by Thea Kupersmith (8th)
The Artichoke: New solution revealed for students unable to answer questions; teachers across the country swear that “humiliation” is the answer.
Throughout the generations, teachers and students alike have struggled with the same predicament, a pupil not knowing the answer to a question that the teacher has asked. Now, many experts across the years have brought forth solutions to this issue, some of the stranger ones being moving on or gently guiding the student to the answer. However, recent studies and teacher comments have revealed the nonpareil fix for this, humiliation.
Though a controversial tactic, the method of embarrassing a student in front of their peers is a tried-and-true method. With a 93% success rate in lowering self-esteem and causing feelings of inadequacy, humiliation is quickly becoming one of the most useful methods for getting an answer out of a student. Studies show that it is actually very beneficial to the student, if you ignore the fact that it doesn’t help the student in any way whatsoever.
Through a survey the Artichoke has done of various schools, teachers have a plethora of different ways to achieve peak humiliation. Some go the classic route, with the condescending stare, while others may make unhelpful comments in order to make the student more confused.
A recently popular method has been making the student sit in silence as they struggle in vain to remember the answer, while the class waits impatiently. As a teacher, you may be tempted to accept the truthful answer of “I don’t know,” but it is imperative to the child’s education that you make them squirm in the stares of their classmates until they mumble a hesitant response.
To assuage consciences, scientists urge teachers to remember that this method is in the student’s best interests. In life, they’re not going to ever have more than 30 seconds to answer a question, and it’s not as if they’ll ever have access to any tools or technology to help them.
“As a teacher, you have one of the most influential roles in a child’s life,” says specialist Mort Ify.
“If they start to feel unconfident in themselves and lose their sense of pride or dignity, you know you’ve prepared them as best as possible.” Other researchers agree that this method reigns supreme over others. “Sure, you could kindly help the student find the answer, or accept ‘I don’t know’ and help them out later. But it’s a slippery slope,” explains expert Hum b. Ling. “If they start to think it’s ok to mess up sometimes, just imagine how that will affect the rest of their life.”
Despite a few “mental health professional” naysayers, this tactic has quickly spread across schools. With promising results, this method is set to trickle down to the younger grades as well. Recently, some districts are discussing plans of a humiliation training course for teachers, as well as a designated “humiliation day” for students who may not have experienced it yet.
In our next article, we discuss the recent unexplained increase in demand for youth therapists.