Power In The Classroom
As an educator, even throwaway comments can hugely impact how and how much much your learners achieve.
Our founder Madelaine Jones discusses the idea of power in the classroom, and how what you say can affect learner motivation.
If you follow entertainment news in any way, chances are you have seen the Demi Moore Golden Globe acceptance video. As she emotionally accepts her award, she thanks those who’ve supported her, and talks about her struggles in keeping her motivation up after decades of striving and never closing the deal on an award. It’s heartfelt, articulately put, and has apparently resonated with a lot of people. If you haven’t seen it, you can watch it here.
The part that got me thinking the most was when Demi referenced an incident that happened 30 years ago, when a producer at the time referred to her as a ‘popcorn actress’. At first, I pondered whether this was referencing Demi’s supposed ‘airy’ lack of gravitas as an actor, or her apparently only starring in mainstream popcorn-shovelling flicks rather than ‘meaningful’ art. I’m yet to find a firm consensus anywhere on exactly what the phrase means, but as I chewed at it more, I realised that as a facilitator and learning designer, the meaning comes second to a really valuable lesson to be learnt. Because whatever the phrase does mean, it was certainly not meant to be a compliment: it was a comment made by someone in a position of authority that made Demi Moore feel small and less ambitious, and affected her motivation. Whether the producer made that comment to purposefully belittle her in a specific way, or it was a throwaway comment that wasn’t meant to mean much at all, its effects were harmful. Demi Moore talks in her speech about how it affected her motivation, “corroded [her] over time”, and almost led to us missing out on the fantastic (and horrifying) film that is The Substance, for which she finally won her Golden Globe.
The video has spurred me into thinking a lot about the role of motivation in learning and achievement. I know from my own experiences as a learner how discouraging a throwaway or seemingly harmless comment can be when you’re already struggling. On one occasion, it was the secondary school teacher who told me “you’ll never be an artist but at least you’re trying”; on another, the university professor who told our class we didn’t deserve to be there if we didn’t have all of Beethoven’s opus numbers* and dates memorised. The first was a backhand compliment of sorts, and the second was intended to kick us all up the backside so we’d do some work. But neither did me any good. Despite continuing to make an effort in both those classes after these comments, if I’m entirely transparent, my heart was no longer in it. The problem with being told you can never be good enough by a person in a position of power is that now you have to both overcome the challenge of improving at it, and also of convincing yourself, and them, you can do it. That’s not to say that some people can’t prove those statements wrong (Demi Moore herself is proof) but the additional layer of challenge it puts up can be more discouraging for learners than people realise. Constructive criticism is incredibly important in learning how to improve - but feeling like you’re not good enough and never will be in the eyes of the teacher? That’s a killer for motivation.
As a facilitator and learning designer, my job nowadays is centered around helping learners of all kinds to do the best they possibly can in a variety of settings. Sometimes that means teaching learners face-to-face, sometimes it means designing workshops or eLearning content behind the scenes. But I am keenly aware that finding a balance between constructive criticism and demotivating someone can be a very fine line, and often an imperceptible one. To return to the Demi Moore example, perhaps the producer didn’t really think about what they were saying, and it really was a throwaway meaningless comment. As a person in a position of power, that inconsequential thought they shared out loud had a far larger impact on the world around them than they would have realised. And as an educator, we are in the same position: something we think of as inconsequential or throwaway could have real world implications for our learners.
I’ve been working in learning and education for long enough now that I’ve been lucky to have past learners tell me “you said X, and it inspired me even though I didn’t tell you about it at the time.” But I have no doubt there must be learners out there who also feel like I said “Y”, and it demotivated them as a result. I will probably never know for sure as they will probably never tell me, just as I will never tell my art teacher and university professor. Of course, we are humans and can’t always get this stuff right. We will make mistakes at the best of times, and we can’t be constantly hypervigilant or we’d never say or do anything out of fear of ever getting anything wrong. But moments like this should serve as a reminder to us that as educators of any kind, we are in a position of power. Whether you’re leading conversations and teaching topics directly to classrooms of learners, or designing eLearning and self-directed training, what you say matters, even in the ‘inconsequential’ moments. If someone as prolific, talented and accomplished as Demi Moore could feel inadequate when striving for her goals because of one comment by an authority figure, think how big an impact you may be having on your learners day-to-day.
Looking for workshops around the topic of inclusion? Want to hear more of Madelaine’s insights? Why not check out our workshop, Inclusion Is For Everyone, facilitated by Madelaine Jones, or else contact us to see what else we can do to help you.
