Running Head: STUDENT-BASED DISCUSSIONS 1

Student-Based Discussions: The New Norm

Janaye A. Davis

California State University Dominguez Hills

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Student-Based Discussions: The New Norm

When one person informs another about an idea that he/she is privy to, this is teaching. A

few hundred years ago when formal teaching came about, educating the young in a classroom

setting, the notion was that the instructors knew all the knowledge in the world and the students

knew nothing. Students were merely little, helpless newborn birds who could not feed

themselves, with knowledge that is; and the teacher, or mama bird, fed them until they could

fend for themselves. This is not the case anymore. Educators do still hold a substantial amount of

knowledge of their subjects, but recent studies have shown that students are capable of teaching

each other. There will always be a handful of students in each classroom who do not feel

comfortable sharing their thoughts with the teacher, for whatever reason. The modest students

may not want to feel embarrassed when they ask a certain question or maybe they feel too

inferior to speak aloud. Most think educators are superior to students. They stand and lecture on

a topic whilst their subordinates sit, listen, and take in all the information. However, student-

based discussions could change the entire atmosphere of the classroom. Students discussing

specific subjects under the instructor’s mediation allows for a more comfortable and natural flow

of ideas. Incorporating more student-based discussions in the curriculum will benefit the students

and instructors in multiple ways.

Teachers far too often silence their students when it comes down to controversial

conversations. In the article, “ ‘I Don’t Want to Hear That!’: Legitimating Whiteness Through

Silence in Schools” (Castagno 2008) the writers quoted Dr. King, “He who passively accepts evil

is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetuate it.” These words illuminate Castagno’s

argument that silence in schools does not help the students. Educators are there to help the

students, develop their minds, but telling them to not speak of certain matters only does the
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opposite. Castagno (2008) brings up the topic of race. She says, “Race is… an important area of

inquiry for school-age youth, particularly in middle school, where identities are being formed

and contested” (314). So naturally, questions of a classmate’s nationality will come up out of

curiosity.

An excerpt I would like to point out is when Castagno speaks of how it is rude to ask

another what his/her race is: A conversation becomes ambiguous when a student asks a parent

her nationality:

After [a parent] introduced herself in the [foreign] language, … a student… asked what

translated into “What is your color?” and the woman answered “Black” because she

assumed he actually meant “What is your favorite color?” The student was not satisfied

with this answer so he asked the same question again and when the woman gave the same

answer, he said in English, “You’re Black?” The mother then said in English, “Oh,

you’re asking me my nationality? . . . You don’t ask that. . . It is not appropriate.” The

student asked why it was not appropriate and the mother gave a nervous giggle, looked at

the teacher, and simply said again that it wasn’t appropriate. (325)

When the teacher was made aware of the situation, she became furious. She scolded the students

about asking a person their race in public, but failed to tell them why people get offended by the

question. In my opinion, some do not find it appropriate because then others can categorize

another by where they fit on the White scale. I say “White scale” because people compare others

to how white a person is. I use the terms “white” and “Caucasian” interchangeably in this sense.

The Caucasian nationality is at the top if the food chain, and every other ethnic group under the

sun is below them. Some people are ashamed about their race, so in turn they become

embarrassed to tell others what race they are. I can compare this altercation with the teacher to a
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parent and child. When a child does something the parent believes is wrong and does not tell the

child why it is wrong, the child will be bound to make the same mistake again. It is paramount

that educators explain students’ mishaps to them. However, when a conversation like this arises,

the teacher is much better off at having the students do a whole-group discussion. The teacher

does not have to explain anything, since he/she may be uncomfortable speaking about it, but if

the students are open to discuss the matter, critical thinking comes into play. With the adult

acting as an overseer, the students get a chance at doing most of the thinking and asking the

open-ended questions to their peers. They could bring up anecdotes about the topic of race and

be asked if they have ever felt uncomfortable about being asked their ethnicity by a stranger.

Student-based discussions would also benefit the teacher by getting a closer look at their

personal lives. Students are more likely to share a story or idea to their fellow classmate opposed

to their instructor. Nine times out of ten, the more effective teacher is the one who knows his/her

students. By knowing the students better, the teacher can connect to them on a wider basis which

in turn helps the students by receiving better activities for their curriculum.

Furthermore, when educators control the conversation, they limit the feedback from the

students. Teachers can still be able to learn from their students because according to Laura

Rychly and Emily Graves, “[B]ecoming knowledgeable about differences between [cultures] is

an endless endeavor that lends itself to continuous learning” (Rychly 49).

Whole-group discussion is beneficial to several groups of people. The students are able to

get more creative with conversation, the teachers get a better look at their students lives’, thus

having a better chance to connect to the students, and the students would feel better in the school

environment because they no longer feel silenced by the adults who are meant to help them.

Student-based discussions were not introduced to me until high school. My twelfth-grade

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AP Literature teacher, Mrs. Gastelum, used socratic seminars on a daily basis. We would come

to class having read the previous night’s reading selection, get into groups of five to six people,

speak about the most important parts of the novel, then go to whole-group discussion for the

remaining half of the period. Mrs. Gastelum would interject to ask hypothetical questions to help

us strengthen our arguments, or she would jump in when students started rudely, talking over

each other. Our class would get intense, but I see that as a positive outcome because we were

engaged, and the shy onlookers were actively listening since everyone wanted to know which

group’s argument was inadequate. Mrs. Gastelum only added her input when not one soul in the

class understood the given section. It was the best experience because we could share our ideas

and build off of each other’s thoughts without having to pick up a pencil. Writing down ideas

limits the thinking process because the barrier is not being able to get ideas out of your mind fast

enough, and you lose some. However, with group discussion, when you say your idea aloud, four

to five other people has heard it and are thinking of ways to either improve your notion or

disprove your notion.

The bonds I made with other students in AP Literature were stronger than anyone from

any other class because we learned more about each other besides the basic, “What’s your

favorite hobby and why?” activity. We shared anecdotes and our perspectives on countless

topics. By the end of the year, we were all so comfortable with each other that it felt like a

family; that class was our safe-zone. When Mrs. Gastelum did have to teach us new material in a

traditional setting, the previous shy students could now raise their hands and ask clarification

questions without feeling judged by the rest of us.

So student-based discussions helped modest learners come out of their shells; it helped

my teacher get to know us better, and in turn help her ask better questions relevant to our lives; it
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helped the rest of the class feel safe and content when conversing; and most of all, it made every

one of us engaged in the curricula and critically think about the material. If student-based

discussions were introduced at an elementary age, the students would be even more analytical in

group discussions further down their educational career because they have been participating in

them longer. The whole point of innovative methods of teaching is so the children will have a

better way of learning. Student-based discussion is the better way of learning.

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Work Cited

Castagno, A. E. (2008) “I Don’t Want to Hear That!”: Legitimating Whiteness

through Silence in Schools. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 39(3), 314–333.