Tuesday, November 11, 2014
There are no stupid questions?
In my mentor's class on Friday we were discussing causal arguments. As one of the activities for the day my mentor had the students come up with 'Why?' questions. The book we're using had suggested this as a method for choosing a topic for a cause-and-effect paper. The students broke up into small groups to come up with ten different questions and then my mentor wrote some of them on the board. Since it was Friday, everybody was having a little fun with the questions. Why do girls wear Uggs? Why don't people flush the toilet? Why do people have ugly pets? The atmosphere in the classroom was light, if not a little goofy, and there was a lot of laughing. Then my mentor went on to explain the primary research aspect of the paper and asked if anyone had questions. That's when one of the of the students said, "This might be stupid, but can we interview ourselves?" And my mentor, having gotten caught up in the silly atmosphere of the classroom, responded, "That is stupid." Everybody giggled, including the student that asked the question. However, after class my mentor felt horrible for responding that way. The student in question has always had a goofy way about him and he tends to joke the most in class, so it didn't bother him at all, but my mentor still felt bad that she had called him stupid in front of the class. Monday, class went on as usual and it didn't cause any affect on that particular student's participation, but it is probably a good idea to make sure we don't get too caught up in the atmosphere of our students that we might accidentally offend one of them.
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I agree, it is pretty important to monitor what we are saying in class to students. Still, slip-ups do happen, and I think students know that, and it is unrealistic to expect perfection when it comes to communication, from ourselves or from them.
ReplyDeleteThere is an icebreaker in my mentor class. My mentor and I always thank for her efforts. But sometime she also talks private stories which are not really related with the topic of the day. But I admire my mentor's respond. My mentor always smiles and concord always. That's why I think all her classes are very positive to present their idea in the classes.
ReplyDeleteI love this story. I don't know that I agree with your overall endpoint that we should not get caught up in the atmosphere. Sure, there must be a significant amount of professionalism to maintain authority, but they are college students and adults and I think people are so focused on not offending anyone that honesty is gone and humor is a moot point. I love joking with my students and using my dry sense of humor. I wish we didn't live in the world we do--but instead lived in a world that took off its corset once in a while.
ReplyDeleteSara, I'm thinking about your point in telling this story and Olivia's response to it, also… I think my own teaching style involves joking, but not too much sarcasm that could accidentally offend a student. This kind of "watch what you say" attitude was really ingrained in me when I was going through my teacher certification program. I do, though, kind of admire teachers who feel comfortable being a little rougher with their students (or at least not so reserved, cautious)--as long as the students respond positively.
ReplyDeleteI often focus on things I have said and how they could have been interpreted. The statement "That is stupid," depending on the delivery, could definitely have alienated the student. I'm happy that there weren't any negative repercussions for the instructor or the students. I'm happy that you have a mentor is so open with sharing her feelings with you.
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