Sometimes I think I can understand what it must be like to be the chief of programming for a major television network. You just never know for certain how the audience will react to a new television show. What appears to be a surefire hit might sink like a stone in cement. The show you’re sure will never find its audience becomes a megahit and stays on the air for a decade.
Classroom visitors are the same. You never know which one will really be a winner. Two volunteers from the local animal shelter bringing half a dozen cute puppies and kitty-cats to your classroom? How can it fail? And yet it can, and there could be a hundred reasons why. Stacy’s dad, the accountant? Maybe he went to the very same school 20 years earlier. Students may be riveted to his tales of what teachers and classes were like in a time before they were born.
The most popular visitors to class when I was a teacher were the D.A.R.E. officer and a UFOlogist (who was me dressed up for Halloween).
We’d like to hear your stories about classroom visitor hits and misses. Who was best? Who comes back every year? Or perhaps you’ve got a funny story about the one that got away. Share in the comments section.