I hope this article serves as a voice for introverts. Get it? Cause they don’t speak for themselves. Okay, not that funny.
For many of you reading this, class participation may seem insignificant to you. You’ve become accustomed to voicing your opinion and answering questions regularly. I even had a classmate once with a speech impediment that didn’t mind volunteering to read. And for plenty others, this may not even be relevant to the courses you take, such as math and science majors. But here’s another corny joke to keep your favor. What math function can keep a steady beat? Logarithms. Get it!? Log…rhythm. Okay, I’m O for 2 at the free-throw line.
My question is, should class participation really be a factor of one’s grade? Whether I answer or ask questions in class doesn’t assess what knowledge I’ve acquired.
On one hand, professors use class participation to boost morale. Though, in some cases, I think it’s a cheap trick professors use to compensate for the cricket sounds. Class participation can also be “considered” when submitting final grades. An overactive C+ student becomes a B- student for showing initiative and a desire to learn throughout the semester.
But let’s consider the negative aspects of class participation. First, students can be penalized for not throwing in their two cents. Who knows their reason behind not wanting to talk in class. Maybe they’re having a bad day, that happens to occur every Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday. Maybe they’ll feel embarrassed after they speak. I’m sure you too have heard the quote “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.” Well I disagree and find more wisdom in “Better to be thought of as the fool, then speak and remove all doubt.”
Some of my courses are actually much like a book club. Student’s read passages, then discuss them in class. If none of the students chose to speak, class would be like an extended elevator ride. You know how uncomfortable and silent those can be.
Jill Goad just finished wrapping up her lecture as I walked in the classroom to wait on mine to begin. I asked her about class participation to avoid a potentially awkward conversation with one of my actual professors. Goad shared her perspective about class participation and why she doesn’t require it of her students by saying “It’s something you can’t quantify.” And she’s very right. Speaking isn’t like a game of temple run where you get points the longer you last.
