How Schools Are Failing the Shy - Comments

This was an interesting article and while I definitely agree with the points you made, I think that the negative parts of schooling can have a positive effect on you for the future, instead of generating a negative one. I was one of the most shy kids in school, and because of this it was very hard for me to make friends or to make friends that lasted more than a year because I was so quiet. But through public speaking I actually gained a lot of confidence and while I'm still working on my confidence levels, I have come a long way since middle school.

I definitely agree wholeheartedly with the point you made for the kids being picked last in PE, but I think that teachers should learn to pick singular oriented games, so no teams are required, therefore no choosing/picking is involved? Or, if there is, then the teachers should pick. It's not hard to say to a class, 'The people on this side is one team and this side is the other'. I always hated when teachers would make the students pick, because I knew I was always going to be last.

Overall though, great article!

Great article! This was definitely me all throughout middle school and highschool. And its sad that some teachers dont understand how trying to make someone (that already feels anxious just thinking about having the attention on them) stand in front of their class and speak can be almost damaging. Ive experienced panic attacks and palpations even into my college years.

I took speech last year, (it's a required credit to graduate)
And my first speech I had it felt as if I were gonna pee my pants and a whole nervous break down.
But my teacher was so nice.
I have over come the fear.
The thing is, is I'm fat. Yeah, but I never sat out during marching band... That's my little thing, I hardly eat. Yet my metabolism is slow so I gain.
That is also including the muscle I gain too....
Technically, the overall theme should have been, (don't judge a book by its cover.)
I'm grateful I have been going to a very accepting school.
My first two years were pretty bad because of the principal we had. The principal we have now is actually a sweet woman. She doesn't tolerate bullying.

This a very good article. I feel this way every time a teacher tell me I have speak in front of the class. I never raised my hand in class because afraid to.

A very interesting article and I agree with every point raised. School can be difficult for many people and the pressure to step up to the plate where pupils may not be confident or comfortable can just be too much.

Gym is always competitive. It's especially difficult for a guy who lacks the skills in sports & physique that they are "supposed to have". I hated gym class because I'm not athletic & was picked next to last, if not last.

I think schools should try & do more for the shy kids, but the shy kids should also try to do some stuff. I am a shy person, but I have found I can be outgoing. I took drama class throughout high school and that helped my shyness greatly.

In elementary school, I was always really shy and lacked confidence and I would occasionally get bullied. Even if I told my teachers I didn't feel comfortable speaking in front of the class, I would always be forced to. Overtime, I developed severe social anxiety.

In elementary school, I was always really shy and lacked confidence and I would occasionally get bullied. Even if I told my teachers I didn't feel comfortable speaking in front of the class, I would always be forced to. Overtime, I developed severe social anxiety.

Great article! I know what you mean. I went throught 2 different high schools and the 1st one educated kids as if we were all the same and if you happened to be or think in a different way you were seen as a rebel if not stupid. 2nd school was comepletly different. Schools that follow the IB Diploma system tend to be more open minded in general and more focused on finding each student's talent, as well as teaching you to think instead of memorizing facts.

Also, I know that people who have trouble with speaches and that type of presentations do a lot better after some drama classes.

This also happens here in Portugal. I don't think schools here are doing a good job in preparing us for the future. Instead of thinking, we're memorizing; instead of developing our own abilities, we're being forced to have certain skills that we just don't have; we're being tested equally, but we're not all the same. Schools should really adopt new ways to help all different children and teens be the best they can be.

This article might explain some problems that have led to unchallenged students. This is also the other perspective in a way, although doesn't exactly address shy kids. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-21895705

Great article. :) When I was in high school I was shy and giving speeches or reading essays in class was horrible. mostly because my first two years in high school were at a crappy school, where nearly everyone was mean.

But yeah I completely agree with all of this. :)

I do wish there were statistics as well and I still agree that shy students should be encouraged. However, shy students failing isn't really it necessarily. I never put my hand up in class... Straight through university ad now I am because I've gotten to know my professors. I never failed and I was chubby in highschool and I ran and such but it didn't really help me. There's more here than you think. I think there may be an underlying class issue as students with higher class often are encouraged to do more sports etc.

Shy students don't usually fail, but teachers should encourage them. I think there is enough anti-bullying stuff in school that the shy kids will be okay. Also teachers are always around and should be contacted. They notice more than we think.

Nice article overall, you should use stats though.

Thank you so much! I have severe social anxiety and struggle a lot in school. My teachers always ask me to read something in front of the class. I almost always have a panic attack right after, whether people realize it or not. I don't ask for help when I need it because I hate social interaction with people I don't know. I had to stop taking PE because I struggle with an eating disorder and the instructor would only give credit to the skinniest girls, which of course made my eating disorder worse. I still am discriminated against because I'm not the skinniest or the most popular or the most eager to read something to the class. So, again, thank you for writing this. You've shined a light onto something that most people outside our world don't understand

Thank you. Honestly, thank you. I'm quiet and shy and my hands shake and my palms get sweaty when faced with an oral report. I don't raise my hand in class for various reasons, mainly, as weird as this sounds, because I'm afraid I'll suddenly have a frog in my throat and my voice will catch. Weird, right? I think so. I'm also overweight, and when you addressed the P.E. curriculum, it's unfortunate that I ad to be pleasantly surprised. I guess I didn't think anyone else realized. I have to say, the P.E. uniforms are probably the worst. And the discriminating and uncaring instructors. So once again, thank you. You've made a difference today, no matter how small.

I wish there were more statistics for this article, yet I agree with a lot of it—not all of it though. I do think that there are always going to be horrible situations you're going to face and stupid people you're going to encounter. High school helps expose yourself to those things so that in the future you won't be as flabbergasted.

@ SkittlezMonsterr
I think 90% of the people on this site are shy. I think most people in the world have dealt with bullies. Did you know that when you go into the real world and start working it just gets worse? Better yet, even less people give a shit about you. Life sucks. You'll always have to do things you don't want to and deal with people you hate.

Success depends on you, yourself.
It doesn't matter what other people think.
Don't let others' opinions of you become YOUR opinions of YOU.
If you don't like something about yourself, get motivated to become WHO you want to be!
There will always be people who put you down; whom are vile, rude, horrible, etc. But there are also GOOD people, too.
Prove them WRONG.
Build yourself.
Be better (in fact, you're probably already better for being nice)!
Do something that makes you happy.
Dream, chase, make it somewhere they can't.
Be YOU.

And this is basically everything that I tell myself. There would be more, but this comment is already long enough as it is.

@ SkittlezMonsterr I disagreed with some parts of this article, and I am shy, extremely so. People were nasty to me in high school, and I wouldn't go back to that hell hole even for a million dollars. Yet, I still succeeded and achieved, regardless of being shy and being "bullied." High school is a way for you to learn to fend for yourself because mommy and daddy aren't going to be able to protect you forever, as harsh as that sounds. There are always going to be vile/rude people like that, and you have to learn to deal with them, whether that's asking for help, ignoring them, or standing up for yourself. Some people just never grow up and out of their high school phase. Shoot, my parents are pushing into their fifties, and they still deal with immaturity.

High school does not only push you in academics but also in social situations.

Although others may disagree with many points in this, I highly agree.
Take this from someone who IS shy and who found the points made true. Things are like that.
It's not so much the public speaking part, it's more the bullying part.
If teenagers and children weren't so rude and vile, most bullying could be diminished.
But, I'm just "whining and complaining" as I've often been told.
Until you see it from our eyes, or it happens to you, then you won't understand.