My Simself stood behind the podium, with butterflies in her belly, as the guests for her session filed into the little room.
You'd be nervous too, if it were you.
No doubt about it. I certainly am always nervous for the first day of teaching at a new school or a new school year. That's sort of what this feels like to you, I imagine.
There were a few extra guests attending than had signed up. We had empty seats to fill, since this Simmer built this venue before looking at the sign up list. I think they enjoyed being here.
You'd be nervous too, if it were you.
No doubt about it. I certainly am always nervous for the first day of teaching at a new school or a new school year. That's sort of what this feels like to you, I imagine.
There were a few extra guests attending than had signed up. We had empty seats to fill, since this Simmer built this venue before looking at the sign up list. I think they enjoyed being here.
I've seen just how much Ms. Wontothree is like me during the process of putting this session together. She feels very much in the role of teacher right now. And just like me when I teach I know there's no point in really rehearsing my speech, or lecture, before hand. I (and she) just go in prepared with the knowledge and information we know we want to impart, and let it flow out naturally.
Even if that means hearing the sound of metaphorical crickets when the audience - or the class - doesn't get your attempted humor or simply isn't as engaged as we would hope.
Right again, Simself. You just be true to yourself in your delivery style. Try to keep it conversational, and even if it takes a while you'll see the rapport between you and your students of sorts begin to build. Plus, you know this isn't really a classroom full of new students; it's a room full of new friends, and they're all here because they are interested in what you have to say.
Thanks for the pep-talk. I guess I should get started. It could get a little weird if I just stand here talking silently to you for much longer.
Even if that means hearing the sound of metaphorical crickets when the audience - or the class - doesn't get your attempted humor or simply isn't as engaged as we would hope.
Right again, Simself. You just be true to yourself in your delivery style. Try to keep it conversational, and even if it takes a while you'll see the rapport between you and your students of sorts begin to build. Plus, you know this isn't really a classroom full of new students; it's a room full of new friends, and they're all here because they are interested in what you have to say.
Thanks for the pep-talk. I guess I should get started. It could get a little weird if I just stand here talking silently to you for much longer.
Okay those butterflies are coming back.
Don't worry about it. They probably didn't realize you were actually looking for a response. Just keep going; they'll get into it as you go.
Don't worry about it. They probably didn't realize you were actually looking for a response. Just keep going; they'll get into it as you go.
Okaaay... No one answered that one either. What do I do Carewren?
Don't force it. That's a tougher question question than you'd think. One of my college professors made us answer that for an excruciating ten minutes. You know, they're are a lot of acceptable answers to that question. Your participants were thinking of answers; they just weren't sure what answer you wanted. But keep going. Keep going.
Don't force it. That's a tougher question question than you'd think. One of my college professors made us answer that for an excruciating ten minutes. You know, they're are a lot of acceptable answers to that question. Your participants were thinking of answers; they just weren't sure what answer you wanted. But keep going. Keep going.
Karen can see the wheels turning in everyone's mind. She's getting into this now. It's easy to talk to a crowd about something you're passionate about.
"It's not the only way of knowing and learning about the world. And science has it's limitations. Scientific can only help us learn about things that are testable and verifiable. There are many concepts that are not really testable in a scientific way. That's why it's so wonderful that we have things like philosophy and religion. They can teach us things that science never could.
"All the non-scientific branches of knowledge can be terrific and they can enrich our lives and our world. But unfortunately this conference would never end if I tried to discuss them all. So I'll try to stick to the topic at hand: Sim Science.
"If this discussion accomplishes one thing it'll be that a few of you leave feeling a little more fond of science... perhaps a little less intimidated by it. I promise you, science isn't some..."
"All the non-scientific branches of knowledge can be terrific and they can enrich our lives and our world. But unfortunately this conference would never end if I tried to discuss them all. So I'll try to stick to the topic at hand: Sim Science.
"If this discussion accomplishes one thing it'll be that a few of you leave feeling a little more fond of science... perhaps a little less intimidated by it. I promise you, science isn't some..."
"But seriously, science is great. It's even more great for us Sims. Like many things in the Sim world, it's a little more fun, and a little more silly, than on the other side of the screen. You see, many things work very differently for us than in the non-digital world of our players.
"Some of the laws of physics are different from us. Plus our microscopes are a lot more fun and definitely more ridiculous than the things our players call microscopes.
"But thanks to these differences in our world and theirs, there are still plenty of scientific discoveries left to be made in our world. You just have to be curious enough to ask the right questions.
"Surely everyone here has seen or noticed something that made you wonder, 'How does that work?' Scientists embrace that curiosity. You see, curiosity is an important part of science. Curiosity and creativity (believe it or not) drive many scientific endeavors."
"Some of the laws of physics are different from us. Plus our microscopes are a lot more fun and definitely more ridiculous than the things our players call microscopes.
"But thanks to these differences in our world and theirs, there are still plenty of scientific discoveries left to be made in our world. You just have to be curious enough to ask the right questions.
"Surely everyone here has seen or noticed something that made you wonder, 'How does that work?' Scientists embrace that curiosity. You see, curiosity is an important part of science. Curiosity and creativity (believe it or not) drive many scientific endeavors."
"But that's the beautiful thing about science, conducting experiments lets us know if our answer to the question is the right answer or not. And if we're curious enough we can keep seeking, keep testing and observing until we have the correct answer."
"So are any of you curious enough to ask your questions?"