I cannot stand ice breakers at all.
The first thing that needs to happen in every class is an ice breaker. Why? When did we as a collective society decide that it was a need to all go around and name our favorite candy bars, the truths about ourselves or our favorite board games from our childhoods. I decided to make a list of things which bothered me about the need for an ice breaker in every class.
First of all, the first couple people in the class have all the power. There is no chance that everyone in the room thinks that the best candy bar is a KitKat. Since that is what is the first person said everyone feels the need to follow along and agree. At the beginning of this semester, a girl said that a fun fact about her was that she liked the color pink. The rest of the class went around saying that their fun facts were their various favorite colors. I feel like I did not really learn much about anyone by their answers. Instead, I discovered if they are willing to conform to the current topic or throw in a different answer.
Even though normally the answers are the same, I can understand why. It is quite stressful to come up with answers to some of the questions. I was recently asked to explain my hottest take, and I said mine is that Q’Doba is better than Chipotle. Many people either didn’t have answers or their answers were extremely controversial. It is hard to come up with answers that will satisfy the question, be unique enough to stand out, and stay in the status quo. Given this is the first thing you are going to know about someone, it is important to make sure that it is a solid answer. And when asked who your least favorite Office character is, you have to make sure that you’re not offending all of the Office loving fans – I’ll admit that my least favorite is Pam.
Lastly, ice breakers are announced to the class. Everyone is in silence for ten minutes while each of the 30 people in class slowly go around and introduce themselves. By the end, I am sure we all know five other people’s names and a few of the fun facts. For people who do not like speaking in front of big groups, like me, it causes a lot of stress to even say the few words that I need to say. I dread when the time gets closer and feel the need to practice what I plan on saying.
I feel that this is not the best way to effectively meet everyone in the class in a way that is interesting. I would love the ability to talk to people one on one and actually get to know them outside of colors, games and truths/lies. If we are unable to take the time to do that, we could just introduce ourselves and leave it at that. All in all, I believe that ice breakers are not needed and don’t add to the community feel of the classroom.