Why is it so important to intervene in class?

There are students who go through their entire career without participating in class even once. If that's your case, you should read this.

What is meant by participating in class?

We have all met throughout our lives the typical student who interrupts classes to tell their anecdotes, right? Well, that's not what we're talking about here. A person who shares their experiences in the middle of a class doesn't take into account that they not only interrupt an explanation that is probably important for the rest, but also forgets that others (especially the teacher) usually don't care at all about what happened to this person the other day. Participating in class is very important and useful for several reasons that we will see below, but conversations about our life should be left for our friends. For participating in class to be useful and not bother others, it is necessary to talk about something that is really related to the topic.

When should you participate in class?

1. Whenever you have a doubt: If we haven't understood something, we must ask as many times as necessary. There's no need to feel ashamed of having doubts, that's why we're learning and that's why we pay our tuition fees. Getting a university eTitle consists of having many doubts and solving them with knowledge. The doubts can be because we don't understand something the teacher has said or they can be more complex because we need to delve into a concept. Curiosity is a magnificent quality for students that we must enhance, so we should never be ashamed to ask relevant questions. 2. In a topic open to debate: Class after class, there are teachers who ask for the opinion of their students and get in return a dead silence or, worse, a generalized murmur of the parallel conversations that the students who don't pay attention have. A debate in class is always educational and enriching, opinions are contrasted and we learn from the ideas of others, while helping us develop critical thinking (a very necessary quality, especially in these times). There's no need to be afraid of saying anything inappropriate or absurd, because that's why we're training and we can make mistakes. 3. Timely comments: Exceptionally, we can comment on something even if we're not in a debate or don't have a doubt if we believe that what we're going to say is relevant and useful not only for us but also for the rest of the students. 4. Disagreements: If there's something said in class that we disagree with, we can intervene to suggest another idea or to open a debate, but we always have to do it with respect for others and the pace of the class. It's not about imposing our opinion, but about providing other points of view. Obviously, this must be done in classes where teachers are open to debate because if not, we can bother with our interruption and in that case, it's better to stay quiet and discuss it later with our classmates.

How to participate in class

Any participation in class must be done with education, respect for the teacher and classmates, and adhering to the speaking turn. We shouldn't impose our comments, but try to contribute something to the class and, if possible, avoid creating a tense atmosphere. If we want to comment on something related to an explanation given by the teacher, we have to wait until they finish speaking and if we see that they go on for too long, we can write down our question or comment so we don't forget it and wait for the right moment.

All opinions are valid, except...

Each person understands the world in their own way. We all form opinions based on our own experiences, our education, what we're learning... That's why it's logical that we don't agree with everything that others say, but that doesn't mean that their comments are less valid or true than ours. Any ideology, belief, or idea is respectable, although we shouldn't confuse ideology with lack of education: if a classmate says something like "homosexuals are depraved", "people of a certain ethnicity are inferior", "people of this religion are terrorists", "women are only interested in your money", etc., they're not expressing opinions or ideologies; they're absolute lack of education, respect, and culture, and if someone says something like that in class and the teacher does nothing, then we can file a formal complaint. This kind of comments don't fall within the realm of opinions because they involve verbal violence against a group and, therefore, they're not respectable. This doesn't mean that we should start an argument in the middle of class, but we can and should express our rejection with education.

What benefits does participating bring?

Well, let's get to the important part, as we were saying, participating in class will bring us many advantages; so let's see which ones are the most interesting:

• It makes us stand out in front of the teachers (who will remember our face and name better).


• We will demonstrate an interest in our studies that the faculty will value very positively.


• We will pay more attention to classes and memorize better what has been said in them.


• Because of all the above, our grades will improve.


• A participatory environment will be fostered in class, which is always more educational and relaxed.


• It will help us overcome shyness.


• It will improve our skills for public speaking.


• It will be good learning for our future profession.