Comedian

I am bummed that I did not get to watch Comedian with my cadremates, but I was spending some much needed time with the family. Instead, I got to watch it with my sister, a huge Seinfeld fan---It was really fun to be able to involve her in my Masters and discuss the documentary.

Here are my thoughts:

As I watched the film, I was not sure what to think or how it tied to learning. I actually found myself trying to draw meaning out of everything that was said. Comedian is a documentary based on Jerry Seinfeld after his career in the television industry. It tracks his venture of his trials and tribulations he faced while creating new material for his new standup acts. Here are my thoughts( and how it parallels education and learning):


Thought ONE:
One thing Jerry and other comedians were forced to take was risks. Risk-taking parallels both teaching and learning. As a teacher, you have to step out of the boundaries of the norm and take risks. OMET is showing us how to do this. As a teacher, our job is to promote life-long learning and facilitate learning rather than deliver it. Much of what I have learned in this program has proven to me that this is an effective method of instruction, however is not widely accepted. This is where risk-taking is involved. It is our job to take risks to help promote change in education. Initially we might fail, however it is important to not give up. This goes hand in hand with risk-taking.

Thought TWO:
Jerry was dedicated and had aspirations to keep learning and aspired to better himself as a comedian. He even seeks the advice of experienced well-known comedians such as Bill Cosby, David Letterman and Jay Leno. This is a parallel to teachers and students. Teachers and students need to understand that it is important to not give up and continuously seek to learn new things. Ironically, this ties directly with the book we are reading in Margaret’s class, Surpassing Ourselves. This book states that if you are going to be termed an “expert” in a field, you are always looking and creating new knowledge. Jerry felt that if he stopped performing, he would stop being a comedian and an “expert” in the field.

On the contrary to Jerry, Orny Adams, a “newly developed comedian” is seen as being unlikable. Orny seeks advice from experts in the field, such as Seinfeld and his agent, but he does not take the criticism well. If he wants to become expert, then he needs to shut his mouth and just listen.

In the end, I see a direct correlation to Jerry’s comeback as a stand-up comedian to learning. With time and dedication, things become smoother and easier. I think I’ll have to watch this a few more times to draw further meaning, but these are my initial thoughts.