Let me tell you a secret I have never told anyone. When I was in
the first grade, I peed in my pants. In school. During class. On my
chair and then onto the floor, where the urine formed a telltale
dark spot on the carpet. Thereafter, I went the way of Hester
Prynne, except instead of a scarlet A, it felt like I’d been
forced to wear a yellow P on my chest.
The reason for my untimely release of fluids? No, I was not
chained to my desk. Nor did I suffer from a nerve disease. I peed
in my pants because I was so shy, I was afraid to ask the teacher
for permission to go to the bathroom.
Fifteen years ago, I was the kid who never spoke up in class.
When the teacher asked me to read aloud, I physically reacted as if
I were being chased by a bear. And on that fateful day when I
played too happily on the monkey bars and forgot to use the
bathroom during recess, my timidity ultimately resulted in the loss
of bladder control.
Fortunately, I am now able to assert my right to use the
facilities.
Unfortunately, when it comes to raising a point in section (or,
God forbid, lecture!), I am still awkward and reluctant, an
attitude that’s shared by many of my Asian American
friends.
This poses a problem. As you all know, many classes at UCLA base
a part of the grade on participation. Classes follow in the
tradition of Socratic learning, designed under the assumption that
talking stimulates thinking, and therefore aids learning.
But is this really true?
The answer is a bit fuzzy. According to a 2003 study done by UC
Santa Barbara Professor Heejung Kim, verbalizing thoughts is not
beneficial for everyone. Her results show that while European
American students were unhindered by talking, the performance of
East Asian American students on a problem solving test was actually
hurt by thinking aloud.
Kim attributes this difference to culture. Western culture is
big on talking. Just think about shows like “The
Apprentice” and “The Dating Game.” Both game
shows are heavily based on the contestants’ ability to orally
express themselves. Of course, in one you’re competing for
the interest of a possible date, while in the other, you’re
vying for the affection of a menacing old man.
Even the Bible praises good oration. Proverbs 25:11 says,
“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of
silver.” I don’t really know what that is, but it
sounds nice.
The Eastern tradition is different. Individuality is not as
important, so expressing yourself through speech takes a back seat.
Furthermore, religions like Buddhism and Taoism value silence and
introspection.
Kim says that European Americans and East Asian Americans engage
in two types of thinking: verbal thinking and nonverbal thinking,
respectively.
Because many East Asian Americans think in a nonverbal fashion,
they must take the extra step to translate their thoughts into
words when required to think aloud, a step that most European
American students either forgo or perform with greater ease.
Thus, this extra step sometimes impedes rather than enhances the
thinking of many of those Asian Americans.
The important inference to make from this information
(especially for teachers) is that silence and engagement are not
mutually exclusive, and that the better talker is not always the
better thinker.
So does that mean that graded participation at UCLA should be
banned? No. First of all, everyone has strengths and weaknesses.
What if all the visual learners wanted to ban hands-on
assignments?
Second of all, participation is also a many-splendored thing
that cannot be judged on one facet alone.
For instance, UCLA professor Anna Lau feels that one benefit of
participation is that it makes class feel more personal. And even
though she is aware of Kim’s study and teaches Asian American
Personality and Mental Health, a class which is largely populated
by Asian Americans, Lau still encourages participation.
“Through class discussion, students take topics in
interesting directions I would not have introduced in
lecture,” Lau said.
But in the end, the reality is that American culture demands
verbal expertise.
To survive, you must be able to convey your ideas through
speech. The job interview has become so crucial that there is an
entire industry of books and multimedia built around how to ace
it.
So whether you are disinclined to talk because of your culture
or because of your personality, realize that neither of those
reasons will excuse you from Western expectations.
For your grade and for your future good, practice talking by
contributing your thoughts in class. And if you aren’t ready
for that yet, perhaps you can start out by expressing your ideas to
a professor during office hours.
But at the very least, I urge you ““ speak up before you
wet your pants!
Please do not ridicule Tao at atao@media.ucla.edu. Send
general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.