Just Hearing Crickets

Why are class discussions often seem quiet, disinterested, and awkward? It is one thing if the discussions on a reading and people haven’t done it, but why are discussions about people’s thoughts on a topic often just as quiet? I have been in classes where the discussions are lively and everyone participates and I’ve also been in classes where I’d rather fight a silver back gorilla than sit there when its “discussion time.” I know everyone does the same thing when they do not want to talk in a class conversation. The teacher will bring up a topic and wait for someone to chime in, but no one does. The teacher keeps waiting and thats when the awkward silence comes in. During the silence there are two go to moves, look in you own personal space like your desk or your hands or you look around the class hoping you’ll see someone throw their two cents in.

I think many people do not participate in class conversations not because they are lost on the topic but because of peer or teacher judgements. I believe one of the worst things is not being wrong in an exact answer but it is having your thoughts judged by others. I personally have listen to others speak their mind and think to myself, “How could anyone think that, thats pretty weird.” An example is when I was in an English class in high school and we were having a class discussion. The conversation dealt with Jack London’s To Build a Fire and we were talking about which would be a better companion, a man or a dog, during a survival situation. During the talk a girl argues that the dog would be better and I remember thinking to myself, “WTF, she must be ripped.” I of coarse argued her and it lead to a good talk but that thought that I had many others often have when hearing someone voice a thought that seems outlandish. This is one reason people do not speak up during class talks.

Another reason why many stay quiet during discussions is due to the inability to voice their true thoughts. This inability is caused from many different sources. A major source that causes people to not voice their true thought is because of social norms. When the topic of steroid use in sports was brought up for discussion felt I should not speak up about the topic because while everyone agreed that steroids are bad for people and sports, I personally know athletes at all levels ranging from professional to high school who use steroids. My view on them if different from most of society’s because of my interaction with users. Another inability for people to voice their opinions during discussion is because of fear that their idea might be misconstrued or that they phrase their option wrongly. If someone were to voice their opinion that they think anime uses beautiful art work and they say, “I think anime is beautiful” it could be interpreted that the person thinks anime characters are beautiful which many might think is weird.

Weak class discussions are not often due to the class not caring and not paying attention. There are many factors that inhibit people from speaking up during class. It is very difficult to move past many social anxieties that one many have and speak up, but it will make class more interesting. If everyone were to put in their two cents then we would all prosper.