Michigan Night on Baltimore St.

Baltimore St. 6/15/06

Around 25 eighth graders from East Grand Rapids Michigan came along last Thursday. This was a pretty good group of kids once we got organized. They seemed to have way too much energy after getting off of the bus, but they calmed down as we began the tour. These lucky students were on their way home from a whirlwind style field trip that took them to Washington DC, NYC, Gettysburg, and a few other places in between. The only place they had left to go to was an amusement park. Here again I met the storyteller's biggest nemesis, modern entertainment!

These kids were pretty tough to read at the beginning of the walk. I wasn't sure if they were being sarcastic with their enthusiasm and reaction to an early story. Sometimes school kids, eighth graders more than any other, will give the guide a hard time. This is usually a spoiled little brat that would rather be watching TV or in the pool at the hotel or the punk kid trying to impress his friends by being a smartass. Thankfully this was not the case. Halfway through I could tell that these kids were genuinely paying attention.

I will give this school credit, they actually studied the battle before they came on their field trip! Most of these students were prepared to answer all of the questions. Good job to all!

Guide's Tip Dealing with individual problem children can be a frustrating experience for the guide. If the chaperones are unwilling to help, or unfortunately take the position that it is now the tourguide's responsibility to chaperone the group, which it's NOT, the key is to kill the problem as early as possible. A direction question to the problem individual is one approach. Followed up by a few more direct questions. This forces honesty onto the person and will embarrass them a little. That is usually enough.

Another way is the democracy method. Ask the person if they really want to be on the tour; "You really don't want to be here do you?" If they say that they do want to be on the tour, then ask them to let you do your job. On the chance that they tell you that they don't want to be on the tour, take a vote! The rest of the group probably wants to be there and will outvote your problem. This also embarrasses them a little and will usually get your chaperones involved. Especially the group leader who knows how much money that they paid to take the tour! I have other ways of dealing with situations like this, so contact me with any questions.

Sleep Well...

"Rick Saunders"