Here’s what I remember of being a confused student:
You don’t lie “yeah, I get it” to a tutor because you’re afraid of admitting your ignorance. You do it because you don’t think the tutor can actually help you with your problem. You realize “Shit, I should have read the book/slept last night/looked at this problem before this minute.” Maybe you’re so wiped that you’re just not thinking about anything but the flash game and the cozy bed waiting for you back at the dorm. Or you’re thinking about the shitty grade you just got and how miserable you are. What you positively, definitely, don’t have the energy to think about, is math. So you’re going to say “Yeah, I get it,” and maybe at some point later you’ll try to get it.
This problem is compounded when the students feel obliged to stay in the class even if they’re not getting anything out of it. The result is a room full of tired, frustrated students terrified of being “found out” or giving the wrong answer. I encourage my undergrad students to leave and work on a problem later if their brains just aren’t up to the job, but they never do. It’s not clear if this is because of years of authoritarian schooling, or if they just don’t trust themselves to do the work outside of a classroom.
Here’s what I remember of being a confused student:
You don’t lie “yeah, I get it” to a tutor because you’re afraid of admitting your ignorance. You do it because you don’t think the tutor can actually help you with your problem. You realize “Shit, I should have read the book/slept last night/looked at this problem before this minute.” Maybe you’re so wiped that you’re just not thinking about anything but the flash game and the cozy bed waiting for you back at the dorm. Or you’re thinking about the shitty grade you just got and how miserable you are. What you positively, definitely, don’t have the energy to think about, is math. So you’re going to say “Yeah, I get it,” and maybe at some point later you’ll try to get it.
This problem is compounded when the students feel obliged to stay in the class even if they’re not getting anything out of it. The result is a room full of tired, frustrated students terrified of being “found out” or giving the wrong answer. I encourage my undergrad students to leave and work on a problem later if their brains just aren’t up to the job, but they never do. It’s not clear if this is because of years of authoritarian schooling, or if they just don’t trust themselves to do the work outside of a classroom.