COLUMN: The oppressive silence of unraised hands
It used to take a lot of effort to become a "Teacher's Pet."
Apples left on desks, constant volunteering to read aloud, maybe even skipping recess to talk about the news.
I know all about what it means to be a textbook brown-noser; I was one in elementary school.
But somehow all it takes to be considered a groan-inducing suck-up at Central Michigan University is raising one's hand. Not at every question, not every class, just once in a while.
In my five years here, the pressure to keep quiet and let class move along quickly has been a constant source of frustration and intimidation in nearly all of my classes. In some sections, such as writing workshops, talking is necessary, but for the most part, it seems professors have learned to add "Any questions?" to the end of their lectures as nothing more than a rhetorical exercise.
We have no questions. We want the information we need to pass this class, and then we want to leave.
The silence is contagious. I know I'm not the only student who looks guiltily at professors and keeps quiet when they attempt to prompt comments, even when I have plenty to say.
Why would I want to be "that guy?" If I answer one question, then the instructor will know they can return to me. All of a sudden, I'm speaking for two, three, maybe five minutes in a two-hour class. What will people think of me then?
The lack of active participation in our wildly expensive educations is another indication of the apathy and learned helplessness of millennial Americans. We assume education is a one-way street in the same way we assume the economy and politics are merely things that happen to us rather than systems we participate in and have the power to change through interaction.
If we're uninterested in wringing out the best education possible out of the classes we elect to take and pay thousands of dollars for, what sort of citizens are we going to make? What sort of voters, parents, employees and neighbors?
It is a silent majority of bored, lazy students who keep their eager peers from raising their hands because no one wants to be embarrassed by their interest in a class.
In a culture obsessed with finding employment, of any kind, college has somehow become understood to be little more than a series of checkpoints passed with a piece of paper rewarded at the end.
In reality, the real perks of attending a university are the thought-provoking conversations and relationships built between student and faculty. It's hard to ask someone for a letter of recommendation when they've never even heard your voice.
Speaking up isn't intellectual masturbation, it's a crucial aspect of both learning and establishing a career.
So this is a plea for participation, no matter how awkward, or embarrassing. Please start asking questions in class, you will find yourself amazed by the forest of raised arms that emerge when someone steps up to create the fertile soil of conversation.
Or maybe you won't be; judgmental silence has a way of keeping everyone quiet.
