More than any other words I utter inside the classroom, I find this phrase most interesting. There is 100% obedience from my students. Nobody questions it, and the students, including myself, will be found smiling.
It is interesting to note as to why this happens. Is it because my lessons are quite mentally tedious (after all, it’s an accounting class). =) Or is it because every member of the class has more important things to attend to after the bell rings? No, I don’t think so.
I think it’s because the students, including myself, are eager to learn more outside the four walls of the classroom.
I know that my lessons are just preparations for the lifelong learning they’re about to undergo. The most important lessons in life are not just taught but realized.
So the phrase “ok class, dismissed!” does not mean that the learning has ended, but rather, it has just begun.