Good News

October 2, 2009

Dash of humor helps educator connect

Leslie Nicholas of WVW among finalists for Great American Teacher Award.

By Mark Guydish mguydish@timesleader.com
Education Reporter
Mark Guydish on Facebook   |   @TLMarkGuydish on Twitter

KINGSTON – Call it “Mr. Nick’s greatest hits.”

Thursday afternoon Leslie Nicholas – that guy with enough teaching awards to fill an auditorium – ran through teaching techniques like a TV pitchman, a video camera rolling. The goal: a sort of “highlight reel” for another national award nomination.

Students come in to see the joke of the day on a white board: “The man who fell into the re-upholstery machine is fully recovered.” They barely start lessons before Nicholas announces “Time for a terminology march!”

The class at Wyoming Valley West Middle School walk around repeating questions and answers recited by Nicholas (“What is a simile?” “It’s a comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’”).

Back to their seats for a multiple choice quiz using a “smart board,” a cross between a white board and a touch-screen computer. The first question: “Pop.”

“It’s not even a question, is it?” Nicholas notes. Students pick from three options and register their choice with an electronic hand device. The computer tallies and projects results onto the smart board. The answer: Onomatopoeia, a word imitating a sound.

“This isn’t a regular class,” Nicholas admits. He is performing for visiting Ron Clark, the 2000 Disney American Teacher of the year and founder of The Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta. The Disney award is defunct, and Clark rallied sponsors and educators to pick up the slack and give out the “Great American Teacher Award” this year.

Nicholas is among five finalists bound for Atlanta Oct. 23-25 for a conference and awards ceremony. Video shot Thursday will be edited to about 90 seconds and shown at the ceremony.

A student spins a device that picks three words to be used in a composition written in 80 seconds: “Noon,” “puzzle,” and “trophy.” They write, then read.

“It was noon and I was playing with my puzzle until the little gold man on my trophy came to life,” one boy recites.

Then it’s “Drop Everything and Read Time,” then onto the podcast project, where a student gets to record a brief commentary on a specific topic to be posted online.

As Clark arranges a group photo, Nicholas tells his “best joke,” which we abridge here: Three strings stop outside a bar. One walks in, orders a beer, and the bartender says, “Are you a string?” then refuses to serve him, ties him in a knot and tosses him out. Same thing happens to the second string. Before the third string goes in, he asks his buddies to tie him in a knot and fray his ends. The bartender asks “Are you a string?” The string answers “Frayed Knot!”

“I’m not a comedian,” Nicholas admits. One student chirps up.

“No. You’re not a comedian.”

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