“Silence Is Golden” by Kiana Blount is an extremely well written piece that explains how I, and possibly numerous others, feel about being deemed as “too quiet and shy.” This wonderfully enlightening article talks about how some students, such as the author herself, go through difficulties because of lack of participation in school. Most people who are introverted have a hard time contributing to discussions during class, being told that they should talk more or be less timid by teachers who don’t seem to understand. Leading to shame and wishing for a more talkative personality, these actions can make students who don’t prefer to voice their opinions as much as others feel as if they were doing something wrong.
As I read this piece, I couldn’t help but agree and relate to Kiana as well. Being a student who isn’t as outgoing or open as others is rather complicated; it’s understandable how hard it is to talk and contribute to class discussions. This has definitely affected my grades because of the lack of ability to partake and talk in several classes, despite how much I want to improve my problem on being so soft-spoken. Kiana states, “My lack of participation wasn’t because I didn’t know what was going on or didn’t care, but because it’s not in my nature to share my thoughts verbally on a regular basis.” This particular sentence struck me since I felt the same way very much so; listening and understanding what was happening isn’t hard at all, but conversing about it was. Though having communication skills are required and important for many things in life, being told just to “speak up” won’t help me do so, nor develop new abilities to be more talkative.
This informative article explains the many reasons why people should think twice before believing quiet students should be shameful of themselves, or that it is not a personality trait that some have. I enjoyed reading this piece as it made me content that people could relate as well, and makes me understand how others feel about how silence is portrayed, too.