Ever since we were old enough to go to school, we were trained that silence is golden.
Our teachers would tell us that if her bunny fingers are up, it means to be quiet.
If our teacher claps three times we shall all magically be silent.
When the bell rings, signaling the beginning of class, everyone becomes quiet and the teacher begins to talk.
That is what has been expected of us for a very long time.So when the bell rings, signaling the beginning of class, everyone becomes quiet and the teacher doesn't say anything... students are baffled. We've never been in this situation. The silence becomes awkward since no one knows what to do.
The situation reminded me of a typical elevator ride. A group of people in a closed space, but an enviornment which they think they're not allowed to talk.
Silence is indeed awkward-to those who think that it is awkward. If we think about it... when we take a test in school, silence is required. Does anyone think that it's awkward that it's silent? No. Because we were trained to be silent while taking tests. This proves that silence is not always awkward.
I do not think that silence has affected our ability to be listeners. When we ask questions to fill the silence...such as "How's your day?" or "What's your name?" we still learn something about the people around us. I believe that silence helps us be more social with others. The thing that actually makes us become bad listeners is not silence, but insincerity.
I learned that we have been trained to think sociologically. Although I don't know enough about sociology, I can think of a few everyday examples. As i mentioned earlier, the elevator and how usually no one talks.
