It’s Okay to Not Have an Opinion
Image courtesy of Milton Academy Flickr
By KATHRYN FERNANDOPULLE ‘21
When I asked my mom what I should write my article on, she gave me the usual “drugs are bad” and “homework is good” ideas. After, as a joke, she said, “write about how it’s okay to not have an opinion.” I shrugged it off as her usual humor; however, after thinking about it more, I realized she was right. Though it was definitely not her intent, my mom perfectly articulated something I had noticed at our school. At a prestigious institution like Milton Academy, students are trained to speak their minds at all times and on all issues. This tendency occurs in every class we take—especially discussion-based ones. Throughout my years at Milton, I’ve noticed that students sometimes talk simply to hear themselves. Their redundant contributions often have little positive impact on the discussion at hand. So, why talk? Why say something for the sake of saying it? Talking is what we are trained to do and what we think is necessary.
Participation is a well-intended policy at Milton: most teachers force students to participate as part of their grade. Expressing ideas in class can be a clear indicator of comprehension. However, over-frequent reminders of graded class participation can wrongly encourage students to talk at any chance they get. The number of times when one student makes a point and another student proceeds to make practically the same point is astounding.
This year I am taking Reading Consciousness as my junior English class. My teachers, Ms. DeBuhr and Dr. Braithwaite, have us participate in graded discussions every few weeks. They sit back and observe while the students lead all of the talking. Before the discussion starts, they give each student five poker chips; everytime you talk, you have to put one of your chips in the middle of the table. When you run out of chips, you have to simply listen to the discussion without contributing. This method successfully forces students to really think about what they are going to say before they actually say it out loud. The depth of the discussion truly changes with the poker chips.
It all comes down to the famous saying: “quality over quantity.” Students get blinded by the phrase “graded class participation,” and they start to create and share redundant opinions. I think that class participation should be based on the quality of the participation, not on the quantity. Whether consciously or unconsciously, Milton Academy teaches us to participate as much as possible in order to get a good grade, but that system of teaching is not necessarily the most effective if the goal is a truly meaningful discussion. However, it’s not all on the institution. I can say pretty confidently that every student at Milton Academy wants to get good grades. In an environment of such high achievers, participation is one way to stand out. However, saying nothing and simply listening is more productive than raising your hand to say something redundant.