Remolona 1

Jake Remolona

Benedetti

UWP

10 December 2017

The Body Language of Success

Participating in class has always been somewhat of a challenge for me. With a shaky

voice and sweaty palms, I would hunch over my desk in fear of being called upon. Id always

choose the outside seats in order to stay out of the direct discussion. While the confident kids

projected their respective opinions, I sat hidden away in the corner, listening and observing.

There was a common theme with these students; they were the ones who tended to sit upright in

their chairs and appear to listen attentively. The less talkative of the bunch also behaved very

similarly to each other--they would sit towards the outskirts of the room, put their heads in their

hands, and try to divert all attention away from them. Within school, students face academic

pressures and social pressures. Theres an expectation to achieve high grades in the classroom,

but also to interact with others in positive, caring relationships. Largely unthought of, body

language may play a key role in determining whos successful in collaborating with others and

excelling in academics.

Within the spectrum of communication, body language serves as a complement to spoken

words. It provides visual information to supplement verbal communication, offering a complete

picture. In fact, data [suggests] that around 60-70% of our communication is non-verbal.

(Wilson). For example, if a person were to maintain eye contact, nod their head, and lean in

close, it would be a sign that the person is listening very intently. This type of body language is

especially essential in the classroom. Within the modern day education system, there is a very
 Remolona 2

specific relationship between the teacher and the student. Students are expected to attend class,

pay attention, and learn. Teachers on the other hand, are expected to give out the information

in order for the students to learn. The relationship is very one-sided; it assumes the fact that the

teacher knows all and doesnt have the ability to learn more while the students are the complete

opposite: there to learn, but not teach. In his novel, Paulo Freire elaborates on how education has

become an act of depositing. He argues how the scope of action allowed to students extends

only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits. Within the discourse of the classroom,

the students who listen, pay attention, and abide to the rules the best are typically rewarded with

the highest grades. They are taught to sit up, remove all distractions, and keep their ears open.

This positive posture seems to be associated with good students; it is viewed as the best way to

learn. Meanwhile, the students who hunch over the desk, rest their head on top of their arms,

and seem to be disinterested are viewed as bad students. Not that they are bad people, theyre

just viewed as detrimental for the classroom. However, when comparing the differences between

supposedly good students and supposedly bad students, a glaring trait comes to mind: the

body language doesnt necessarily affect the students abilities to learn, it affects their abilities to

listen. The ability to listen to what is being told is extremely valued within society. We are taught

in schools that listening will make us successful. Positive body language allows us to listen

more effectively and through that, well learn more effectively. Besides its impact on supposed

learning, body language has many other implications ranging from: emotion, to behavior, and

personal interaction.

The schooling system has and always will be competitive. It was meant to observe who

would be best fit for our society. Theres always going to be more successful students than
 Remolona 3

others. What separates these successful students from the non-successful students? Mainly

grades. However, if we take a deeper look into the behaviors of successful students, we start to

see a few things in common among all of them. For starters, most successful students refuse

failure; they wont allow themselves to fail. If they stumble upon a roadblock, they dont give

up; they search for ways to push through it. Persistence and the way people handle themselves

through struggle are two traits that society values. However, there is a characteristic of successful

students and people that is often overlooked: their body language. In an experiment done by the

University of Maryland, subjects were put into one of two positions with drastically different

body postures: half were put in a slumped over position while others were put into an upright

position. After the subjects stayed in their positions for three minutes, they were given a

questionnaire that assessed their feelings and/or mood. After that, the subjects were given four

puzzles, the first two were insoluble while the last two were soluble. It was assumed that the

fewer trials a subject spent on the insoluble puzzle, the lower his tolerance for an intrinsically

frustrating task(Riskind and Gotay 276-282). The results were shocking. Those in a slumped

position had a mean persistence score of 10.78 meaning they roughly tried the puzzle eleven

times before quitting. On the other hand, those in an upright position had a mean persistence

score of 17.11. The upright posture people tried the puzzle roughly six more times compared to

the slumped crowd. The upright people also reported to be more self-confident, strong, and

competent while feeling less fatigued. A similar experiment was conducted at Texas A&M

University and it produced similar results as the first one. These two experiments revealed that

body posture may have a bigger effect in determining who has the mental capability to push

through tough situations--something that successful students do particularly well. While not

necessarily arguing that being more persistent will directly translate into better grades, it is
 Remolona 4

however, key in addressing initial shortcomings of learning. Once students address what they

dont know, they become more successful.

While persistence doesnt fully define success, body language still has a way of

determining who looks and is more successful. Going back to posture, students who appear to be

listening and engaged in class are usually the ones who earn the highest grades. Our education

system places value in the students who are able to actively listen to what the teachers have to

say. However, education is slowly progressing to include participation as part of the grade.

Students are starting to learn how to discuss their opinions with others. While in the classroom,

there are always going to be students who participate a little more than others and students who

barely say a word. Personally, I have observed this interesting dynamic. Within discussion-based

classes, the highest grades are usually earned by those who normally participate in class. I can

relate to this experience. As a student in AP Literature, we constantly had discussions of the

different texts. Participation was part of our grade, but that still didnt motivate me enough to

discuss my opinion; I was scared. I didnt have the confidence to prove my point. Grades came

out at the end of the term and I didnt do as well as some of my peers. I completed all my

assignments and essays and scored well enough to earn an A had it not been for one part of

grade-participation. It weighed on my grade and ultimately prevented me from achieving an A.

