Talk is Cheap

A few years ago we had an all-nighter with high school and middle school students at a church. The church is an old building, three stories with a lot of stairs and no elevators. The walls are made of lath and plaster and the floors are concrete covered by linoleum.

One of the classic all-nighter games is Capture the Flag.

During the game explanation that night, students and some of the staff kept talking to one another while the director was explaining the game. As a result, people did not understand all of the rules and emotions (on both sides) got heated.

We took a break from playing the game. I asked a student to begin explaining the rules while I walked around and asked other students and staff about their day, how school was going, etc. Then I asked the group what they thought of my behavior. I was told that this was rude and disrespectful. We talked about how this was the same as their behavior during the previous explanation of the game.

Last night I went to a class. I didn't know much of anything about the subject matter so I was very interested to learn. The class was geared at high school students but the teacher was kind enough to allow others to sit in.

During the teaching time, some of the non-high school students carried on side conversations. A few times I had trouble hearing what was being taught. Periodic side comments to a classmate or questions/comments to the whole class are often a part of the learning process.

But, side conversations are, as my former students noted, rude and disrespectful to both the teacher and other students.