# What do you think of this classroom "icebreaker?" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 3, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403 "2014-09-03T19:50:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/61 "2014-09-04T15:34:28Z")
“Is this going to be on the final?” Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/62 "2014-09-04T15:49:49Z")
**cher3** , what did your friend have to say? This is so over the top inappropriate I’d have been in the principal’s office the next morning! What was this woman THINKING? ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/63 "2014-09-04T17:22:46Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I think that book was probably ‘Soft Pawn’ by William Hartston - a very funny book and totally appropriate for children. > > The parents you mention probably think a pediatrician is a child abuser or that devilled eggs involves worshipping Satan. :smack: I think you’re right as it was a comedy book, I’ve just got my innuendos mixed up. How painful! Too many of those parents read the daily mail unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/64 "2014-09-04T17:31:19Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I’d buy that excuse for a teen or a college student, but this is a fully qualified teacher, who has a graduate degree, has done student teaching, and presumably did some subbing for a while before finding a permanent job, and is at the very youngest maybe 27, not to mention someone who sought out working with the public as a career, and has a responsibility to deal with her personal baggage appropriately, and learn how the rest of the world works. > > However it happened, she messed up. But the admin, who dictated “ice-breakers, and be original” bears some responsibility. That is a weird set of assumptions to make about a teacher. Plenty of 22 year-olds started their first full time job as teachers this week, often with only a B.A., and not uncommonly having not done any student teaching. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/65 "2014-09-04T17:50:29Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > That is a weird set of assumptions to make about a teacher. Plenty of 22 year-olds started their first full time job as teachers this week, often with only a B.A., and not uncommonly having not done any student teaching. Do the requirements of an education B.A. normally include courses in child psychology? (Particularly teen psychology.) ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/66 "2014-09-04T17:58:17Z")
And I thought it couldn’t get worse than “Take as many M&Ms as you want…”. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/67 "2014-09-04T17:59:30Z")
> [@Missy2U](#): > > **cher3** , what did your friend have to say? This is so over the top inappropriate I’d have been in the principal’s office the next morning! What was this woman THINKING? I do have an update. Apparently the exercise was not to talk about your worst thing in front of the whole class. They paired up with one other student and each was supposed to tell the other one the worst thing. However, the teacher did share her experience with everyone as I described in the OP. They did some other quirky exercise yesterday. I can’t remember what it was, but it was not on the same level of weirdness or intrusiveness. Apparently she’s going for the whole “what’s Ms. X going to do today?” experience. They’ll get around to some math eventually, I expect. I haven’t talked to my friend about it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/68 "2014-09-04T18:44:37Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > I wonder how most of the kids did handle it. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got a call from a parent or two. I guess I could _almost_ understand it if it were a discussion course or seminar where she wanted the kids to be able to delve into difficult or sensitive topics without maintaining too many layers of b.s. But math? Maybe she’s hoping that if there are enough objections she won’t have to do ice breakers next semester. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/69 "2014-09-04T20:04:46Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > Do the requirements of an education B.A. normally include courses in child psychology? (Particularly teen psychology.) I am not suggesting it was a good idea. I’ve already mentioned that a couple times in this thread. It’s just weird to suggest that you never see a teacher under 27. I work with tons of teachers that are or who started teaching in their early 20s. I have several former students who just started teaching in their early twenties. I have former students who are DOCTORS at 27. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/70 "2014-09-04T20:44:04Z")
Anyone else have the Brooklyn Bridge’s “[The Worst That Could Happen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPTvxkV3FAk)” running through their head? ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/71 "2014-09-04T20:45:57Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > Do the requirements of an education B.A. normally include courses in child psychology? (Particularly teen psychology.) Yes, they often do. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/72 "2014-09-04T21:39:37Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > I am not suggesting it was a good idea. I’ve already mentioned that a couple times in this thread. I know, and I did not mean to imply otherwise. Your comment just led me to wonder what sort of preparation those young teachers got in college for dealing with stuff like this. Is there a blunt, practical Child Psych class for teachers that basically lays out behaviors they should expect to see in a typical school, and possibly some strategies for handling them–or at least for not exacerbating them? Or is it something you learn on the job, and that a class couldn’t really help much with, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/73 "2014-09-04T21:41:37Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > If it was a trigonometry class you might expect them to go off on a tangent. One of the kids has a strange reaction to smoking marijuana; he becomes suicidal and at his worst moment, he did actually attempt it. It is really fresh though, so when called upon to describe it in the ice breaker, he could barely choke out the words. “High…pot…a noose.” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/74 "2014-09-04T21:43:57Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > I do have an update. Apparently the exercise was not to talk about your worst thing in front of the whole class. They paired up with one other student and each was supposed to tell the other one the worst thing. However, the teacher did share her experience with everyone as I described in the OP. That sounds a little less potentially humiliating, but it’s still inappropriate for the same reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/75 "2014-09-04T22:22:17Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > What do you think of this as an icebreaker for an algebra class? On the other hand, perhaps she just felt that it really could loosen up the class and, maybe, let some kid know that they weren’t suffering alone. On the other hand, she’s an **Algebra** teacher, not somethng else. I’d be complaining if her \*\*Algebra teaching skills \*\* were substandard. I’d judge an Algebra Teacher on her on her ability to teach algebra, not on her general social skills. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/76 "2014-09-04T22:24:25Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > . . . “High…pot…a noose.” That is a terrible, horrible, painful pun. Well done. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/77 "2014-09-04T23:05:35Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > I do have an update. Apparently the exercise was not to talk about your worst thing in front of the whole class. They paired up with one other student and each was supposed to tell the other one the worst thing. However, the teacher did share her experience with everyone as I described in the OP. > [@Marley23](#): > > That sounds a little less potentially humiliating, but it’s still inappropriate for the same reasons. In a way I think doing this icebreaker in pairs is even worse than doing it with the whole group. The forced intimacy seems creepy to me. While sharing an unpleasant memory with one other person was probably less stressful for most of the kids than sharing it with the entire class would have been, this also seems like a situation that would be more likely lead to some kids sharing a story they wouldn’t want everyone to know. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/78 "2014-09-04T23:13:57Z")
This reminds me of the story I read about a teacher doing an exercise with teens asking them to disclose how far they were willing to go with a date sexually. wtf ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/79 "2014-09-04T23:16:27Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > I’d judge an Algebra Teacher on her on her ability to teach algebra, not on her general social skills. She’s a teacher, not a lighthouse keeper. Teachers need social skills because they deal with people. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403/80 "2014-09-04T23:31:45Z")
As a teenager, I would’ve either a) said “none of your business” or b) made up something truly horrific. Like Stephen King-level horrific. And then I would’ve published an article about the entire incident in the student newspaper, of which I was editor for 3 years. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-this-classroom-icebreaker/697403.md?page=5)