[ohcrap12345]

I don't know if your teachers grade you on participation but I get pissed off when they do. Especially my English and Spanish teacher last year. What if you do excellent in tests/quizzes and homework and 100% attendance but your grade gets fked up because of participation grade? It's just retarded. If you don't wanna participate, you don't have to. Who the fk cares if the student raises his hand or not. Maybe he or she understands it fully well inside. Teachers obviously don't know there are students who are lazy to open their mouth, ask questions, raising their hand to answer questions (but hard working academically), students who are shy and normally quiet in class (but hard working academically), students who don't prefer saying anything in class unless a question is asked to them for strong focus, etc. (but hard working academically) Cmon, if a student has an A in tests/quizzes, A in HW, A-B in projects, and a D- to an F in participation, isn't that unfair??? Then the average would come to be in the Low B's - Mid B's. Some teachers need to eliminate "participation" as being a factor for your grade. mini cooper's beyond ridiculous.

[josebiwasabi]

depends on the class. language courses should most definitely have a participation component, because practicing speaking is extremely important. you don't want to end up being one of those people who have perfect reading comprehension, grammar, diverse vocab but have your accent suck so horribly that no one can understand you.

other classes that are primarily socratic seminar in nature should also be graded on participation. this would include subjects such as philosophy.

a class like english really depends on the teacher's style. if they ask a lot of questions to the students and are big on discussions, then it most definitely should.

it isn't even difficult to participate. simply say one thing each class and you're good to go.

[monaero]

We don't get a grade on it, but it's like 10% of our grade. For most of my classes, participation is just showing up to class and not sleeping. The only classes where I actually have to participate is sociology and spanish.

[prisonerzero]

If a person is going to whine about participation grades and how low they are, they should start paying attention in the class. If you're not going to participate, why bother coming to school in the first place? People around me sleep all the time and it irritates me so much.

[Shikabane Hime]

I agree, participation isn't worth marking.
As if written essays aren't subjective enough, why should students have to go through this?

I remember I had participation marks for a math class. Ya, math? Ok there.

[Supremacy]

For language classes or discussion classes definitly, but for classes like math...not really.

[Daikirai]

If a person is going to whine about participation grades and how low they are, they should start paying attention in the class. If you're not going to participate, why bother coming to school in the first place? People around me sleep all the time and it irritates me so much.

Wrong idea.

Participation and paying attention are different. It's how much you participate by answering questions, or just being fully outspoken. You can pay attention without participating.

Grading that is just useless because there are students who just don't like to raise their hands, etc. Teachers usually say that participation helps the student understand the concept more fully, but I think one can understand without having to participate.

[Kanzen]

I think it's understandable for foreign language classes.

Although, I do think it's annoying. I don't always feel like raising my hand in Spanish class, either.

[xdeathberry]

I think it HELPS my grade. lol
And I really never participate.
The teachers at my school do it just to give us a free 100.
>D

[winterofdiscontent]

Ugh, I hate participating in class. I'm only forced to participate in one class, so my grade will be okay for that subject, but for the others...I probably won't get marked too high.
So yeah, I agree that participation shouldn't be marked. Attendance is enough.

[JunsuLove]

I'm a student that likes to just sit back and listen to others speak.. I don't really like to raise my hand and say anything, lol.. 'cause I'm afraid I'll be wrong.. or say something stupid x].
I used to get graded on participation but none of my teachers do it now..

[emceej]

it's ok for me. cuz usually when i bomb something, the participation grade is there to back me up.
so it's all good.

[Christinaisweird]

it's just a small portion.
plus, it shows how much dedication you have for that class.
it helps you get to know the environment and for you and everybody else to understand the material.
it has helped me expand my knowledge in that specific area and my public skills.
and you shouldn't be afraid of getting the wrong answer since the teacher will help you.

[Yuenie]

I mean, sometimes I don't like the participation part of grades because it only brings me slightly down; since I'm usually not the type to raise my hand to comment on topics/ask questions. But it's only 10% of my grade, and most teachers at my school are very reasonable about it and I do sometimes try to participate. (Usually I get 9/10 or 10/10) Is your participation grade that big a part of your grade that it can actually make an A average go down into a B?

Personally, I think the fact students HAVE TO participate is a little silly but you know, there is a slight logic to it. It let's teachers know you're engaged in their class. Yes, you can get all A's in every test and project but you could also be the one who doesn't give a hoot about what's going on in the class and doesn't actively talk with classmates when teachers tell you to split up into groups to do activities. You know what they say; no one can know what you're truly thinking unless you speak out.

Plus I guess this shouldn't be the sole reason a person participates actively in class, but it will really benefit you when you're a junior/senior in high school and you start needing those recommendation letters from those teachers. When you participate, teachers will notice that you're an active listener to discussions, that you participate in them thoroughly, and that you have a curiosity to grasp an even better understanding of their topics that goes outside of what the textbook or teacher may say - and those teachers will be able to write that into those rec letters. But if all you do is stay silent in class but do well on assignments then all they can say is something along the lines of "Joe is very smart.............yeah that's about it."

Plus on the lines of participation, in college it is very important. Not so much that you participate in the classes/lecture halls themselves (although you should participate in those too), but more so that you are actively participating in the community in the college; like doing their social events, joining clubs and organizations - to show you're a contributing member of society. Colleges nowadays are even rejecting people with perfect transcripts because those people have close to no extracurricular activities which shows that they don't participate in their community and that all they do is have their noses in the books.

Sorry for getting a little off, I'm not the biggest fan of participation myself, but I just wanted to say that it doesn't hurt to raise your hand a few times. You don't have to raise your hand every bugging time about something and make it an obligation... just raise your hand for a question that you absolutely know the answer to or something every once in a while. It may be annoying but it can do you a little good and doesn't really hurt you much.

[bombb_]

participation frustrates me.
cause in the classes i have to participate in, the teachers are unreasonable imo.
for instance, in spanish, she says we get 10 pts participation each chapter. and theres like..6 activities we do with about..5-6 questions in each activity.
well, theres about 40 kids in my class, and she expects all of us to get 10 pts each?!
whaat?
ive been meaning to ask her..but i feel like itll sound like im questioning her teaching, and shes actually a good teacher..but come on.
and i so this semester, ive been raising my hand every. single. time.
but no, i got called on once, and she doesnt call on me anymore?
ushhhh.
and. i know that i have bad pronunciation, but still, she calls on other kids like 5 times.
seriously.
haha.
thats why participation frustrates me.
i think..participation is important..but in classes students actually want to be in. in spanish 2, there are still kids just there cause theyre made to be.
and if participation is still necessary..then make it worth less on the grade or something.
tchh.

haha long. sorry.

[eastsea_sarang]

i agree.i hate participating..but that's cause i hate talking in front of the class in general.
but i think participation might be a factor of motivation for some students with opening up and discussing ideas in order to get the grade.
...doesn't work for everyone though, like me lol.

[rawritskim]

I've come to enjoy participating.
Cause in my English class, it was MANDATORY for the first quarter. He would call on us randomly for a comment on the reading. But after that, it was up to us to participate on our own. Participation was probably .. 15% of our overall grade?

Yeah. That carried over to my other classes as well. Math, physics... everything

Don't be scared of participating. Just think of it as a chance to show your peers what you know. It's not that bad once you get the hang of it. I sure used to hate it before taking my English class.