First firing of the quarter took place this week. A team member who hasn't communicated effectively with his/her (hey, this person DOES have a gender but privacy concerns prevent me from divulging it at this time) the team was officially fired by it. Now it's up to the fired person to apply to another team. It will be interesting to see how this goes.
So often students do not require accountability from their team members. I've seen teams in the past carry people who don't live up to team contracts, usually to their detriment but not always. Sometimes teams have two or three very strong workers who also place high value on social maintenance. They find it more costly, personally, to upset someone than to work extra hard to cover for someone.
I'll report later on what happens with this team.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Do Students Read?
Ah, I had one of those classes yesterday that would have made me cry when I was a new teacher. In my morning small group communication class, I was asking questions about the reading assigned for the week and students responding blankly. Three of 30 people admitted to reading the assignment for the week. Sigh.
Oh, well.
Oh, well.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Blogging VS Blackboard
The students in my MW morning small group communication class would rather that I use Blackboard than the blog I've set up for them. Sigh. I guess I'll have to make the change.
Friday, September 25, 2009
New Start
My three classes this quarter are lively and many of the students seem engaged.
This, at least, is my beginning observation. It may just be that there are a few loud people in each class who chit chat, engage with me, and generally make noise. The week has been a bit chaotic with people needing to get into classes and the school encouraging us to do everything we can to let as many people as possible in.
I'm teaching two sections of small group communication and one section of interpersonal. I also have two weekend workshops: Listening and Team Skills. I put the team skills class into the schedule just before registration as a way of getting people an "anchor" class -- a way of getting into the system so that they can register early in November. My service to the college, as it were. And also, because I'm going to be hiring a new part timer to teach the spring one credit workshop, Conflict Management, I needed to pick up and extra load unit.
This, at least, is my beginning observation. It may just be that there are a few loud people in each class who chit chat, engage with me, and generally make noise. The week has been a bit chaotic with people needing to get into classes and the school encouraging us to do everything we can to let as many people as possible in.
I'm teaching two sections of small group communication and one section of interpersonal. I also have two weekend workshops: Listening and Team Skills. I put the team skills class into the schedule just before registration as a way of getting people an "anchor" class -- a way of getting into the system so that they can register early in November. My service to the college, as it were. And also, because I'm going to be hiring a new part timer to teach the spring one credit workshop, Conflict Management, I needed to pick up and extra load unit.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
It's all over now
Wow. The summer class is done. Sunday we had persuasive speeches, I graded them, and posted the grades this morning. Now it's three weeks till I'm back on contract.
Many folks improved for their persuasive speeches. They took the comments made by their evaluation partners to heart. Others obviously just wanted to get the class over and done with the quickest way possible.
My favorite speech of the day was one on why COCC should pay more attention to food allergies and food intolerance, especially in the food offered on campus. I liked this speech for many reasons. First, it was on a very local issue. Second, it was quite well researched. Third, the speaker had a personal stake in the issue.
I'm always a big fan of local and personal. I pretty much get bored with issues I've heard like a bazillion times -- global warming, nutrition, and exercise among them. I'm not bored with the people who give the speeches. Just with the topics.
Many folks improved for their persuasive speeches. They took the comments made by their evaluation partners to heart. Others obviously just wanted to get the class over and done with the quickest way possible.
My favorite speech of the day was one on why COCC should pay more attention to food allergies and food intolerance, especially in the food offered on campus. I liked this speech for many reasons. First, it was on a very local issue. Second, it was quite well researched. Third, the speaker had a personal stake in the issue.
I'm always a big fan of local and personal. I pretty much get bored with issues I've heard like a bazillion times -- global warming, nutrition, and exercise among them. I'm not bored with the people who give the speeches. Just with the topics.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Informative Speeches
Had a great collection of informative speeches yesterday. We talked about rescue dogs, the Milgram studies, music therapy, the symbolic meaning of the eagle and many other things. My favorite speech, however, was the one on Anthrax, or Bacillus Anthracis. It was well organized, had plenty of data, and was something I didn't know anything about. The student who gave the speech was able to clarify a very complicated topic.
There were a couple of speeches on very complicated topics that were probably a bit too big for the 6 minute time limit. The speech on American monetary policy wound up being interesting but confusing. A presentation on Global Warming seemed to give a few different descriptions of what caused the problem but didn't completely hang together.
One thing I've noticed is that the biggest reason people do poorly in my classes is that they don't read the directions. I think I've done a pretty good job explaining exactly what people need to do to succeed in the course but sometimes I think people don't actually pay attention to their own opportunities for success.
