The Quiet Kids
I was one of the quiet kids. I worked hard, never caused a problem, and sat quietly in the classroom. I was what everyone calls “shy” when they encounter a child who is not talkative or outgoing. I remember being worried that if I raised my hand to answer a question, I might be wrong. To be wrong in front of my classmates would be mortifying because I was the girl with the good grades. If I got something wrong, I thought I was sure to be ridiculed. My teachers liked me because I was cooperative and worked hard to be successful, but they never pushed me out of my comfort zone and they never really connected to me as a person. This isn’t to say that I didn’t have wonderful and caring teachers. I have great memories of my teachers. Looking back, I just think they missed the real me behind the shy girl on the outside.
As a teacher, I often worry that I am either allowing the quiet students to stay quiet or I am not working hard enough to break them out of their shell. The awkward, introverted side of me remembers being terrified about being put on the spot in front of the class. I don’t want my students to feel that way. That’s why I often have students discuss with a partner or in a small group first before calling on them. I wonder though if I am keeping them from building the confidence to speak up and shine in a way that they might not have thought they were capable of. The other part of me who wished that someone would have taken time to actually notice me is constantly checking in on students. I circulate around the room throughout the period asking the students if they need any help or how they are progressing on a problem. Again, I wonder if I am actually getting the feedback that I am looking for or are they just being agreeable and complacent because that’s what good, quiet students do.
Even though I am aware of the quiet kids, I still wonder if I do enough for them. I wonder if they know how much I care about them. I wonder if they know how much I relate to them. As a teacher, you would never know I was an introverted student. I work hard to be outgoing to show my excitement about what I am teaching and to help make my lesson engaging for my students. It is exhausting, but worth it. So as I reflect on the school year, my goal is to continue to work on connecting to the quiet students, the students who don’t necessarily fit in, and the students who are often just missed.
Today, I started developing a new reflection sheet that might give the quiet students a chance to tell me how they are doing and feeling in my class. I used a Google form for reflections a lot during virtual learning. I think the paper version will give me an opportunity to chat with students as I collect the reflections.
Hopefully, I will come up with some great ideas for helping the quiet kids to shine.
