Being Engaging Isn't Everything

A couple of months ago my wife and I went with her family to go see "The Piano Man" himself in concert on Wrigley Field. As a baseball fan myself and less of a Billy Joel fan I went to see Wrigley Field. As we were standing listening to him play hit after hit the person in front of me sat down and got out his phone. (Hard to see in the picture)

This sparked something inside of myself, if Billy Joel can't get 100% engagement why am I trying so hard to get 100% engagement in my students?

I know you are asking yourself Billy Joel is playing for tens of thousands of people and he is trying to engage 25 at a time. (Different circumstances)  It's true, but Billy is an entertainer, he makes his living playing music and entertaining people.

One thing I will always have over Billy Joel is that he can't form relationships with everyone in that crowd. With 25 students for 49 minutes a day it can be difficult, but not impossible to form relationships with everyone. Some are easier, some are more difficult, but that is how I get 100% engagement. Get students to buy-in to me.

I didn't buy into Billy, but I bought in to the experience that I now share with my wife. I definitely bought in to Wrigley Field.  Just like the guy in the picture maybe didn't buy in today.

I might not have buy-in each day from every student, but I play everyday, not just once and leave.

My take-away from this experience is that being engaging isn't everything, forming relationships is.