There’s a general trend among schools for more class discussions. All students are encouraged to be vocal and express their opinions. Although I believe these are good things, this unfortunately has also led to students not raising their hands. According to “The Independent,” one school in Nottinghamshire, England even banned hand-raising last year so that more students would be able to speak in class.

High school students still need to raise hands. As teenagers who are still learning to work and function in a team dynamic, high schoolers can be bad at working in a group. If students do not raise hands, a few students in a class will dominate discussions. Other students who might struggle getting their voice heard but still have valid points to make will not be able to contribute.

In addition, teachers will constantly be interrupted, which may cause the class to get distracted and not complete the necessary classwork. Many high schoolers are not tactful enough to know when a good time to ask a teacher a question, and will interrupt instructions just to say what’s on their mind.

Recently, I was in a class where we spent the whole class period in a discussion. Most students raised their hands and waited for the teacher to call on them to speak. But two students not only did not raise their hands, but repeatedly interrupted the teacher to add their own thoughts or bring up completely unrelated topics. It disrupted the discussion in the classroom and was just plain rude to the teacher.

Students: raise your hands and filter your thoughts. Use your common sense to determine if it is a good time to make a point or ask a question. If you’re for hand raising, raise your hand!