Voices in the Classroom

Sadia couldn’t understand why her teacher would not ask her to read during the library session at school. She was a confident reader and had read most of the books, that her classmates were struggling to come to terms with.

Asha knew her role well. She was the most loved home room teacher at the school, by some miles. But principal’s pet? Not quite. Overlooked twice for the Coordinator’s role and with a stagnant salary over the past couple of years, Asha isn’t the same confident person, she was a year earlier.

We have read the proverb; empty barrel makes lot of noise. But all noise cannot be evil. The noise of an incoming train or that applause is all appreciable. For a teacher should be able to embrace both noise and silence.

However, there are times, we are unable to articulate our feelings. Our emotions don’t find the right words and thus our hopes fade away. In the case of both, Sadia, the student and Asha, the teacher, they were unable to distinguish their own voices from the noise around. They could not convey their point of view.

According to the best seller Originals, the author Adam Smith puts up our choices in a quadrant.

The four aspects of the quadrant are
-voice
-exit
-persistence
-neglect

The book conveys very valid perspective, one that can transform our education system and also our relationships. Given any choices, one can incline towards either of the four perspectives.

Be it unhappiness at job or a failing marriage or teaching at school, depending on our attitudes, we would be one of the four from the quadrant.

Voice

These are the most vocal and positive of the lot. Take the case of Martin Luther King Jr. This black right activist refused to bow to the harsh doctrine of race segregation.

He voiced his opinions, time and again. His words, “I have a dream,” linger in our minds and speeches. His was a true voice.

A true voice knows the value of her words and when to use them.

Neglect

Often, we tend to accept the situation as it is, as in the earlier case of Asha. She choose to bow her head down and accept the given circumstances. As a teacher, one needs to be more diligent than remain a passive passenger.

Most of us, choose the ‘neglect’ over ‘voice’ for the fear of losing. Losing our jobs or breaking away from a relationship or continuing to struggle. Our fear are compounded by the dreaded silence we have chosen to accept.

Persistence

Murmurs, whispers or denial may be the option preferred by this group. They are several who chose not be an activist but would not miss the opportunity to express themselves while in groups or through messages and occasional emails.

The persistent groups are those who stick to the system and hope to make small inroads. A large number of our current education institutions fall in this category.

They follow the board mandate but sneak in a creative assessment here and there. They embrace the rigor of rote learning along with a whole range of ideas and analytical tools. This group needs a more stable platform to express themselves. They don’t want to disrupt the system but hope for a natural change.

Exit

The crowd that decides it’s enough. Either they lack the will to fight or lose the hope for change.

In marriages, they file for divorce without an attempt for reconciliation or email the resignation letter, hoping to start fresh and not debate their rights.

In summary, we do hope to take a leaf out of the quadrant into our classrooms. Our students need to be taught assertive ways to voice their opinions. School head would need to heed to opinions, even those contrary to their own.

Voices need to be protected and provided safe spaces. Unfortunately in social media, we find students enjoy the comfort of anonymity to express their voice. This is not only unhealthy, it can be avoided. This healthy exercise begins in our schools and specifically in our classrooms.

Remember, ‘Be a Voice, not an echo.’

The author: Dr. Dawood Vaid