What Teachers Say vs. What They Actually Mean

By CARLY CANSECO ‘27

Exeter has built a rich culture around Harkness, dubbing loud and talkative people as “Harkness warriors,” and pushing cliche terms like “to build onto your point.” At the table, there is also another thing that teachers often say, but it usually has a different meaning. Here’s a list of five of them and their actual definitions.

“I can see where you’re coming from, but according to page 204….”

You’re definitely wrong, and your teacher strongly believes that you didn’t do the reading.

“Let’s think about this differently!”

Your teacher believes the perspective you’re coming from is incorrect. *Note: The tone of this matters. If it is said positively, your teacher believes it is a good point, but how you phrased it is incorrect. 

“Let’s hear from someone else at the table” or “Share the air, guys!”

If you’re the person who talked right before your teacher said this, they absolutely think you are talking too much.

“What else is there?”

Your entire class has been discussing a topic for the entirety of long block, but you have completely missed a key point from the text.

“Lets end class here!”

This is probably the best one. This one usually means that your teacher believes you have exhausted all the points needed to make, so much that they’re willing to let you free.