So You Think I Don't Want To Participate.

A Students Look at Participation Grades and Distance Learning

By Jaqueline Olivares Diaz

Anxiety. It’s something that everyone deals with, whether that be before a test, before an interview, or when applying to schools. However, anxiety disorders or severe anxiety is something a little more extreme. You shake when you have to speak and your brain is constantly thinking that you are wrong or that everyone is judging you. Although speaking out loud is a very important skill to have especially when it comes to jobs and school, it can be a lot harder to do with anxiety.

In school, most teachers encourage or even force their students to speak in class. We can understand that it can be frustrating when your students aren’t speaking in class and you are forced to have a discussion with yourself for the whole class. This is why many students with anxiety suggest a way of easing into speaking in class. Some teachers just force their students to unmute their mic, but that isn’t exactly an effective way to get them to speak in class. Jacquelin Recano from Eisenhower Highschool has said, “I feel teachers, especially now force students to talk and use our grades as a threat… It absolutely sucks because anxiety gets to me and I’m sure other students and it makes my brain go blank and I just worry about my speaking instead of the actual assignment.” Other more effective ways are the following: giving a poll or questionnaire to your class about anxiety and other learning hindrances to know which students need just a little more help, giving credit or assurance even when a student is wrong, using the chat more often until the student is more comfortable speaking, and having the students know the questions you want them to answer in class so that way they can rehearse. Jacquelin Recano from Eisenhower Highschool has said, “What helps me is when teachers consistently reassure students that they are there for them and willing to help. Also if the teachers heard how students felt and actually made a difference that will show us a lot and make us more comfortable.”

Some teachers may think, “Well they never told me they had anxiety so I never realized.” And that is 100% a valid reason, but the reason a lot of students with anxiety don’t reach out to tell teachers is because -it's rare- but sometimes it seems teachers don’t exactly care, this will make the students feel invalidated and worsen their anxiety even more. I’ve heard some teachers say that “the real world isn’t going to care if you have anxiety or not and you are going to have to speak whether you feel comfortable or not”. These types of comments can be hurtful and extremely unsettling to students with anxiety. Although this can be partially true, the way of phrasing can scare the student away. Instead of saying things like that, help the student out, ask what type of learning would help them unmute or discuss in class more, or ease in speaking, be understanding, and finally, don’t get angry at them for having anxiety.