(Untitled)

[tayefeth]

A friend posted some thoughts about the ways in which we're taught to question authority (or not), another acquaintance posted about someone claiming to challenge the status quo by repeating (generally nasty) comments that have been made by other people since the dawn of time, and I was thinking about classroom management. All of which brings me to

Comments

Re: I'll use the new icon, since it seems to be part of the equation.

[tayefeth]

I agree, although I'm not sure I understand the distinction between the politeness you're advocating above and the appropriateness your icon seems unhappy with.

As usual, there's background... My students are fond of asking questions. I would like to encourage this, except when they ask a question that five of their classmates have asked in the past five minutes. Part of this is normal teenaged self-centered oblivion. Part of it is a desire to derail the class discussion and avoid work/thinking. Part of it is the very natural desire to have an answer to a question as soon as that question pops into their heads. Part of it is rampant ADD and classical mechanics not being the most entrancing subject for non-mathematical 16 year olds. But part of it seems also to be the... fetishization of "question authority"/"be independent"/"don't let The Man tell you what to do" that has infested youth culture since, oh, Socrates's time. :-)

I'm all for questioning authority. I'm willing to reconsider my decisions when necessary. I don't mind giving any of the responses you've suggested when I don't have the authority to fully discuss a particular decision. I just really resent having to run through all of them in fifteen minutes because five different students are convinced that they are special snowflakes who don't have to pay a blind bit of notice to anything that isn't prefaced with an engraved invitation for their attention.

So, yeah, this would be why I didn't comment on your icon directly. It's not really about your icon, after all. You're reasonably sane and not spoiled about questioning everything. I just wish everyone else was.

Re: I'll use the new icon, since it seems to be part of the equation.

[callunav]

When I think back to being that age, I don't remember a great deal of "don't let the man get you down." I remember being intense about everything, including confusion and resistance to assignments I didn't like, I remember being swayed by kids I found impressive (which included my older brother), and I remember (or, I can perceive in retrospect) not being very good at identifying the real issues in a conflict and consistently naming things wrong. For instance, a teacher who made me uncomfortable might be someone I thought was no good at controlling the classroom. That was a reason for distancing myself that I could understand, but not actually very much related to the real problem.

The difference between what you describe and the "appropriately" in my icon is that the "appropriately" in my icon is the kind of "appropriately" which is used as a code for shutting people up. It's sort of like "compliant" in the medical setting.

Your situation does sound teeth-grindingly frustrating. Not so much as advice as just musing on it in type: I think that if I were in that situation, I would try one of two things. Either make a sign - a lovely, glossy sign - which states, "Questions about ___, ____, or ____ may be asked on class time. Questions about ___ or ___ should be kept for after school." And then I'd make any special snowflake who thought this didn't apply to him/her to read it out loud to me in lieu of answering the question. Or else I'd develop one line which I consistently said exactly the same way every time: "That's an interesting question, but I can't take up class time to discuss it now. If you want to write it up in your own time and give it to me outside of class time, I will be happy to reply." Or something. I find that stolid repetition takes the wind out of a lot of cocky acting up.

I'm sure you'll find your own solution which allows you both to encourage children to think independently and critically and not to be brats. And, in fact, when you do, I hope you'll post about it.

Re: I'll use the new icon, since it seems to be part of the equation.

[tayefeth]

The difference between what you describe and the "appropriately" in my icon is that the "appropriately" in my icon is the kind of "appropriately" which is used as a code for shutting people up. It's sort of like "compliant" in the medical setting.

Another case of people using a word to the point of obscuring its original meaning, I suppose. Kind of similar to how "politically correct" managed to morph from "what TPTB want to hear" into "what TPTB don't want to hear".

And, in fact, when you do, I hope you'll post about it.

If I do, I'll try to remember to post about it!:-)