justplainbil

Just Plain Bill

Shhh…

Can you remember way back in your school days, when the teacher would say “shhh” when the class was getting noisy? (I’m sure everyone else was talking, but not you, eh?) Well, I was surprised when I looked to Wikipedia to help me understand the origin of the practice. It seems that “shhh”, and other sorts of admonition to be quiet, are originally coming from the stark command, “shut up.” (A harsh and destructive admonition.)

As I’ve been substitute teaching and running a computer lab, I’ve heard many teachers and aides use “shhh” quite often, and I’ve observed that, as it was when I was young, the command has little, if any lasting effect.

Classroom management has been a pet subject for me ever since I first began teaching school 46 years ago. I didn’t use “shhh” then, and I haven’t used it since returning to the classroom. Instead, I’ll usually say, “excuse me”, and then wait a minute or so, which usually allows me to provide instruction and direction without interruption.

Not sure if “shhh” will ever go away, but I can always hope. Working with students there will always be hope, but I fear that with teachers it may be a lost cause.