I have been realizing lately how important it is for each one of us to speak up. It seems like everywhere I go, every conversation I engage in, videos I watch, even some of the things I am reading communicate the same thing: If one of us remains silent, we all miss out.
I am enrolled in San Jose State University's bilingual teaching credential program and last week we watched a video that really got my attention. Middle school students were working in small groups to solve a problem. In this particular small group, there were three students.
One was very talkative (*and opinionated) and he was clearly a popular student. Another was trying hard - at least at first - to make his voice heard. The third was the recorder...and he only wrote what the popular student said.
Eventually, the student that no one would listen to stopped speaking and put his head down on his desk. It was so sad to see him give up. Shut down. Turn off. Disengage. Stop learning. But then we all realized the full extent of what had just happened.
Not only did the student who stopped speaking stop learning. So did the other two. You see, the popular student was giving wrong answers to the student who was recording information for the small group. And the recorder never contradicted him.
And...the student who had tried to make a contribution, well, guess what? Before he stopped speaking, every contribution he tried to make to the group was the correct answer!
When one of us stops speaking, we all lose.
"To the extent that some students are excluded and do not participate, the learning possibilities are diminished for everyone." (Hiebert)
This is true in the classroom, and everywhere else two or more are gathered. If you don't speak, I can't learn.
Comments