Today I'll be hearing the persuasive speeches. I'm missing a few students. I hope that the folks who attended yesterday attend today. I've also got a couple of people who showed up and did the work for the first weekend but who haven't shown up this weekend. I fear that unless they contact me they'll wind up getting Fs. I hate giving failing grades.
There were a couple of speeches on very complicated topics that were probably a bit too big for the 6 minute time limit. The speech on American monetary policy wound up being interesting but confusing. A presentation on Global Warming seemed to give a few different descriptions of what caused the problem but didn't completely hang together.
One thing I've noticed is that the biggest reason people do poorly in my classes is that they don't read the directions. I think I've done a pretty good job explaining exactly what people need to do to succeed in the course but sometimes I think people don't actually pay attention to their own opportunities for success.
Today I'll be hearing the persuasive speeches. I'm missing a few students. I hope that the folks who attended yesterday attend today. I've also got a couple of people who showed up and did the work for the first weekend but who haven't shown up this weekend. I fear that unless they contact me they'll wind up getting Fs. I hate giving failing grades.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
SUMMERTIME FUN
I'm teaching this summer for the first time since 1998. I'm leading an air-conditioned version of the Public Speaking Bootcamp. We just completed the first weekend. It's a fascinating group, very mixed in terms of ages and worldviews. About a fourth are over thirty and a fourth under twenty. There are white and blue collar workers, kids just out of high school, and one gentleman who spent 15 years in prison.
And I was impressed by the work they did this last weekend. Some of them chose very interesting rhetorical figures for their evocative speeches, like diacope and catachresis.
Now comes the hard part -- disciplining themselves to get their work done over the next three weeks.
And I was impressed by the work they did this last weekend. Some of them chose very interesting rhetorical figures for their evocative speeches, like diacope and catachresis.
Now comes the hard part -- disciplining themselves to get their work done over the next three weeks.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
FINALS
I'm hanging out at the front of Deschutes 1, watching five of my 21 interpersonal communication students continue to work on their final exam. I'm tapping away at the front of the room. The test was short-answer, recognition, and essay. After the test, I ask them to write a letter to themselves about what they've accomplished in their work on their personal goals. Three of the five are doing that. Nope. All of them. I'll soon be home sipping prosecco. I'll send them the letter in three months. I got this letter idea from a Small Group Communication workshop I attended way back in my second or third year at COCC. I'm afraid I'd have to look at my H.R. file to remember the title of the workshop.
I myself didn't get everything done this quarter. I wanted to do more interactive online work with the students. Well, more isn't really the right word. Try some. Oh well. There's always next fall! (I get to say that for four or five more years.)
Aha! One left! It's certainly been an interesting group this quarter! If only I'd told more stories about them.
I myself didn't get everything done this quarter. I wanted to do more interactive online work with the students. Well, more isn't really the right word. Try some. Oh well. There's always next fall! (I get to say that for four or five more years.)
Aha! One left! It's certainly been an interesting group this quarter! If only I'd told more stories about them.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
I LUV my Love Class!
This morning the students in Communicating Love (a course that exists in Oregon only at COCC) presented oral reports on their personal beliefs about love. I felt so happy with their sharing, especially the kind remarks from students who recognized the value of others stories about their struggles. A few times one student would thank another for providing insight either from their own lives or in their discovery of a helpful book.
Some examples:
One student talked about how she had learned over the course of the quarter that she wasn't a very good listener but, more importantly, she wasn't a good "talker" -- she didn't like to self disclose. She shared that she blocks connection but that she is planning to do better on this, starting slowly with a bit of self disclosure in safe circumstances. When she was finished another student thanked her for being so open about how she wanted to change.
Another student talked about two books that he had discovered, one by Harville Hendrix and another by Dr. Phil. What he most appreciated about these books was the idea that it's okay to be single and that it's important to get to know and like yourself before you throw yourself into a relationship with another.
Tears were part of a third student's story as she used her daughter-in-law to be as one of her outside sources and talked about how the young woman was teaching her about how rough she'd been on the men she'd been involved with before and had taught her about how women could treat men with kindness. The woman she spoke of, her son's fiance, is also in the class. She talked about her experiences with her very dysfunctional parents and how she had resolved early on not to be like them.
Each student who spoke today had something useful to share. It made me glad, once again, that I teach what I do.
The "Statement of Personal Belief" assignment.
Communicating Love:
Statement of Personal Belief Written and Oral Assignment
10% Oral Report, 90% Written
Aspects of the task:
1. Review what Huck has to say about academic writing at http://khuck.cocc.edu/Essays/default.aspx. Explanations of how Huck grades are on this page.
