# Outcast within the classroom structure



## Uncle Charlie (Sep 2, 2008)

Just today in class, we were split into groups and given articles to analyze. While the rest of the group pretty much giggled amongst themselves trying to figure out the article, I had pointed something out to them to which one of them (the girl closest to me), simply dismissed me with an "oh yeah". A couple minutes later they started talking to the group beside us, who just happened to have the same article to analyze. The girl closest to me asked them about the article and the girl in the other group had pointed out exactly what I had just pointed out word for word, to which the reply was "that's a great point, we never thought of that." I can speak on fairly good authority that the group likely figured me as an idiot with nothing to contribute. This kind of thing is quite common in my case and it really pisses me off. 25% of the mark is based upon raising questions and discussing the material, but the questions raised in class are really quite basic and dare I say stupid, and I myself would feel stupid asking these types of questions. As for the discussion of the material, well, it basically consists of the class taking what the previous person had said and rephrasing it back. I feel as if I'd have to demean myself to take part in some of these discussions and ask some of these questions. I come across like an idiot by just sitting there and not saying anything. This didn't come out as organized as I had hoped but I gather you all get my drift. Can anybody else relate to this kind of thing? I just needed to vent I guess.


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## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

Uncle Charlie said:


> Just today in class, we were split into groups and given articles to analyze. While the rest of the group pretty much giggled amongst themselves trying to figure out the article, I had pointed something out to them to which one of them (the girl closest to me), simply dismissed me with an "oh yeah". A couple minutes later they started talking to the group beside us, who just happened to have the same article to analyze. The girl closest to me asked them about the article and the girl in the other group had pointed out exactly what I had just pointed out word for word, to which the reply was "that's a great point, we never thought of that." I can speak on fairly good authority that the group likely figured me as an idiot with nothing to contribute. This kind of thing is quite common in my case and it really pisses me off. 25% of the mark is based upon raising questions and discussing the material, but the questions raised in class are really quite basic and dare I say stupid, and I myself would feel stupid asking these types of questions. As for the discussion of the material, well, it basically consists of the class taking what the previous person had said and rephrasing it back. I feel as if I'd have to demean myself to take part in some of these discussions and ask some of these questions. I come across like an idiot by just sitting there and not saying anything. This didn't come out as organized as I had hoped but I gather you all get my drift. Can anybody else relate to this kind of thing? I just needed to vent I guess.


so why dont you ask the questions that you thought of in the public debates? dont let them talk down!


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## Uncle Charlie (Sep 2, 2008)

Pretty much because the other group had the same idea as I did and it would seem to the rest of them that I was taking credit for their idea. This thread was made in an angry haste and I'm kind of regretting it now because after reading it over now it really comes across as stupid and immature. but I digress....

I guess the general idea at the time I made this thread was that I was sick of being overlooked in the grand scheme of things, so yeah...


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## happy (Feb 9, 2010)

Bit of a late reply to the thread you regret writing but anyhow..!

I think I know where your coming from on this. You say that the group most likely thought you were an idiot with nothing to contribute and that its common for people to dismiss you like this. I felt like this a lot especially during group work the past few years and I probably wouldn;t have even had the nerve to speak up in the first place like you did.

But, why are we so sure that people think we are idiots?

And even if they do, why does this matter so much to us?

I have to ask myself these things when I feel as though I'm getting out of hand. It's not fair to assume that everyone else is making negative evaluations of us when we really have nothing to go by other than body language most of the time. And what is our body language saying to others?


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## FallenofTrack (Jul 23, 2010)

I know that this is a really late reply to this thread, but I wanted to comment because I can definitely relate to how frustrating it can be when people are assigned to work in groups and analyze class material. The group dynamics can be frustrating to deal with, because some people in the group will always get their points heard and acknowleged, while other students end up feeling like everything they say is dismissed and shot down by the group. Then when someone else raises the same points that were previously shot down, all of a sudden those points get acknowledged. Sometimes, we do make more of a situation like this, than what's necessary, but sometimes it is important to speak up and say that you don't appreciate the fact that your contributions aren't being acknowledged. Because there are some people who will purposely just ignore others contributions, just for power play purposes. Human beings have a need to be validated and recognized, and it's a legitimate need.


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