Dr. Knight is the new Director of the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development. She feels that free speech is very important. Dr. Knight has been at TCU for 30 years, and she has seen a variety of factors affect discussion in the classroom. Not only has she seen differences in student behavior in class over the years, she’s also noticed how classroom layout has a huge effect on student discussion. When the classroom is in a lecture hall, there is less discussion because there are more people and it is harder for students to look at their peers when they are speaking since everyone is facing one direction. She noted that students tend to speak up more when there is more light in the classroom, the seating is set up to see everyone, and there are less students in the class. This environment welcomes discussion more, and it is an important aspect to think about that had not come up before.
Dr. Knight tries to be cognizant of cultural language. While she tries not to censor, she also does not want to offend anyone. In teaching child development, there are many distinct differences when it comes to boys and girls. However, it is difficult because culture has been changing faster than the textbook and material. Another example of cultural language is addressing the autism community. Generally, adults with autism prefer to be called “autistic,” while parents of autistic children prefer “children with autism.” There is difficulty in having awareness for what everyone wants and how to address them, which is an interesting subject regarding free speech. Overall, the conversation with Dr. Knight brought up new aspects that relate to the comfort of using one’s voice in the academic setting.