2. Find two helpful sources about the relationship between romantic love and long-term relationships. These sources may be artistic (short stories, books, movies) or scientific (studies of human experience as reported in magazines). You will incorporate these sources as well as our textbook into your personal statement. You should have a bibliography at the end of your personal statement with all 3 sources.
3. Create a personal statement as either a series of essays or as one long essay. This personal statement should answer the following questions:
How might the relational patterns in your family history set directions for you? (Incorporate descriptions of what you know about parents, grandparents, and siblings relationships and how these might influence you).
How might the interactional patterns of your own childhood influence your current or future love choices? (Incorporate descriptions of two or three actual past experiences.)
Describe any media texts that currently influence your thinking about love and long-term commitment and explain how they influence you. (These may be books, movies, music, television programs, etc.)
What aspects of yourself and your skills do you bring into relationships and will you bring into them in the future?
Describe, with as much clarity and detail as possible, what you hope to experience in your future loving relationships. (Include some description of how you will manage the decline of chemical romance and differences of opinion within the relationship.)
ORAL REPORT (2-4 minutes long) Due anytime during class: June 2-4
Your oral report may cover any of the following aspects of your essay:
Describe the two outside sources you are drawing from and what you have learned from them.
Pick one or two aspects of what you learned about yourself and share them with the class.
Focus on what you are looking for in a loving relationship.
WRITTEN REPORT Due June 11, 1 p.m.
Must make use of textbook and two more sources.
Must have plenty of specific detail.
Must be at least 750 words long.
Some examples:
One student talked about how she had learned over the course of the quarter that she wasn't a very good listener but, more importantly, she wasn't a good "talker" -- she didn't like to self disclose. She shared that she blocks connection but that she is planning to do better on this, starting slowly with a bit of self disclosure in safe circumstances. When she was finished another student thanked her for being so open about how she wanted to change.
Another student talked about two books that he had discovered, one by Harville Hendrix and another by Dr. Phil. What he most appreciated about these books was the idea that it's okay to be single and that it's important to get to know and like yourself before you throw yourself into a relationship with another.
Tears were part of a third student's story as she used her daughter-in-law to be as one of her outside sources and talked about how the young woman was teaching her about how rough she'd been on the men she'd been involved with before and had taught her about how women could treat men with kindness. The woman she spoke of, her son's fiance, is also in the class. She talked about her experiences with her very dysfunctional parents and how she had resolved early on not to be like them.
Each student who spoke today had something useful to share. It made me glad, once again, that I teach what I do.
The "Statement of Personal Belief" assignment.
Communicating Love:
Statement of Personal Belief Written and Oral Assignment
10% Oral Report, 90% Written
Aspects of the task:
1. Review what Huck has to say about academic writing at http://khuck.cocc.edu/Essays/default.aspx. Explanations of how Huck grades are on this page.
2. Find two helpful sources about the relationship between romantic love and long-term relationships. These sources may be artistic (short stories, books, movies) or scientific (studies of human experience as reported in magazines). You will incorporate these sources as well as our textbook into your personal statement. You should have a bibliography at the end of your personal statement with all 3 sources.
3. Create a personal statement as either a series of essays or as one long essay. This personal statement should answer the following questions:
How might the relational patterns in your family history set directions for you? (Incorporate descriptions of what you know about parents, grandparents, and siblings relationships and how these might influence you).
How might the interactional patterns of your own childhood influence your current or future love choices? (Incorporate descriptions of two or three actual past experiences.)
Describe any media texts that currently influence your thinking about love and long-term commitment and explain how they influence you. (These may be books, movies, music, television programs, etc.)
What aspects of yourself and your skills do you bring into relationships and will you bring into them in the future?
Describe, with as much clarity and detail as possible, what you hope to experience in your future loving relationships. (Include some description of how you will manage the decline of chemical romance and differences of opinion within the relationship.)
ORAL REPORT (2-4 minutes long) Due anytime during class: June 2-4
Your oral report may cover any of the following aspects of your essay:
Describe the two outside sources you are drawing from and what you have learned from them.
Pick one or two aspects of what you learned about yourself and share them with the class.
Focus on what you are looking for in a loving relationship.
WRITTEN REPORT Due June 11, 1 p.m.
Must make use of textbook and two more sources.
Must have plenty of specific detail.
Must be at least 750 words long.
Monday, May 11, 2009
YOU LIKE ME, YOU REALLY LIKE ME!
I’ve got to stop whining now. I’ve been susceptible to professional jealousy for years but Friday evening provided me with the medicine I need to alleviate its nasty symptoms.
But I’ll begin on Thursday, May 7, 2009. That afternoon I got a call from my dean, Mary Jeanne Kuhar.
