First week of school: I am ready to teach, got my syllabus, I am lesson prepped, I’m probably looking refreshed, excited, and most likely I have my nice teacher clothes on.
Fast-forward to October: Four papers due, keep up with your readings, don’t forget to grade, lesson planning, and we all know how we look at this point in the semester – death? Jk, jk…(Maybe, not really.)
Now you are reflecting (or are forced to realize) that your student(s) from hell or the poison in your classroom has (have) become an issue.
At some point between the first day of school and midterms, you have learned your student’s names and something about their work ethic and/or personality (at least as a teacher, you should have). In our field, and specifically in Bell and Golombisky’s article (2004), we have learned about the voice and silencing of different marginalized groups, and in general, differences in personalities. It is easy to overlook the issue(s) in the moment, but reflecting on your classroom, issues can grow without our realization, that is until the issues have grown tremendously, and in some cases may slap you in the face.
I am learning as an instructor how to balance each of my student’s voice. I am honestly considering to experiment with Bell and Golombisky’s “pay to talk” idea in class. I personally want to hear each of my student’s perspective. I genuinely care about each of my “precious gifts from above.” (Shout out to #happyhappyjoyjoy!) With that being said, I currently have a student that will over power the conversations in one of my classes. Anytime I ask a question, she is the first one to answer, regardless to if she is right or wrong. I have noticed and watched the way that this student has silenced other students in the classroom. I am trying to politely take care of the situation (and I believe it is working), but it goes to prove that as an instructor, we must be aware and willing to change our classroom dynamics.
As an instructor, I urge you to take time for your students, be observant, and be present in the classroom. I realize this can be difficult when we feel like we are constantly being pulled in different directions (personal life, work life, school life, etc.). Each student deserves their voice to be heard, whether they realize it or not. I hope that I will grow as a teacher to keep balance in my classroom. I want to encourage my students to speak, without overpowering the voice of silenced students.
#heartwork
Next semester you'll definitely see me implement the "pay to talk" method we used in class from day 1. I think the method resolves a lot of the issues with 1) students who don't speak enough in the class, by forcing them to use all their pennies and 2) limiting the students that tend to speak too often. I think the problem with students who speak too often in class, is that their contributions are usually anecdotal or what they have to say does not have much substance because they speak so often (not everything that comes out of a talkative student's mouth is going to add value or insight, precisely because they contribute so much). "Pay to talk" means they must be strategic with what they say, and as long as the teacher is also limited, a productive, educational dialogue can occur in the classroom that empowers voices. The benefits can be huge for women, students of color, and other students who have not found the confidence to speak in class.
ReplyDeleteAt some point in the semester, I stopped being present as well (somewhere amidst all those persuasive speeches). I did not even notice some of my best students stopped showing up to class and that my kiddos in the back were buried in their phones or talking amongst themselves. I realized this on social media day. Since it was too late to implement pay to talk. I made everyone fill in the first few rows. Had them do two separate minute papers then they had to choose one to share. I made EVERYONE share. This got them talking again and even my quiet students said more than just what they wrote in their minute papers. I got to hear voices that I have not heard in weeks. I am thinking of using pay to talk for Language, Culture, and Power. If you chose to use it, let me know how it goes.
ReplyDeleteThe pay to talk method was a lot of fun, so I think it would be an awesome exercise for you to use in the future in case you run into this kind of student again. Personally, if I have a student talking a lot, I often make eye contact with anyone else in the classroom. My student allies normally help me out. I can see what you mean by that balance being hard to find, though. It might help to spend some time with some of the more quiet students when they get into their CLGS. Who knows, maybe they'll feel like talking a bit more after you've given them the confidence.
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