John Volkert

Contributing writer

Raising questions in class has become a lost art in schools these days.  As each year moves on, less and less students volunteer their opinions and answers to the rest of the class. 

This occurs in both lecture and interactive class settings.  The 21st century has brought in a bunch of pathetic, lazy and subconscious students that do not care about classroom participation. 

I can say I am one of the students feels that it is not a necessity to talk in class.  In college now, the student is the one paying for an education.  For a teacher to make participation more than 20 percent of the overall grade is outlandish. 

College is an important part of one’s life and if there are times where someone doesn’t feel like going to class, they should not be forced to go due to participation classes. 

There are multiple ways for humans to learn new information.  Not every student needs to attend a lecture to pass a class.  Not every student needs to participate in class to learn information and perform well in the class. 

Teachers have gotten out of hand when it comes to expectations of students talking in class. 

We are in the age of media and new technology and teachers are still stuck in the Stone Age.  When teachers get down or start rants about how students never speak up in class, do they really expect students to want to talk after hearing that?

Participation should come naturally in class and only that way can it truly benefit a student. 

Not everyone is comfortable with speaking up in class.  These students should not be penalized for their inability to participate in class but should instead be praised for the other gifts and strengths that they can bring to the table.