Rethinking Silence in Elementary Classrooms

There has always been a great deal of value placed on class discussions and open communication between peers in elementary classrooms. The benefits of effective communication in the classroom have been researched and proven many times over. As a result of this association between talk and success, silence has come to acquire a negative connotation. These negative feelings that educators have toward silence in their classrooms is causing an oversight of the potential benefits it has to offer. The research provided in this paper aims to change the way educators perceive silence and encourage teachers to rethink the amount of importance they place on talking. This research will define two different types of silence and discuss the benefits that it can have on students. It will then cover several ways that teachers can use silence productively in their classrooms.

Weak and Strong Silence

In her article “Schools Weak on Strong Silence”, Adi Bloom describes that there are two types of silences present in schools, weak and strong. The terms “weak” and “strong” are used to describe the classroom environment created by the way teachers utilize silence. Weak silence, also referred to as negative silence, is used by teachers for the purpose of maintaining control over students. Teachers use this type of silence to keep order in their classrooms, and to show authority. Weak silence is used as a tool to benefit teachers. Generally, a teacher’s attitude toward silence stems from their own personal experiences. The influence of these experiences is apparent in the way they use silence in their classrooms (Waite, 2013). As a result of the encounters students have with weak silence in their classrooms, students learn to associate silence with fe...

... middle of paper ...

...ace the power of silence then we are hindering their ability to reach their full potential.

Works Cited

Bloom, A. (2009, October 2). Schools weak on 'strong' silence. Times Educational Supplement, p. 15. http://http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6024125

Byrnes, D. (2001). Life skills in solitude and silence in the school. Education, 83(104), 96-99.

Corrigan, P. T. (2010). Silence in progressive teaching. Encounter, 23(4), 8-11.

Haskins, C. (2011). The gift of silence. Montessori Life: A Publication of the American Montessori Society, 23(2), 34-39.

Ollin, R. (2008). Silent pedagogy and rethinking classroom practice: Structuring teaching though silence rather than talk. Cambridge Journal of Education, 38(2), 265-280.

Waite, S. (2013). Andy teaches me to listen: Queer silence and the problem of participation. Writing on the Edge, 24(1), 63-74.