So what does it mean to be too cool for school? The dictionary on idioms says it’s about someone having a “fashionably confident, supercilious attitude or demeanor, to such a degree that one is unlikely to participate in things seen as dull or conventional.”
It’s not unusual for a participant in a Knuckleball Comedy program to enter the room with that sort of attitude. In fact, a recent testimonial from one of our participants talked about feeling that way when his school brought Knuckleball Comedy in during a day of professional development activities for its teachers.
(Participants laughing during a Knuckleball Comedy professional development workshop)
He started the day saying, “I’m not doing this.” But after Ethan walked them through a series of activities, got them moving around, listening to each other, role playing, charading, practicing communication, getting over themselves, the event ended with a room full of enthusiastic teachers eager to try these new strategies in their classrooms.
His colleague noted it was the best event of the day. We love that testimonial!!
I have a theory that when people display the too cool for school attitude, it turns out it’s often based on shyness and insecurity. They put on bravado, a pretense of bravery, to mask their true feelings, that they’re afraid of participating, afraid of being embarrassed in front of their peers.
The challenge for Knuckleball Comedy is to help everyone in the room, not just the ones who are anxious to participate, the hand raisers whenever a volunteer is requested, but even especially those who hang back, convincing themselves they are too cool to participate in this silliness.
Challenge accepted. We know we’ve had success when the too cool for school crowd ends up having the most fun, enthusiastically participating in each activity. While that’s a great result, if my theory holds, it also gives them a boost of confidence that just might carry into other aspects of their job and their life.
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