learning. And for that, it is essential to start class at 21 hours.
With this in mind, I added new allies to the eraser and chalk. An empty bucket and the other with water, a disposable cup and a small towel. First day of school and present with relaxed "rules of the game." Enter the room after 21 hours: water! Smoking, drinking or eating during class: Water! Talking on the phone: water! Read newspapers and magazines or engage parallel conversations: water!
The word "water" took sign status. He has come to symbolize kindly be "baptized" with a glass of water spilled in front of the student "offender". I teacher, I became only the executioner of this ritual. The students themselves assumed the role of judges, demanding punishment for disobedient in the chorus ... "Water!"
But the highlight of this procedure occurred in the third period of their application when the device was in danger of becoming a great playfulness, converting disciplinarian proposal in an anarchist action. My speech: "We can face this rite in two ways The first, in a playful manner, like a big joke that leads to easy laughter Second, as a learning experience I want you to realize that they bring..." Water head "a sense of discomfort, a feeling of frustration. Because in real life, out there, lawyers lose deadlines for appeal, damaging irreversibly its customers. sales professionals belatedly come to a bid, disqualifying their company and perhaps leading to bankruptcy. Executives arrive late a meeting with an important client, burying their hiring chances. in all these cases are people who, perhaps for a single minute, have taken 'water on the head', losing revenue, mowing jobs and jeopardizing their own self esteem".