Things teachers say VS what students hear
Let’s be honest - conversing with teachers is like a spy decoding messages to save the world. If there is any place where miscommunication thrives without trying, then it has to be a classroom. For every “let’s take attendance”, there’s a group of students mentally preparing themselves for the storm for coming late. Teachers speak a language of logic (at least what they believe), while students are enveloped with the thoughts of stress, hunger, distractions and “when will the period end?”
This results in humorous miscommunication of “What teachers say VS what students hear.”
Let’s dive into the daily contrast between teachers’ intentions and students’ interpretations:
→ When teachers say: “This will come for exam”
TEACHER’S INTENTION: Let’s become a helping hand to the students. You’ll thank me later.
STUDENT’S INTERPRETATION: “This whole topic will determine my entire grade or marks, my future. Better to highlight the whole textbook.”
→ When teachers say: “Any doubts?”
TEACHER’S INTENTION: Let’s make sure that everyone has understood the concept.
STUDENT’S INTERPRETATION: “If I raise my hand, I’ll either look dumb or volunteered to waste the period. Better to take my confusion in silence.”
→ When teachers say: “It’s not about the marks.”
TEACHER’S INTENTION: “Everyone learns from their mistakes, this is for their development.”
STUDENT’S INTERPRETATION: “So this is about the marks, it feels like I have entered a volcano.”
→ When teachers say: “You need to work in groups.”
TEACHER’S INTENTION: “Make new friends, share ideas and help each other.”
STUDENT’S INTERPRETATION: “Time to do all the 90% of the work.”
It’s not that students aren’t listening and it’s not that teachers are boring and/or cruel (well sometimes they are). It’s just we all are playing a very hard mental game. Teachers try to motivate the students to complete their work, manage time, and try to complete the syllabus on time. Whereas, students are trying to survive school hours, daydream about lunch or sleep on P.E.T.
When the teachers clarify their intentions and students muster the courage to speak up, then the classroom can become from interpreting morse code to a real conversation.
Classroom can sometimes be boring, serious, funny or noisy (well most of the time). But this is what makes our school life more memorable. Even after all the mishaps students create, every teacher continues to always support and care for their students.
