Why You Want "Crickets" in Your Classroom

 

My classroom was always noisy. I was “the teacher” no one wanted to teach beside because they could guarantee one thing… NOISE! I loved the sound of students engaging with each other, talking out problems, and delving into the history of the past.

As my students would say, Ms. Knox’s classroom would never hear “crickets.” But perhaps sometimes it was too noisy. In recent years, I understand that I need to embrace “the crickets.”

I realize now; I provided little opportunities for silence in my classroom. Complete silence often made me nervous. A social gathering at my house would involve a TV or radio playing in the background. Even during moments alone, I would find myself turning on the TV, not to watch it, but because I was comforted by the background noise.

I’m not sure when I became so uncomfortable with silence. Maybe, I associated silence with punishment. Perhaps it was because I grew up in a large family where the noise was inevitable and apart of our family culture.

Maybe it’s a 21st-century social construct that I built during my college years, due to increasing technology. When I sent a text or an email, I constantly checked my phone for a response. I hated waiting for the reply and didn’t like delayed responses or silence. Elevators made me uncomfortable because it meant people packed together in long periods of silence. When I engaged in conversations with people, I wanted immediate responses. The awkward silence of looking at others and simply “waiting” made me uneasy.

What I begin to realize is that my social norms made “silence” an awkward in my classroom. This is unfortunate because I now understand that silence is one of the most powerful and overlooked tools educators can use in the classroom.

Students need silent spaces to consider, reflect, journal and process their thoughts before speaking. While many students are external thinkers and can answer “on the fly,” the majority of students are internal processors. I often gave students only 1 or 2 seconds of wait time when asking for a response. If within this timeframe the student didn’t answer, I assumed they didn’t know.

The silence of waiting for students to respond to my questions was filled by me answering my own question or re-phrasing the question that rarely needed rephrasing. Many times, I moved to another student to help out, because I was so uncomfortable with the awkward silence of waiting on a response.

As I have reflected and matured over the years, I realize I need to embrace the “awkward silence.” Silence means people are “reasoning.” People need time to process information, and when we give them time, their responses are often more thoughtful and substantial. Everyone can not listen, process, and express themselves at the same speed. Pauses and wait time are necessary to allow both internal and external thinkers to develop their thoughts. If you find yourself as uncomfortable with silence as I was in the classroom, I urge you to reflect on the time you allow students space and time to think in silence.

The following strategies can help you bring back “the crickets” in your classroom that will allow students a space to think.

• Require students to journal silently before giving them time to answer aloud in small or whole group discussions. Journals make students’ learning visible by providing a space for students to share thoughts, feelings, and questions. This time will allow them to sharpen their ability to examine their own ideas before making statements aloud. Students may also find that writing in silence helps them process ideas, ask questions, and deepen their understandings.
• Don’t call students names before you ask a question aloud. This shuts down other students from answering. Ask the question and give wait time for students to process before calling on students. Allow 10 seconds of wait time when you ask for a response from students. This may involve you having to count to 10 in your head to make you feel less awkward. Let the crickets chirp for at least 10 seconds, and take note of what happens.

In the last year, I’ve come to embrace “the crickets” in my life. I disconnected my cable. I no longer check my phone and email 24/7. Meditating and taking time to journal at night are my favorite silent activities. I give people time to process. I let students know I am going to give them time to think before requiring them to answer. I love sitting in silence. I realized there are insights and emotions that I can find in no other way, than within silence. I encourage you to not only embrace the silence in your classroom, but in your own lives as well.

Allow time before you speak to reflect on what others have said. Journal in silence. Take time to embrace “the crickets” for yourself. Embracing the silence will help you and your students find your most authentic and powerful voice!