Let's get uncomfortable

Blog #1

Let’s get uncomfortable.

I teach remedial English to community college students in Denver, Colorado. I teach at the Community College of Denver. I just started this gig and I’m getting as much – or more – from the students as they are getting from me.

At about the five-week point in the semester I shake things up a little. I push the students out of their comfort zones. Get them out of their desks and experiencing communication in a different way than what many are either accustomed to or down-right comfortable with.

It’s a four minute exercise in which students move classroom desks around so that we freely wander through the room – well, more freely than normal, these rooms are cramped. I first encountered it at a faculty meeting, the first of the Spring 2010 semester – and the first of my life. We were asked by the department co-chair to stand up, wander through the classroom for four minutes without talking or touching each other. It was awkward and fascinating at the same time. The first two minutes filled with giggles and uncomfortable energy from everyone. We made eye contact; there were smiles at each other. The first two minutes, we all walked in a circle, fast. Then the mood changed, relaxed. We walked in different directions. We walked slower. We walked deliberately.

At the end, we discussed what it was like taking part in the exercise. One faculty’s comment that stuck with me was that for people of some Asian cultures that are concerned with face, the exercise would be extremely uncomfortable. Face is a reference to cultures that value a concern over protecting one’s own image and the perceived image of others in interpersonal situations. Cultures that value face – such as China, Japan, Mexico, Arab countries, Colombia – wouldn’t necessarily put themselves into such an exercise where everyone is in some way put on display.

It got me thinking. How would the exercise look if executed and observed from an intercultural perspective? How might culture be expressed non-verbally in such a capacity? CCD is an inner city college with a beautiful diversity of cultural backgrounds and life experiences. Now, I won’t claim to know the exact cultural histories of each of my students. My understanding of their cultures is drawn from certain cultural cues, classroom assignments and in-class contributions. At the same time, I’m going to do my best to write this reflection without giving identifying details about the individual students I teach.

From an intercultural perspective, the four minutes was fascinating. Students who I identify as coming from first- or second-generation cultures that are concerned with face issues spent the time with eyes diverted, not meeting their classmates’ eyes. Some went farther by pulling hoodies up over their head and turning on iPods, arms crossed.

The only rules I imposed was: 1. Four minutes, 2. No talking, and, 3. No touching. Outside of that, it was okay if students chose to close themselves out. Or, if students stood on the side of the room reading campus safety/evacuation procedures tacked on the wall rather than take part, that was okay, too. And, that was the reaction of some students.

Students whose cultural backgrounds are North American of European descent displayed low context communication while wandering the class for four minutes. Cultures that communicate in low context ways, essentially, say what they mean. They speak directly; there are no subtleties or cultural context behind what is being said. So, those students were the ones making direct eye contact; the occasional wink; waving; calling attention to themselves by jumping sideways through the group, or doing the ‘bird dance.’

Taken interculturally, the four minute walk was a fascinating microcosm of how people communicate from various cultural positions. I invite your comments and responses to this post

Jessica Weirmier, M.A., is an educator and professional communications specialist. Jessica is an Adjunct Faculty member with the Community College of Denver who has lived, worked and studied extensively overseas. She recently graduated with an MA in Professional Communication with a Specialization in Intercultural and International Communication from Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. You can visit her website: JW Communications Consulting or e-mailing: Jessica@jwcommunicationsconsulting.com