“I hear you’re not going to be at the Convocation tomorrow night,” she said. The Convocation is an administration-sponsored COCC event that celebrates faculty achievement with speeches by the college president and a local newsmaker followed by the presentation of the Faculty Achievement Award. This prize is like being named “Teacher of the Year”. After hearing the accolade, faculty remove their robes and enjoy a no-host bar and free dinner.
I have not been able to attend the Convocation for a few years because it often falls on a Friday night when I’m teaching. This year was no exception.
“Yeah. I work,” I told the Dean. “I sent in my RSVP no show months ago. I’ll be in Redmond.” It was the third Friday of my two weekend Public Speaking Bootcamp.
“We’d really like to see you at the Convocation. It just won’t be the same without you. I mean we really need you. Is there anything I can do to make it possible for you to be there?” Is she offering to find a substitute? To substitute for me herself? I could think of only one reason she would want me to abandon students to be at the yearly gathering. I was getting the award this year. Of course, she couldn’t tell me right out but the smile in her voice let me know.
I assured her that I would not only be there but that I would stay for dinner.
When I hung up I pumped my fist and butt-danced in my chair. “Yes, yes, yes!!!”
I spent the next few hours trying to find a substitute for Friday night. The people I trust to hear and grade twenty-four impromptu speeches – Lilli Ann Linford-Forman, Jon Bouknight, Lou Eckert and Michelle Barry-Franco – were all out of town or busy. Plus, there was the whole problem of the key exchange. So I spammed a cancellation to the class and on Friday morning called everyone who hadn’t replied to the email.
Friday I spent the day working at home and prepping for the evening. I re-dyed
my hair to the strawberry blond I’m sporting these days. I went to Costco and bought a Flip video camera. On my way home from Costco, I kept thinking that I needed to go to T.J. Max. I mean, I twice turned in the direction of the Bend River Mall and turned back toward downtown then the third time I made it out to the mall. It took me 15 minutes to find a dress that matched the stiletto-heeled silver sandals I bought at DSW in Eugene last month.
When my friends Stacey Donohue and Mike Van Meter picked me up that evening, I didn’t tell them that I already knew. I couldn’t celebrate until I was officially announced. I sat near the front on the aisle so I could sit the Flip on my lap. After COCC President Jim Middleton spoke warmly about faculty while sharing budget updates and local prosecutor Mike Dugan stood in for his wife Judy Stiegler, offering us a mixed medley of personal reminiscence and praise for education, Kathy Walsh, our Vice President of Instruction started her introduction of the winner of the Faculty Achievement Award. I turned on the Flip.
Even though I knew I was the object of her encomium, I couldn’t recognize myself in her words. She always begins with a build-up, encouraging us to guess who the winner is. (Lots of folks are nominated each year.) She does this very well and I think she enjoys constructing this speech. Friday night she quoted from peer reviews and student evaluations that spoke about someone very serious and dedicated. Could Mary Jeanne have been misinformed? Could this be a moment of mistake? (Stories of mistaken walks toward the Oscar stage flooded my brain.) I couldn’t remember ever reading any of the comments I was hearing. I only remember the criticisms I’ve been given over the years.
Finally, when she got to the part about the winner having “a sense of style all her own, sartorially and in all other ways,” I knew for sure that Mary Jeanne hadn’t made a mistake. So my heart rate went up and I started to sweat, knowing that I’d have to go to the front of the room. Yes, I have TERRIBLE communication apprehension!
On my way up to the lectern, I forgot half of what I planned to say. That wasn’t a problem since I wasn’t supposed to know ahead of time anyway. I just muttered something about Rob McDilda, our dude overseeing COCC’s response to the flu hysteria, calling me that morning to tell me all my students that night had temperatures over 100 degrees and that I needed to cancel class. Then my mind went to, “Yes, dammit, finally!” But I was circumspect enough to avoid saying that out loud.
Then I got the plaque with my name on it. It’s the second one in the 24 years of the award and my name is below those of three people I really like: Michael Gesme (2006), Robert Reynolds (’07) and Stacey (’08), who was in Italy last year when she won. As you can see
by these names, I’ve never doubted that the people who received the reward before me deserved it. I just felt that I’ve been around a long time (20 {expletive deleted} years), have worked hard to create a person who succeeds in the classroom, and that, well, yes, okay, by golly, I deserved to win. Perhaps that’s not a very attractive admission. But, hey! I’m human! (And I've got the X-rays to prove it!)
And almost as good as the wonderful things Kathy said about me, is the check for $2500 with the taxes already removed. The remaining two grand will buy my new dog from Seacrest Poodles as well as an outdoor kennel.
