Blog 8

Jonathan Sack

Blog 8

     One way that I change how I speak in a classroom is that I never curse or use slang. A classroom is seen as a formal, academic environment. It is expected that you what you say is accordingly well-composed and formal. 

     This would also depend on the teacher. Some teachers are very strict and essentially lecture on a slideshow for an hour and then end class. This would be a very formal situation where most of the time you shouldn't be talking at all. Some teachers are very casual and don't use slideshows at all, instead promoting as much discussion and questions from students as possible. These 2 extremes can result in very different cultures within the classroom.

     Other than the use of specific jargon, I don't think I would speak differently in a science classroom as compared to an English classroom. Again, I'd say that the teacher has a much stronger influence on this topic. In my opinion, the subject is almost irrelevant. While it is somewhat rare, I have had teachers specify how to communicate while in a classroom setting. This very class's syllabus talks about how the canvas discussion posts are meant to not be "high-stakes" writing; it also talks about how these blogs are supposed to be more casual and not as academically bound as some of our other work. In addition, I have another class where the syllabus lays out the proper way to format an email to the teacher.

     I would definitely speak to a friend over lunch in a different way than in the classroom. These 2 contexts are very different both the way of speaking and the subject matter. Like I said before, I curse occasionally, which is definitely not allowed in the classroom. We also would not be in a very academic setting, so what we talk about and say does not need to be structured very well nor does it need to be especially on-topic. A specific example of these qualities might be saying "Damn dude that sounds crazy". You would never say something like this in a classroom because it is both offhand and involves cursing.