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David Fairhurst's avatar

Regarding having every student speak in every seminar: I was a painfully shy kid who never spoke in class unless absolutely necessary, but I had a professor once who did something clever that made it easier for me. After everyone else in class, except for me and one other shy kid, had spoken at least once, the professor would pose a question about the topic at hand, but he would address it to both of us at the same time. That way, the pressure and glare of the spotlight was divided between two people rather than focused entirely on one, making us feel that we were in this together, like teammates, and making it easier for both of us to speak. I’ve never seen another teacher use this technique, but it worked.

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Brian's avatar

I've been teaching undergrads and grads for thirty years, and I found these tips and reflections very valuable.

The only thing I'd add is that I find it useful to have a few thoughts--I think of them as mantras--in my head before I enter the classroom, so that I can be prepared for problems that I might not handle well if I haven't prepared for them.

For example, I tend to get easily irritated by rudeness on the part of students, and my hope is always to react calmly and thoughtfully, rather than letting my irritation show. So before class I like to remind myself that I might be confronted by some unexpected act of bad behavior, and that I should respond in a deliberate, relaxed, and kind way. (Over the years I've boiled this mantra down to: "Channel Mr. Rogers.")

Thank you, Paul Bloom, for this substack, which is immensely stimulating, and also a lot of fun.

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