Both the VPI and our publicity guy, Ron Paradis, told me stories before dinner about why they realized so late that I wasn’t planning to attend. Something about switched paperwork and big behind-the-scenes last minute panic. It’s all good, though. If I had planned to attend I would have been surprised and wouldn’t have bought my Flip.
I had a great time at dinner, chatting with Dianna Glen, Ken Mays and his spouse, and three science guys, Eddie Johnson, Jim Moodie, and Bob Reynolds. (If you’re remembering the “Lone Gunmen” from X-Files you’d be wrong – my colleagues are all much better looking.) During the evening two folks bought me drinks, so I had Maker’s Mark on ice with my tri-tip beef stroganoff. I got lots of hugs, congratulations, several comments about my silver stilettos and the dress, and got to laugh and go “blue” with those who might appreciate it and not be offended by my love of a certain four letter word.
It was one of those rare moments when I felt like my different selves – Doc Huck, Kake, Karen, the Huckster – were able to be in the same place at the same time.
As we used to write at the end of stories for the Los Gatos High School El Gato, “A delicious meal was served and a delightful time was had by all.”
But I’ll begin on Thursday, May 7, 2009. That afternoon I got a call from my dean, Mary Jeanne Kuhar.
“I hear you’re not going to be at the Convocation tomorrow night,” she said. The Convocation is an administration-sponsored COCC event that celebrates faculty achievement with speeches by the college president and a local newsmaker followed by the presentation of the Faculty Achievement Award. This prize is like being named “Teacher of the Year”. After hearing the accolade, faculty remove their robes and enjoy a no-host bar and free dinner.
I have not been able to attend the Convocation for a few years because it often falls on a Friday night when I’m teaching. This year was no exception.
“Yeah. I work,” I told the Dean. “I sent in my RSVP no show months ago. I’ll be in Redmond.” It was the third Friday of my two weekend Public Speaking Bootcamp.
“We’d really like to see you at the Convocation. It just won’t be the same without you. I mean we really need you. Is there anything I can do to make it possible for you to be there?” Is she offering to find a substitute? To substitute for me herself? I could think of only one reason she would want me to abandon students to be at the yearly gathering. I was getting the award this year. Of course, she couldn’t tell me right out but the smile in her voice let me know.
I assured her that I would not only be there but that I would stay for dinner.
When I hung up I pumped my fist and butt-danced in my chair. “Yes, yes, yes!!!”
I spent the next few hours trying to find a substitute for Friday night. The people I trust to hear and grade twenty-four impromptu speeches – Lilli Ann Linford-Forman, Jon Bouknight, Lou Eckert and Michelle Barry-Franco – were all out of town or busy. Plus, there was the whole problem of the key exchange. So I spammed a cancellation to the class and on Friday morning called everyone who hadn’t replied to the email.
Friday I spent the day working at home and prepping for the evening. I re-dyed
my hair to the strawberry blond I’m sporting these days. I went to Costco and bought a Flip video camera. On my way home from Costco, I kept thinking that I needed to go to T.J. Max. I mean, I twice turned in the direction of the Bend River Mall and turned back toward downtown then the third time I made it out to the mall. It took me 15 minutes to find a dress that matched the stiletto-heeled silver sandals I bought at DSW in Eugene last month.When my friends Stacey Donohue and Mike Van Meter picked me up that evening, I didn’t tell them that I already knew. I couldn’t celebrate until I was officially announced. I sat near the front on the aisle so I could sit the Flip on my lap. After COCC President Jim Middleton spoke warmly about faculty while sharing budget updates and local prosecutor Mike Dugan stood in for his wife Judy Stiegler, offering us a mixed medley of personal reminiscence and praise for education, Kathy Walsh, our Vice President of Instruction started her introduction of the winner of the Faculty Achievement Award. I turned on the Flip.
Even though I knew I was the object of her encomium, I couldn’t recognize myself in her words. She always begins with a build-up, encouraging us to guess who the winner is. (Lots of folks are nominated each year.) She does this very well and I think she enjoys constructing this speech. Friday night she quoted from peer reviews and student evaluations that spoke about someone very serious and dedicated. Could Mary Jeanne have been misinformed? Could this be a moment of mistake? (Stories of mistaken walks toward the Oscar stage flooded my brain.) I couldn’t remember ever reading any of the comments I was hearing. I only remember the criticisms I’ve been given over the years.
Finally, when she got to the part about the winner having “a sense of style all her own, sartorially and in all other ways,” I knew for sure that Mary Jeanne hadn’t made a mistake. So my heart rate went up and I started to sweat, knowing that I’d have to go to the front of the room. Yes, I have TERRIBLE communication apprehension!