Meanwhile, my friends who may not have had better essays than me, got As. Why is this?

Simply because they participated in class. By forcing students to participate, this gets them out of

their comfort zones and reinforces the value of being able to interact with each other.

Within discussion classes, the successful students are the ones who tend to raise their

hands high above their heads, sit upright in their chairs, and confidently project their voices

within the group. On the other side, the not-so successful students tend to be the ones who raise
 Remolona 5

their hands by propping one of their arms on top of another, just barely getting their hand above

their head, sit slumped over almost to the point of slumber, and talk without really making eye

contact to the class. I asked the shy classmates why they wouldnt speak up in class and most of

their responses were pretty much the same: they lacked confidence in themselves. Im afraid of

being wrong and being judged for having a different opinion, says fellow classmate, Nick.

According to Lillian Glass, if a persons shoulders are straight yet relaxed, it indicates that he

possesses a great deal of self-confidence. This harkens back to the ideal posture. The reason

schools are so adamant on students sitting up and paying attention is that it allows us to be

attentive and focused. The posture is valued because it is seen as having confidence and poise. I

believe that the more successful students arent necessarily smarter or more intelligent than the

other ones, they just have more confidence to express their opinions and have less fear of being

wrong or argued. This is where the social implications of school are the most present.

Within school, individual learning is emphasized because school was meant to prepare its

students for the workforce. It is designed to observe who would be the most qualified in order to

run our businesses and workforce. It leaves little margin for group learning and collaboration.

Within his novel, What Video Games Have to Teach us About Learning and Literacy, James Paul

Gee argues that schools still isolate children from such powerful networks and test and assess

them as isolated individuals. He is arguing that learning could be beneficial when done in

groups. This is essentially important because body language is very social. It is the way people

are able to read us. Within the classroom, social constraints occur in group work. Our body

language may determine how well people are able to interact with others. Because group work is

about sharing ideas and elaborating upon them, our ability to listen and come to a consensus are

of the utmost importance. This is the application of soft skills-a category that body language falls
 Remolona 6

under. Soft skills are defined as personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively

and harmoniously with other people. Having open body language such as: uncrossed arms, eye

contact, and position of body is important for listening. Despite isolating students, the ability to

collaborate and work in a group is something that is valued in todays workforce. According to

Bernd Schulz, Soft skills are playing an important role in shaping a persons personality, they

enable social competence, and they complement the hard skills, which are the technical

requirements of a job. As such, soft skills stand with equal importance beside hard skills. In

terms of how school prepares students for work, it teaches us hard skills. It places value on how

well the students are able to gain these skills, but doesnt place as much emphasis on the other

side of the spectrum. Within the discourse of the workforce, companies place value in the

workers who are able to effectively collaborate with others, bringing different skills to the table.

Communication skills are not only necessary for a persons professional career, but are even

more contributing to ones so-called social competence, a fact which applies to many other soft

skills, too (Schulz). The value of body language within school doesnt become pronounced until

we join the workforce. Despite not placing a heavy priority on body language, schools are able to

prepare its students because of the values they place on positive body language. By rewarding

students who are able to abide to the rules and collaborate with good body language, schools are

essentially doing the job that they were established for: preparing people for the real world.

Largely associated with positive things such as confidence, poise, and persistence, body

language allows us to interpret information from others through their movements and gestures. It

allows us to see a bigger picture within communication. Despite playing a huge role in

communication, body language may also play a significant role in determining the successful

students from the non successful students. Within the academic discourse however, positive body
 Remolona 7

language can be associated with students who achieve the highest grades and are able to

collaborate with others easily. The students who pay attention and coordinate with others are the

ones who get rewarded with good grades. They constantly display their confidence and success

through their mannerisms and behavior. Because grades are a measurement of success, people

are striving to get the best grades that they can. In doing so, we are essentially preparing

ourselves for what is to come outside of school. Within the discourse of the workforce,

companies deem workers who can collaborate and bring something new to the table as valuable.

Through its value on positive body language, schools are able to effectively do its job: prepare

us for the outside world.

Works Cited

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder, 1972. Print.

Gee, James P. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. New York:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Print.

Glass, Lillian. Body Language Advantage : Maximize Your Personal and Professional
Relationships with this Ultimate Photo Guide to Deciphering, Fair Winds Press, 2012.
 Remolona 8

ProQuest Ebook Central,

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucdavis/detail.action?docID=3399623.

Gosal,Nick. Personal Interview. 20 November 2017

Riskind, J.H. & Gotay, C.C. Physical posture: Could it have regulatory or feedback effects on
motivation and emotion? Motiv Emot (1982) 6: 273. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00992249

Schulz, Bernd. The Importance of Soft Skills: Education Beyond Academic Knowledge
Nambia University of Science and Technology, 2008,
ir.polytechnic.edu.na/bitstream/handle/10628/39/The%20Importance%20of%20Soft%20%20S
kills-Education%20beyond%20academic%20knowledge.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Wilson, Glenn. Body Language : The Signals You Dont Know Youre Sending, and How To
Master Them, Icon Books Ltd, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central,
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucdavis/detail.action?docID=4620593.