Creating the Confidence to Respond

I think that a huge reason why students don't participate is because they lack confidence. Teachers can create an uncomfortable classroom environment that can shut some students down. I think it is important for teachers to keep high expectations for students. If you never assign homework, students are going to think you don't have faith in them to do it. They may even believe that you think they are dumb. One of the strongest ideas that I found in this chapter was the concept of creating a classroom that encourages risk. A teacher cannot completely eliminate the risk that goes along with sharing personal thoughts about a text in the classroom but a teacher can provide "padding" so students don't think taking a leap can severly damage what others think of them. (Or what the teacher thinks of them). Providing students with choice is a great idea. If students have the choice to share with the class or only the teacher, this may allow a teacher to build a student's confidence level up. Small-group discussion is also another way that teachers can build a student's confidence up. When these previous levels of participation have been met, a teacher can provide a student with the opportunity to participate in front of the entire class.
I think that it is important for teachers to understand that sometimes if a student is not participating it's because they lack confidence and not because they don't understand.