Coping With Silence
... way out. It does not challenge me to grow, to improve a bad habit. During my current and third term, for my Career Development class, I was given an assignment. I am to write on the benefits of silence, how silence is used, how I can learn to deal with the silence in a classroom setting, something along those lines. I think it took great courage for this teacher to approach me and tell me that I talked too much. Of course, that sounds ruder than it actually was, but that’s the general gist of it. He explained to me that as a student who wishes to become a teacher, I’m going to have to learn how to elicit answers out of students and wait for the silence to be filled by them. That was a very valid point. The question is how do I learn to shut up? I went online and researched. At first I could find nothing except that psychologists use silence to “facilitate reflection, encourage responsibility, facilitate expression of feelings, not interrupt session flow, and convey empathy.” (Hill CE, et al.) Well, that can be applied to a classroom setting as well. If I supply the answers, and fill the silence, rather than relax and be patient and let the silence continue, the students will not get the fullest understanding of the course material. The knowledge becomes more concrete in their minds if they discover the answers themselves versus the information being just handed to them. Another thing I learned is that business developers, a.k.a. rainmakers, need to learn how not to talk so much. The article by Mike Schultz and John Doerr, sponsored by Wellesley Hills Group, suggests that we need to first find out why we talk so much. If we can discover why we talk so much, then we can create a more personalized way of cutting down on the vocal noise. I had some difficulty in deciding when it was exactly that this problem started for me. It didn’t become obvious to me until school, but as I look back, I realize I have always talked a lot. I do this because I’m nervous. I don’t want to think of all the “what-ifs’ that this life and every social situation pose. And to keep from doing this, I talk. I fill that silence. The silence allows my mind to drift away and start imagining all sorts of negative thoughts, and starts a chain reaction. If I talk, if I actively participate as much as possible in whatever discussion is going on, my thoughts do not stray. I have now discovered why I talk needlessly. The next step would be to create ways to keep my mouth shut during the silent moments in class, as either a student or a teacher. I’m a pretty patient person by nature for thin...