Ask a Teacher: Does Participation Really Count?

Q: Does participation really count?

A: I was always shocked when a teacher would explain that participation in class discussions was going to have a large effect on my final grade. To go along with all of the awkwardness that comes with being in high school, I also had a mother who suffered from agoraphobia as a teen. I went with the “be seen and not heard” approach in high school to avoid any embarrassment that would obviously ruin my social life and love life for the rest of eternity.

This approach led to my first F when I was a junior. I went and talked to my teacher, and I tried explaining how difficult it was for me to speak up and participate in discussions and activities. He chose not to attend my pity party, and instead offered the simplest, most logical advice I have ever received: just say something. It turns out that by not saying anything or participating in discussions and activities, I was giving off the impression that I didn’t care. He said he wasn’t just looking for well-thought-out responses and correct answers, but also for effort to understand the material. That was all that I needed to understand that all I have to do is open my mouth a little to get some results.

After that, I started asking questions in class. A lot. Even if they were questions I knew the answers to, I just wanted to get used to using something that I’ve never used in class before: my voice.

I became more and more comfortable with speaking, and I eventually started offering opinions and explanations frequently, without panic attacks. Now I work hard on trying to get students who were once like me to participate without sweating profusely and having their voices crack.

I don’t put as much emphasis on class participation as my teachers did on me, because I know how hard public speaking can be for kids. I never call a kid out to answer a question if I know he/she's shy. Putting someone on the spot only compounds anxiety, and it makes a kid not want to talk at all.

One method I've discovered is what I like to call The Forewarning. If we are going over assignments or problems in class, I will walk over to a student I know has a hard time speaking to the class and I will quietly tell him or her to prepare to answer problem X when we get to it. This gives that student time to amp up and look over the problem. When I pair or group students on an activity, I like to put shy students with students I know are their friends. This puts them in a more comfortable state, which hopefully leads to more participation and effort.

After 500 words of rambling, I think it’s fitting that I answer the question; does participation really count? For me, it does not count for an actual grade. I look at participation as an indirect grade. I don’t find it fair to grade a student on whether or not they open their mouth during class.

However, I do consider participation if someone’s wavering between two grades. If students have shown improvement in participation, I will give them a grade boost because I know that they have truly made an effort.  I know that many other teachers don’t have this philosophy, so that’s why I try my best to get students more and more comfortable with their voices in a classroom, because, unfortunately, their future grades depend on it.

Mr. Katsibubas is an Elementary School teacher from Chicago. He is an expert at giving kids excuses about why he can't give hugs, and can referee a mean game of Heads Up 7 Up.

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Have you ever been downgraded for participation?