Tracy-Ann McGhie-Sinclair | Let them talk if they’re talking!

It has long been debated that our Jamaican education system has failed our children. One of the most recent complaints registered is the inability of early-childhood and primary-school teachers to effectively facilitate students’ talk in the teaching and learning process.

Several teachers grew up in an era where the English proverb, ‘Children should be seen and not heard’, was frequently voiced and had taken root. While many would want our children to remain slaves to this antediluvian ideology, I believe 21st-century learners cannot be created if opportunities are not deliberately created for them to ­unreservedly articulate their opinions.

MONOLOGIC DISCOURSE DOMINATED CLASSROOMS

As active participants in classroom talk, ­teachers ask and answer questions, explain and give instructions. Students’ talk, however, is mainly concerned with reproducing information and checking understanding.

In conventional early-childhood and primary classrooms across Jamaica, communication often takes the form of the initiation-response-evaluation (IRE) sequence. Teachers pose a closed question, students are identified, they answer the questions, and then teachers give feedback – often in terms of whether the responses are correct or incorrect.

The mere fact that teachers dominate interaction and the students’ major role is to recite fixed meanings, can be perceived as monologic discourse. Students’ attempt to engage in any form of dialogue outside this sequence is scarcely welcomed and is sometimes considered disruptive behaviour. Often labelled as ‘chatterboxes’ or ‘nuff’, overly expressive students’ viewpoints sometimes go unheard.

As a parent, I saw firsthand the negative effects of these labels on our children. When my son was seven years old and was to be placed in grade two, like all other parents, I investigated to find out the ‘best’ teacher in the grade. I found her, met her, and besides the fact that she did not wear a pleasant countenance, I liked her! I wanted my child to be in her class. Why? Because her students always seemed well behaved.

They sat quietly in their neat rows fully engrossed in class activities. As parents, we all thought she had excellent classroom management, ‘her thing was up!’

My son was placed in the other grade-two class. Although he did very well that school year, the disappointment of him not being in the ‘best teacher’s class’ lingered.

Two years later, as fate would have it, that same ‘great’ teacher was deployed to grade four and my son was placed in her class. Of course, I jumped for joy, thinking a better thing could not have happened. It was almost Primary Exit Profile (PEP) and he needed her!

After only a few weeks into the school year, my son started to complain that he hated school and he did not like his teacher.

When questioned, he said, “Mummy, we can’t talk…as soon as we start to talk, she shuts us up.”

He proceeded to complain that one day he was finished with his work and was going to retrieve his book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, from his school bag to read, but he was forbidden to do so. Instead, he was told to put his head on the desk.

Before the term ended, I received three calls from the teacher to say that my son talked a lot and did not listen. My son, a child who was frequently described as expressive, intelligent and a critical thinker by his former teachers, was being labelled as “a hard-of-hearing chatterbox”.

I could literally see my son shutting down. He bitterly complained that his teacher did not like him. He was told that he did not know everything when he tried to explain what he understood from teachings to his friends.

He told me that he stopped raising his hand to ask or answer questions … he just did his work. I thought this was unique to me, but after ­having dialogue with the principal, I learnt that other parents had similar complaints. The second term ushered in two visits to the principal and by that time, I was done! The school year could not have ended fast enough.

This experience forced me to ask some pertinent questions related to classroom dialogue. When should students talk? When should the teacher talk? Who talks the most? I posit that any classroom talk that is excessively teacher-directed does not allow for students’ shared thinking and meaning, stifle critical 21st-century learning skills.

21ST CENTURY SKILLS – THE 4 CS

There are extraordinary forces converging on education that have caused educators to rethink the way they teach. Students need complex skills to effectively function in this complex world. The first four sets of 21st-century skills that are deemed critical to students’ success are dubbed the ‘learning skills’ or the 4 Cs. These include critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication, all of which students will undoubtedly use to adapt to situations they may encounter in their personal and professional lives.

Suffice it to say, meaningful classroom talk can foster the 4 Cs. It is primarily through dialogue, students make connections to real-life situations, examine different perspectives, brainstorm ideas, problem-solve, become knowledgeable, tactical, self-reliant, and empathetic. It is critical, therefore, that as teachers we provide the setting, materials and support that will enable students to talk the new and unknown into meaningful framework.

EMBRACING DIALOGIC CLASSROOM TALK

While I understand the notable deterrents that can hinder meaningful classroom talk – ­teacher-pupil ratio, physical space, and time – it could be argued that despite these deficiencies, teachers could place more value on students’ opinions. Teachers need to become far less rigid in their execution, give up control, and move away from the notion that a quiet class suggests excellent classroom management. Truth be told, if it is the norm for any early-childhood or primary classroom to be quiet, something is amiss.

A 21st-century classroom must be buzzing with inquiring voices desperate to make meaning for themselves. Therefore, teachers should provide students with shared discussable topics that give focus, objective and logic to dialogue. Additionally, they should afford students adequate space to negotiate their different, voiced positions and possibly introduce elements of polylogue.

Let us not silence our children! Allow them to ask questions that will facilitate understanding, think about and explore differences of opinions, give arguments to support their own viewpoints, and see talk as an avenue for greater learning to take place.

Dr Tracy-Ann McGhie-Sinclair is the acting head of the School of Early Childhood, Primary and the Creative Arts at Church Teachers’ College, Mandeville. Email feedback to tracy.sinclair@ctc.edu.jm and columns@gleanerjm.com.