Class presentations cause anxiety; teachers should avoid assigning them

Kylie Byler, Guest Columnist

Most teachers give projects to students a few times a year, there’s nothing wrong with thatbecause that’s a good way to get major grades in the grade book. But what comes with doingprojects is having to present them.When doing projects the part that most students hate is having to present them. Some studentsmight not have a problem with that but myself and other students aren’t that fond of presenting.
‘A tweet posted by a ​15-year-old high-school student​ saying, “Stop forcing students topresent in front of the class and give them a choice not to’ garnered more than 130,000 retweets and nearly half a million likes,” according to article from The Article. The worst part of it is having to get up in front of the class and talk to a whole class that is​​ just staring at you, it can get kind of nerve wracking.It would be great if teachers stopped having students present projects in front of class. It makes students nervous. Most students don’t like talking in front of a lot of people.
It would be a good idea to let students have the option if they want to present or not. They could also give the option to present it to them only. I personally don’t mind presenting to a teacher but when it comes to presenting in front of a class, I can’t do it. Subjects like English are required to make students present. What teachers could do in that situation to make those students feel more comfortable is maybe have the class look away or have the student talk towards you and not have to look at the students to try and make them a little less nervous. School is already stressful for students with homework and then to top it off they have to worry about having to present a project with no choice most of the time to not.
Students should be able to come to school and not have their anxiety act up because they haveto present a project. We should not make students uncomfortable and make them do somethingthey aren’t comfortable with doing. “Even though speaking in front of class is supposed to build your confidence and it’s part of yourschoolwork, I think if a student is really unsettled and anxious because of it you should probablymake it something less stressful. School isn’t something a student should fear” to quote an article from The Atlantic. If teachers would just think for a few minutes on how much presenting projects can affect students, then they would probably realize that it’s better to not have students present or givestudents the option.
Some students may have anxiety and knowing they will have to present will make them very nervous and worry a lot and make them not want to come to school or the class because ofpresenting. What schools should do is maybe talk to students or do a survey on presenting projects andthen with that new information, have the teachers change what they do when presentingprojects.
“I think in this day and age there [are] different pressures. We expect different things from ourstudents,” a teacher commented in the same article from The Atlantic said. “We’re in a day and age where we have to acknowledge our students’feelings. I have to listen to them and hear their feedback and respond to that. That’s how I can be a more effective teacher. If I ignored their feelings I don’t think they would like me or myclass or walk away learning things.”
With teachers changing their way of students presenting projects, it could help students like doing projects more and not have to worry and get nervous about having to present.

Kylie Byler is a sophomore and journalism 1 student.