On my way up to the lectern, I forgot half of what I planned to say. That wasn’t a problem since I wasn’t supposed to know ahead of time anyway. I just muttered something about Rob McDilda, our dude overseeing COCC’s response to the flu hysteria, calling me that morning to tell me all my students that night had temperatures over 100 degrees and that I needed to cancel class. Then my mind went to, “Yes, dammit, finally!” But I was circumspect enough to avoid saying that out loud.
Then I got the plaque with my name on it. It’s the second one in the 24 years of the award and my name is below those of three people I really like: Michael Gesme (2006), Robert Reynolds (’07) and Stacey (’08), who was in Italy last year when she won. As you can see
by these names, I’ve never doubted that the people who received the reward before me deserved it. I just felt that I’ve been around a long time (20 {expletive deleted} years), have worked hard to create a person who succeeds in the classroom, and that, well, yes, okay, by golly, I deserved to win. Perhaps that’s not a very attractive admission. But, hey! I’m human! (And I've got the X-rays to prove it!)And almost as good as the wonderful things Kathy said about me, is the check for $2500 with the taxes already removed. The remaining two grand will buy my new dog from Seacrest Poodles as well as an outdoor kennel.
Both the VPI and our publicity guy, Ron Paradis, told me stories before dinner about why they realized so late that I wasn’t planning to attend. Something about switched paperwork and big behind-the-scenes last minute panic. It’s all good, though. If I had planned to attend I would have been surprised and wouldn’t have bought my Flip.
I had a great time at dinner, chatting with Dianna Glen, Ken Mays and his spouse, and three science guys, Eddie Johnson, Jim Moodie, and Bob Reynolds. (If you’re remembering the “Lone Gunmen” from X-Files you’d be wrong – my colleagues are all much better looking.) During the evening two folks bought me drinks, so I had Maker’s Mark on ice with my tri-tip beef stroganoff. I got lots of hugs, congratulations, several comments about my silver stilettos and the dress, and got to laugh and go “blue” with those who might appreciate it and not be offended by my love of a certain four letter word.
It was one of those rare moments when I felt like my different selves – Doc Huck, Kake, Karen, the Huckster – were able to be in the same place at the same time.
As we used to write at the end of stories for the Los Gatos High School El Gato, “A delicious meal was served and a delightful time was had by all.”
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Long Time No Me
Well, last week I checked into the E.R. on advice from the folks at my allergy clinic. I woke up with chest pains, see, and, well, as they said, "A woman of your age can't be too carefull...."
Turns out that I DO have a heart. I have proof now, in spite of what anybody says. And there's nothing wrong with it. My husband thought it was stress. I have been superbusy with administrative bull -- hmmm -- activities.
Fortunately, I'm not only a department chair but also a teacher and I've been having lots of fun with my classes. I had a particularly good time with the latest version of my one credit conflict management class on May 1-2. It was a great group of people. And, you know what? It was actually my two hours in the emergency room without my computer in front of me that gave me the time and the quiet to reformat the class.
I wanted to post a while back about the Communicating Love class and their wonderful discussion of the impact of childhood stories. Suprisingly enough, the story most people remembered from their childhood as a first narrative about romantic love was Disney's The Little Mermaid.
Turns out that I DO have a heart. I have proof now, in spite of what anybody says. And there's nothing wrong with it. My husband thought it was stress. I have been superbusy with administrative bull -- hmmm -- activities.
Fortunately, I'm not only a department chair but also a teacher and I've been having lots of fun with my classes. I had a particularly good time with the latest version of my one credit conflict management class on May 1-2. It was a great group of people. And, you know what? It was actually my two hours in the emergency room without my computer in front of me that gave me the time and the quiet to reformat the class.
I wanted to post a while back about the Communicating Love class and their wonderful discussion of the impact of childhood stories. Suprisingly enough, the story most people remembered from their childhood as a first narrative about romantic love was Disney's The Little Mermaid.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Self in a Bag
Last week as we focused on perception and self concept, my interpersonal communication class constructed their Self Bags, or Self In A Bag. I've pasted the assignment below.
I was very pleased to discover a high degree of metaphorical thinking in the class. People felt very comfortable with offering symbols rather than simply pasting stuff they like onto their bags. It seems to be a thoughtful class.
I was very pleased to discover a high degree of metaphorical thinking in the class. People felt very comfortable with offering symbols rather than simply pasting stuff they like onto their bags. It seems to be a thoughtful class.
To the left you'll see the bag I made for this class.
Self-in-a-Bag
Purpose:
To engage the non-verbal part of the brain
To think about the following issues
Your own self concept
The differences between your perception of yourself and others perception of you.
THREE PART TASK
1. Research:
Self-in-a-Bag
Purpose:
To engage the non-verbal part of the brain
To think about the following issues
Your own self concept
The differences between your perception of yourself and others perception of you.
