Thursday, October 11, 2007

Participation

For some reason, the reading in almost all of my classes practically doubled this week. I finally felt like I had to be a student after coasting through the first month and a half. It was a good thing I buckled down though, because I was called on in two of my classes. Then I volunteered to speak in my other two classes. A clean sweep of participation; this was a big step for me.

Last year I hardly spoke in any of my classes. I would participate in my small writing class and when our section was split in half, but I rarely talked in any of my big 90-person classes. I didn't need to. None of my professors did the "pure" socratic method. Unlike my roommate, I some professors who admitted that they were scared of speaking when they were in law school, and in turn, would not impose that anxiety on their own students.

Knowing my stuff when the professors asked questions was an exhilarating feeling, and I know I should participate more because it keeps me engaged in the class. I guess I just have to get over my fear of being wrong and more significantly, fear of slowing down the class. I am easily annoyed by the people who love the sound of their own voice in class and make us fall behind. I guess there is a middle ground between never talking and being "that guy."

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