The Battle With and For Silence: A Response to Interrogating Students' Silences by Katherine Schultz

As an English teacher, I am in constant battle with the idea of silence. Silence is necessary for thinking and listening, for writing and remembering. Silence is the foundation for creativity and critical thinking. I have adopted a strict volunteers only policy when instructions, objectives, or other materials need to be read aloud. This practice, although solidly backed by evidence to support students’ literacy skills, has resulted in a lot of “listeners” and the same few volunteers. Students are expected to contribute to discussions regularly; yet these discussions inherently favor more outspoken students. What then, is the actual role of silence in the classroom? Theoretically, silence provides the space for students to learn and listen. In practice, silence provides the space for students to determine social hierarchies and contribute to societal norms.

Our society favors the extrovert, rewarding him or her with more praise and oftentimes income. Welcome to school. The extrovert makes others laugh, makes others listen, and speaks more frequently. Thus, silence favors the extrovert. The battle I face against silence is twofold: it’s there when I don’t need it and it’s never there when I need it most. The incessant conversations that prevail when activities require silence, such as independent reading and testing, create anxiety for those students who do not struggle with silence and for myself, attempting to select the redirection strategy that will work best for the particular student and disruption. I have about a 50/50 success rate. Conversely, the pervasive lack of conversation that stagnates when students are instructed to discuss difficult and complex ideas in small groups is maddening. The very students who will not stop talking and interrupting others in some contexts will literally sit in silence waiting for the timer to go off when they’re supposed to be talking with each other.

This behavior seems so artfully contrary. I know it’s not that simple, however. Students will talk about what they want and with whom they want. How can I use this notion to stabilize the silence and discussion in my classroom? How can I actually make conversations about who said what to whom and laughing and internet memes related to the lesson planned for the day? English is the best subject to infuse current events and other social issues into the curriculum; but I cannot deny the rules by which govern our society. The extrovert is largely rewarded in social status and by other means later in life - or in the words of Susan Cain, author of Quiet, the “Extrovert Ideal” is “the omnipresent belief that the ideal self is gregarious, alpha and comfortable in the spotlight.” That doesn’t always mean the extrovert will be more “successful” (another painfully subjective term) than the introvert, but he or she will likely be perceived as such. It is important to note that introversion is not synonymous with shyness, but again, it will continue to be perceived as such.