Say boo -- how scare tactics helped me

I think it's one of the hardest habits to form. But, once you form this habit, its addicting.

What I'm talking about are scare tactics. Scare tactics are personal challenges where you force yourself to break out of your comfort zone and do something that scares you.

In my first semester at Douglas I did not use many scare tactics in my classes. It was easy to keep my hand down. It was easy to stay quiet during class discussions. It was easy to keep my questions and wonder to myself. My questions went unanswered. The result was the subsequent holes in my learning. In a program where each course builds on the previous course, my unanswered questions became my second semester's stumbling blocks.

Why did I keep my questions to myself? I guess I was afraid that my questions were silly.

In my second semester I made myself a promise: I wouldn't let my fear stunt my learning. So I broke through my fear. I put up my hand and asked my questions. And guess what: there really were others in my class wondering about the same questions!

What I learned: The classroom is an interactive experience, and it really is true that the only silly question is the one that isn't asked.