THREE PART TASK
1. Research:
Ask a few people (friends, family, workplace colleagues) the following questions:
What object or pictures do you think best represent the person I present to the public?
What color would best represent me? If I were an animal, what kind of animal would I be?
Do you think you see me differently than a stranger would? In what way?
2. Creation: Build a “Self-in-a-Bag"
After thinking about what your friends have said and including your own thoughts on the subject, build a self bag. On the outside of the bag glue, tape, or in some other way affix objects and pictures that you believe represent other peoples’ perception of you. DO NOT USE ANY WORDS!
On the inside of the bag put objects that represent your perception of yourself, good and bad, “warts and all.”
The top of the bag may be closed as tightly or as loosely as you desire.
3. Sharing: Tell the class about your bag.
Explain the outside of your bag.
You are not expected to talk about the inside of your bag, but you may if you like.
What object or pictures do you think best represent the person I present to the public?
What color would best represent me? If I were an animal, what kind of animal would I be?
Do you think you see me differently than a stranger would? In what way?
2. Creation: Build a “Self-in-a-Bag"
After thinking about what your friends have said and including your own thoughts on the subject, build a self bag. On the outside of the bag glue, tape, or in some other way affix objects and pictures that you believe represent other peoples’ perception of you. DO NOT USE ANY WORDS!
On the inside of the bag put objects that represent your perception of yourself, good and bad, “warts and all.”
The top of the bag may be closed as tightly or as loosely as you desire.
3. Sharing: Tell the class about your bag.
Explain the outside of your bag.
You are not expected to talk about the inside of your bag, but you may if you like.
Friday, April 3, 2009
First Week
Ooooph. Long weeeeeeek. Still not over. But I have two great groups of students for my Communicating Love and Interpersonal Communication classes. What makes a group "great"? Is it my perception of their intelligence? My quick observation of their commitment to their own self development? How attractive they all are?
None of the above!
They laugh at my jokes! Yes! And not just to be polite (well...actually, of course, I can't read minds so don't actually understand their motivation). So, I'm happy. I have a feeling it's going to be a great, albiet exhausting, quarter.
None of the above!
They laugh at my jokes! Yes! And not just to be polite (well...actually, of course, I can't read minds so don't actually understand their motivation). So, I'm happy. I have a feeling it's going to be a great, albiet exhausting, quarter.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
New Start
One of the greatest aspects of college teaching is the regular fresh starts. Every quarter I meet new people. Every quarter offers the opportunity for me to learn new things. At the end of every quarter I say goodbye to people, some of whom I have enjoyed and some of whom have been huge pains in the tookus. But I learn from everyone. I sometimes learn about the world of young people: its relational stresses, its constant connection, its inability to step away from the irony, yes, just put the irony down and step away! Sometimes I learn about media that I'll enjoy consuming -- music groups, movies, television. I learn about the work people do and don't do. And I learn from watching people interact. And it all happens in short, easy-to-manage doses in a controlled setting, so my deep introversion is not overtaxed.
Except for the cheating issue (which, in its way, was also a learning experience) I enjoyed reading my small group Individual Final Analyses. I'm always fascinated by perceptual differences. What's especially interesting to me is the way controversial characters are depicted.
For example, in one team there was a character who was labeled as disruptive by three team members and supportive by another two members. The same set of behaviors was perceived and labeled differently by different people. Now, there was a time in my life, in my twenties, say, when I would have sought "the truth" of the situation, believing that such a thing existed. But now I know that, while there is a material reality, "you can't get there from here." Meaning that we can't ever completely get "beyond" our perceptual filters. So therefore it's all true that this one person was both egotistical and selfless, pushy and yielding, helpful and harmful.
So it seems I am capable of seeing the world as a novelist. Now, if I could only get myself to write a world -- my retirement would be set.
Except for the cheating issue (which, in its way, was also a learning experience) I enjoyed reading my small group Individual Final Analyses. I'm always fascinated by perceptual differences. What's especially interesting to me is the way controversial characters are depicted.
For example, in one team there was a character who was labeled as disruptive by three team members and supportive by another two members. The same set of behaviors was perceived and labeled differently by different people. Now, there was a time in my life, in my twenties, say, when I would have sought "the truth" of the situation, believing that such a thing existed. But now I know that, while there is a material reality, "you can't get there from here." Meaning that we can't ever completely get "beyond" our perceptual filters. So therefore it's all true that this one person was both egotistical and selfless, pushy and yielding, helpful and harmful.
So it seems I am capable of seeing the world as a novelist. Now, if I could only get myself to write a world -- my retirement would be set.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Cheating
Sigh.
