by Erin McDermott,
As the semester has gone on I keep thinking about the difference between our students being afraid of getting something wrong and being willing to play. When we talk about the importance of writing to learn and the importance of revision, it reminds me of the importance of learning to play when I was doing practical theater. One of the best things that came out of my undergrad theater experience, both in the classroom and on stage, was learning to play. That meant learning to play with acting choices, with stage and design choices, and learning to play when it came to creating an argument. When we embrace play in education it helps to ameliorate or offset the anxiety of being wrong. Play isn’t about getting it right, it’s about allowing yourself the room to make strong choices that might not work out. Most of our education framework isn’t about giving our students the room to play. The framework we do have sets up the idea that getting something wrong has no place in learning. So often, even though we learn from the mistakes that we make, be that in our writing, our discussions, or even in how we create an argument, the classroom environment reinforces our fear of making mistakes.
In one of my Women’s Studies classes, I’ve noticed a fear among the students when it comes to creating a thesis statement that takes a clear stance and can be argued against. When I talk to them in conferences, they’ve admitted that the big problem is that they’re scared. They’re scared to get it wrong and they’re scared of what will happen if they get it wrong, even though it’s likely nothing will happen. That fear holds them back because, inevitably when they do create a thesis, they qualify it so much that their stance becomes muddled and weak. While one of the big strengths of creating an argument is considering potential counter-arguments, placing those considerations inside the thesis statement makes it seem like there’s no stance being taken. Then the rest of their paper flounders because they don’t have a clear argument and structure to follow that then helps them create a paper that is specific in its examples and has depth to its discussion.
If we taught our students that playing with their ideas and their writing was as important as their other coursework and exams, it would go a long way to making them less afraid. Many of the students I’ve worked with have seen being wrong as the same thing as failing. As a result, it takes longer for our students to develop their own voices in their writing and confidence in their writing. The students that I’m working with this semester are primarily juniors and seniors, and are students who should be comfortable taking a stance, but instead they’re hesitant, anxious, and have trouble trusting themselves. When we create spaces where students are afraid of getting something wrong, we do them a disservice in their education. Instead of teaching our students to be afraid, we should teach them to play.
Erin Cummins McDermott is the WIP TA for Women’s Studies this year.