I Know You.

 Once upon a time, I took 2140. While I enjoyed the activity, I also recognized the stress students deal with leading up to the event. My own experience remains marked with the burden of communicating with inactive members and preparing for a completely foreign experience. I also recall standing in front of a judge and hoping for mercy. The judge held no awareness of my progress as a debater, the research efforts, and attempts to create a cohesive group climate. And I was terrified this five-minute moment held the power to decide my value as a student. 

Flash forward some amount of years later, and I found myself in the position of judge. I disliked it. Students looked at me with some measure of fear and hesitation. Understandably, the debate called for quick deliberation on someone's grade based on five minutes of speech. I was nervous. I believe I actually admitted to nerves in my last round of debates. The students laughed and looked on with skepticism. They questioned why I was nervous. I confessed this sort of event is nerve-wracking because no TA wants to give students a below-average grade. More importantly, I knew what it felt like to be in their exact position. To question if a judge would recognize all that might have led up to this single hour of debate. I was in the position to pick apart arguments, style, and demeanor. 

Freire (1970) recognized how positions of oppressed and oppressor are constantly shifting. Moreover, true solidarity within academia inherently relies on understanding how our bodies house both oppressed and oppressive identities (Freire, 1970). As a judge, I embodied the position of oppressor, where I had the opportunity to grade on the content of an hour's debate. However, my own experience in 2140 grants insight into students' positionalities and affects how I went about the debate process. I found it increasingly important to underline how much the teaching staff appreciated their hard work and flexibility. Considering most of the students had little to no debate experience, participating in the event revealed their courage to explore new grounds. Moreover, I understand these five minutes are only a brief representation of the tenacity in facilitating group work, approaching controversial topics, and enacting new methods of praxis. 

The quick pep-talk did wonders for their nerves! Students' shoulders relaxed some, and the franticness that had swept through the room leveled out. Recognizing student efforts seemed to reduce some of their performance anxiety and grounded them in the moment. The quick pep-talk did wonders for their nerves! Students' shoulders relaxed some, and the franticness that had swept through the room leveled out. Recognizing student efforts seemed to reduce some of their performance anxiety and grounded them in the moment. By verbally confronting the difficulty of the debate process, I hoped students were able to focus on enjoying the event rather than the outcome of a grade.  As I watched the debates, I recognized my abilities to adjust pressing systems #ForThem so that perhaps we persist together rather than remain divided. In this manner, I hope students come to understand how academia can serve as a place of transformation and co-creation (Freire, 1970). 

Freire, P.  (1970/2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed:  30th Anniversary Edition.  New York:  Continuum.