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A story about struggling to transition to university after moving from a small town and being too afraid to ask questions to professors. <\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"50288aad-92ab-4967-8ce7-db218cd6919a"},"title":"Professors Can't Read Your Mind by Anna Scott"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

In my undergraduate career, I struggled in many ways. I went from attending a small, rural, private school from K-12 where I was always top of my class, to a large, public university in a more urban setting where I turned out to quickly NOT be top of my class. Where lots of my classmates came from larger cities and recognizable high schools in the area or out of state, I came from a town that no one had ever heard of, and brought my \u201credneck\u201d accent with me.<\/p>\n\n

A lot went wrong in my undergrad days. I quickly got on a terrible sleep schedule, wasn\u2019t exercising, and took up drinking and smoking cigarettes like it was my job. I wasn\u2019t terribly healthy and would get bad sinus infections and would have to sleep them off when they would happen, making me miss even more classes than I already was. My grades were terrible, I was lost in class, and didn\u2019t feel good enough to make friends because I felt so dumb. Now, ten years out of undergrad, I understand a lot better why I was missing class. I was missing because I hated being there.<\/p>\n\n

I hated class because I was pretty consistently confused and absolutely riddled with anxiety about speaking up. I would frequently show up to class excited to learn, lose the professor a few minutes in because I didn\u2019t know the meaning of some word---be too scared to ask them to explain it---and then zone out for the rest of class. I would tell myself that I would ask them after class or go to office hours, reread everything to understand (which I didn\u2019t feel I had enough time to read all of my readings as it was, because it felt like so SO much in my liberal arts degree--another wicked problem for another day). Reading became way too much so I felt even more ashamed that I hadn\u2019t read every word and felt even less entitled to asking questions. I was terrified to speak up in class to ask the professor to define a term, slow down, explain something again, or just ask anything out of curiosity. I spent so little time talking to professors that I got scared to even go to their office hours. I didn\u2019t want to sound like a dumb \u201credneck,\u201d or just sound dumb because I wasn\u2019t already an expert on the topic. I was so afraid my classmates would think I was dumb, or even too studious. I didn\u2019t want to disrespect the professor by wasting their time on something I \u201cshould have known already.\u201d If I did have to ask a question or speak in class I would nearly have an anxiety attack because I became so used to not speaking in class, so I would do anything in my power to avoid it. I would skip class to avoid that terrible feeling, and then skip class to avoid the professor snapping at me for missing class.<\/p>\n\n

Now, ten years later and excelling in graduate school, I know that if I have a question---at least ten other students do, too. Usually, if I need a professor to slow down, others do, too. I was accepted into the school just like everyone else was. If I have a question, it is valid. After teaching now for many years myself, I know that teachers LOVE questions. If you shouldn\u2019t know the answer and don\u2019t, they know you\u2019re getting the material enough to formulate that question-- that\u2019s good news for them. If you have a question that you should already know the answer to---- the teacher probably hasn\u2019t done their job--- they want to know to clear it up! Having a room full of students not asking questions is no *good* teacher\u2019s wish. And even if professors are also researchers and \u201cexperts,\u201d they also have the job of teaching you! If they\u2019re a bad teacher that doesn\u2019t have time to actually teach, or relies on shame tactics in the classroom, who cares what they think of you! Everyone is better off when they are brave enough to ask questions.<\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"2bc3a2fa-c9bb-4499-bc4b-d55945b0fcbf"},"title":"The Wicked Problem"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

Somewhere between undergraduate and graduate school I decided that if I was objectively dumb, it was my employer\u2019s fault for hiring me, or my university\u2019s fault for accepting me. But they did! So now they have the job of employing me\/teaching me!! That is true for you, too.<\/p>\n\n

For me, taking courses at a community college was a turning point, and something that I recommend if you\u2019re ever really struggling with feelings of inadequacy. Though this isn\u2019t realistic for everyone, I got a few important things from that experience. There, I knew that I was just as educated (usually more) than everyone in my class. I was a new face, and could kind of reinvent myself. I decided to be very proactive and get to know my professors early on. I would find a question to ask the professor and email them before the semester started. This would give me an opportunity to show them that I was invested (I had already read the class website or syllabus and had questions), and give me an opportunity to introduce myself. Then, when I showed up in class, I could feel like I was talking to someone I already knew, so it terrified me less, and made the professor more likely to engage with me in a positive way.<\/p>\n\n

Emailing the professor early on made me feel more entitled to ask questions and speak up in class to answer, because I knew I had started out on a very proactive foot. I was more likely to pay attention in class when I was more likely to speak in class. I was more likely to ask questions, because I felt like I was entitled to. When I was able to get questions answered, I was more likely to be able to follow the lecture to the end, so I was more able to focus. After just a few weeks of talking in class, it got easier. Practicing this in a smaller class made it easier for me to ask questions in my larger university. The worst that can happen is the professor act like my question was dumb. I know now that professors that discourage questions are the dumb ones. Not me. No one knows everything! You wouldn\u2019t be in the class if you already knew all the subject matter. You are SMART because you ask questions! NOT the opposite!!! If you can\u2019t ask a question for yourself, ask it for the kid who is even more scared than you to speak up! They deserve to know!<\/p>\n\n

Professors: Encourage your students to ask questions! *Especially* in online classes, PLEASE GIVE TIME FOR QUESTIONS! Trust the law of nature that someone is lost at all times! And pause an awkwardly long amount of time to allow students time to think of and get the balls to ask their questions! Many students have been discouraged from this, and on Zoom it\u2019s even harder. Encouraging students to ask questions, and thanking them for their questions after goes a long way toward ending silence and decreasing anxiety around being perfect before deserving to speak.<\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"f09f887b-0dc3-4dc7-9f4e-6ea16eaf1319"},"title":"Finding a Solution"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

Ask questions!!!!! If you have question anxiety, start by emailing your professor a question before the semester starts and using it as an opportunity to \u201cget the upper hand,\u201d introduce yourself on your own terms, and get comfortable communicating with them. Believe that you are a person that is proactive, stays informed, and is entitled to understanding things that they are confused about! The reason you are paying to go to school is to learn; good professors understand this. The only dumb question is the one unasked, and people who shame question-askers are the problems, not you!<\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"f445ebf8-ca0c-4c7c-aa3f-9f064776b26d"},"title":"Final Thoughts"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

Scott, A. (2021, October 6). Professors Can't Read Your Mind<\/em>. Liberated Learners. https:\/\/wicked.liberatedlearner.ca\/collaborator\/professors-cant-read-your-mind\/<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","subContentId":"7c0f8c57-6429-482d-87a3-761b75fc6615","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"}},"title":"APA Reference"}],"hTag":"h2"}

Professors Can't Read Your Mind

Liam Peart