The more you teach the more you end up wondering - which student in your class were you when you were "their age"? The Joker? The Wallflower? The Quiet Know-It All? The Talkative Know-It-All? The Slacker?
I think I found a version of myself in one of my classes this year. I've worked with this student in the past, and watching her over the last several quarters I see versions of myself in her section performance. She's smart, confident, well-read, and speaks in class frequently. I can tell there are several things she knows more about on this subject than myself - something she knows, too. She's one of the few students who has 1) genuinely stumped me and 2) asks really deep probing questions. In addition to the wonderful qualities I see in her, I find a need to reign her in. And although I think she is more restrained than I was at her age, my interactions with her in section remind me of myself in her position.
I know I talk too much in my own seminars (that I take, not teach). I've felt the reigning in that profs have tried to do with me, and looking back, I'm sort of astonished with the forceful way in which I generally verbally fought back. I completely dominated discussions, and got away with it because I was pretty much always prepared (ok, there were a *few* books I hadn't read for class but talked about anyway) and I have a knack with talking and public speaking. I wanted to be impressive by my profs. I wanted them to notice and remember me. And for the most part, they did. But it also makes me think: did I drive them crazy? Probably. Was I the student in class that stood out, not for insightful comments of solid preparation, but for sheer talkativeness? I've found that generally, at least in my classes, talkativeness in class does go hand in hand with preparation for class and some thinking on the material - but I guess what I'm asking is whether I just came across as a bully? I had and made friends in my classes, so I'm not figuring that everyone hated me or anything like that... but the more I teach the more I wonder about what kind of student I am. I know my strengths and weaknesses as a student; I talk and I talk too much. Am I now at the point where I need to go about changing them?*
*this is more rhetorical than looking for direct input, however if I've managed to be a total bey-otch in class and no one ever bothered to tell me, you can go ahead and let me know in the comments.
you know, nearly every time I went to a prof's office hours they would tell me that they were so happy to have someone voluntarily speak--someone who had actually read and had something valuable to say. Nearly everyone else just sits there like a bump on a log, often times because they haven't done shit to prepare. The unfortunate part about grad school is that we've all similarly BEEN that student, so when you put us all together in one class it spells trouble...
ReplyDeleteYou do not talk too much in class. That is all.
ReplyDelete*seconds KFR's statement, heartily*
ReplyDelete