剛收到Mimi寄來的信。她是「人類學談地方」那門課的老師，我非常喜歡的一位。這門課開始第一天，她就請大家書面回答兩個問題。本來以為純粹她是個人想瞭解我們對課堂的預期，沒想到她整理出來一張清單給大家。
我看著看著，看到每個人對於課堂發言的想法，頗有感觸。很明顯地，在課堂上說話，夾雜著不同背景的學生，或許熟稔，或許完全陌生，絕對和一群熟識的朋友說話完全不同。在美國，還有國籍的問題、語言的問題。在這門課上還有來自「女性研究」的男性朋友，如果不自覺的使用某些字眼，又是一個議題。
在這清單中，我想我最容易忽略的事，就是課堂討論不只是知識的討論，這發言本身是一種人和人之間的溝通，甚至牽涉到情感上的分享。因此會有這樣的建議"Be encouraging of others"或"Get to know my colleagues"
如果不是經歷過某些課堂中，對話中的疏離感，我可能也不會贊成這些觀點的重要性。
人畢竟是一種非常需要被鼓勵的動物。因而，第二個問題「什麼樣的狀況會讓我更願意分享」，也就有這種回應：「當我感覺到，我說得話是有價值的。」(I feel that what I’m saying is valued.)
（說真得，如果是兩三人之間的對話，我實在無法做到持續地以"cool" 或"great"來回應，如果說不出具體的肯定，我多半還是靜默地 "mm...." 聽久了，也知道這實在只是文化慣習的差異，實在勉強不來也無須對此反感)
仔細想想，至今我可能從來沒有在課堂發言中給予他人正面支持。思緒總是專注地跟從著討論的議題絲線滾動，一面想著自己要怎麼回應、怎麼回應，有時想著急著就要說了，並不是一個專心聽他人發言的傢伙。如此自私能生存至今未感傷痕累累，不知是不是我太無意識了...
（這又回到老問題，在異國生活，似乎非得讓自己那麼有所意識才行哪）
其中，我最喜歡的是這個：
"Everyone is honest about their struggles and frustrations."
這種放下學術武裝的狀況，正像是我讀到Sandercock寫她當年的困頓，那樣地讓人覺得誠懇踏實。又往往是在這種時分，新的可能性就躲藏在那裡。無論如何，每個人，都只是努力地在張望，張望這個永遠看不清的世界，如此而已。
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ANTH 540: Anthropology of Place
Class responses to questions about class contribution:
1.When a teacher says, “You’re expected to contribute in class,” I think this means:
Be ready to learn
Prepare for class
Do the reading
Think about the reading
Think about the reading to the point of being able to offer both comment and critique
Be able to relate the reading to the wider discourse of the field
Engage in active listening
Listen to the discussion to understand what others are interested in
Engage in non-performative dialogue
Ask questions, especially about things that feel unclear
Share information, ideas, and personal experiences
Engage in discussion
Bring ideas into the discussion that are relevant
Move discussion in interesting directions
Be encouraging of others
Talk only when I have worthwhile comments
Get to know my colleagues
Be responsive to different interpretations
Recognize others’ points of view
Help to synthesize material
2. I am more inclined to contribute if:
I’m well rested; I’ve had coffee
I like the course
I’ve done the reading
I understand the concepts
I feel comfortable asking basic (“stupid”) questions
I feel comfortable with the people around me
People are respectful and supportive of one another
I feel that what I’m saying is valued
I get feedback from peers and instructor
I can share interests with others in the class
I have insight into the topic covered
There is an active and lively discussion
Something in the reading infuriates me
A collegial, non-competitive environment is fostered
There is respect for each other and each other’s ideas
Everyone is offered the opportunity to speak
No one person dominates
There are different perspectives and theoretical lenses
Everyone works to help and support their peers
There is no feeling of competition among classmates
Everyone is honest about their struggles and frustrations
People listen to others before speaking
People don’t cut off others when they’re speaking
2 comments:
This is so very interesting that the professor put together this list while most of the teachers would probably just keep this to themselves. The professor very smart doing so as I believe making public of this list to the class is really valuable as everyone in the class would probably develop better trust and comfort around each other when contributing to the class. This could be a good thing for us to copy when we become teachers :-)
Yes..i do feel this help a lot. There are lots of thing could be learned from Mimi. I may share with you someday :)
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