Book excerpt: It’s a challenge every teacher faces… finding ways to get and keep the attention of their students; getting them to engage fully in the lessons. In today’s world of constant connection to media and entertainment through television and the Internet, it is harder than ever. Add to that the pressures of NCLB, Common Core State Standards, and the Danielson evaluation model putting full responsibility for student learning and growth on the teacher and we have reached a crisis. How can teachers compete with this constant stream of personalized entertainment? They must learn to think and teach as entertainers! This is not as revolutionary a concept as it may sound. The word “entertain” is defined as “to pleasantly hold attention.” So teachers already “entertain” their students. So no problem, right? Wrong. Teachers are now competing for the attention of their students. And the competition is fierce. They are up against professional entertainers who have spent years studying the art of entertainment without having to worry about teaching as well. Teachers are trained in their subjects, but not in the methods and techniques used by entertainment professionals. Teachers must learn to plan and to think as the professional entertainers do. Only then can they effectively compete. Only then can they Create Captivating Classes! Christopher Bontjes has more than 40 years of experience in designing shows and entertaining audiences of all ages from the stage. He also has more than 25 years of experience as a classroom teacher. Because his teaching specialty is music, he has had the opportunity to teach students ranging in age from Kindergarten through adult. In Create Captivating Classes: Why NCLB Should Mean No Child Left Bored, Bontjes shares the techniques used by entertainment professionals to keep audiences glued to their seats and begging for more. He then applies each technique to the classroom, showing teachers, step-by-step, how to use each idea in the classroom to keep students riveted to lessons and anxious to learn more. These ideas and techniques are effective with all students. They work regardless of age or socio-economic background. They work not because of who students are, but because of what students are – HUMAN! Every teacher has students they struggle to reach. Create Captivating Classes will add a myriad of new ideas to your educational “bag of tricks.” Order your copy today and learn to Create Captivating Classes!