I thought I'd designed an assignment that couldn't be plagiarized. I was wrong. I've pasted below the report I sent to Gordon Price at Student Life. The names have been changed to protect the privacy of both innocent and guilty.
Task: Final Analysis, worth 25% of course grade. A mix of course text and personal observations of a classroom team.
Proof of cheating: Wolverine and Flame, both members of the classroom team, The Superheroes, turned in analyses that used the same phrasing of entire paragraphs. Some of the sentences included the misuse of the same words, including “form” for “from” and “defiant” for “definite.” On Wolverine's paper he talked about himself in the third person. After comparing it with Flame’s, I tended to suspect Wolverine of doing the cheating.
Action taken: I made the discovery on Saturday afternoon while reading my stacks of papers. I decided that I would call both students, explain that one of them stole from the other and I would have to take action and flunk the cheater. I called Flame first and left a message to call me back. I then called Wolverine. He was there. Without using Flame’s name, I explained that his work was the same as another student’s, that the phrasing was the same, and that I’d have to flunk someone on the assignment. He immediately confessed. I told him that I would give him an “F” on the assignment and report the issue to Student Life. When Flame called me back right after my call to Wolverine, I told her about the two papers and told her that “the other student” had confessed and would flunk the assignment. I didn’t have the presence of mind at the moment to ask her if she had assisted in the cheating.
Consequences: Wolverine will take an “F” on an assignment that is 25% of his final grade. He will also have his name in a file at Student Life.
Final Thought: If Flame did help Wolverine cheat, I hope she pays for it in some way.
I thought I'd designed an assignment that couldn't be plagiarized. I was wrong. I've pasted below the report I sent to Gordon Price at Student Life. The names have been changed to protect the privacy of both innocent and guilty.
Task: Final Analysis, worth 25% of course grade. A mix of course text and personal observations of a classroom team.
Proof of cheating: Wolverine and Flame, both members of the classroom team, The Superheroes, turned in analyses that used the same phrasing of entire paragraphs. Some of the sentences included the misuse of the same words, including “form” for “from” and “defiant” for “definite.” On Wolverine's paper he talked about himself in the third person. After comparing it with Flame’s, I tended to suspect Wolverine of doing the cheating.
Action taken: I made the discovery on Saturday afternoon while reading my stacks of papers. I decided that I would call both students, explain that one of them stole from the other and I would have to take action and flunk the cheater. I called Flame first and left a message to call me back. I then called Wolverine. He was there. Without using Flame’s name, I explained that his work was the same as another student’s, that the phrasing was the same, and that I’d have to flunk someone on the assignment. He immediately confessed. I told him that I would give him an “F” on the assignment and report the issue to Student Life. When Flame called me back right after my call to Wolverine, I told her about the two papers and told her that “the other student” had confessed and would flunk the assignment. I didn’t have the presence of mind at the moment to ask her if she had assisted in the cheating.
Consequences: Wolverine will take an “F” on an assignment that is 25% of his final grade. He will also have his name in a file at Student Life.
Final Thought: If Flame did help Wolverine cheat, I hope she pays for it in some way.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Does anyone read this?
Probably not, I'm thinking. That's why I'm going to do a little experiment. I'm going to post one of my final exam questions below and if anyone is reading this, they will have a head start on Friday's test.
6. Richie Cheney, once a government worker, has joined a local group of sportsman who plan trips to exotic places for bird hunting. He wants to be the team’s leader. He makes a variety of behavioral choices the hurt his chances for leadership. Which are the behaviors that created problems?
a. He gets really upset with another member and says, “&*#!@ you, you stupid %#$@(*& %^$)(@#!”
b. He gets involved with every group discussion.
c. When a meeting was called for 5 a.m. on a Monday morning he was there right on time, like he is for every meeting.
d. The current leader says, “Hey, Richie, I’m concerned that we’re making decisions too fast,” and Richie responds to his comment with, “As I was saying, I think Peru has some great bird hunting. We could get a condor.”
e. When Beverly interrupted him he got quiet and let her talk. He usually lets other people have plenty of time to talk.
(Dr. Evil image is borrowed from the blog Soxfirst.com)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
I Slack While My Small Groups Work Like a Border Collie with a Hundred Sheep
I've been gone so long because I got a horrible sinus infection from my wonderful two day Team Skills Class. At least that's my story. So you didn't get a chance to hear about how some of the groups in my regular Small Group Communication classes fell apart and put themselves back together again. But I'm better now, back to plain allergies -- the constant drip of my response to Central Oregon. So it's time to give out some awards.
The small groups in my two classes have performed their major oral reports and I want to give some special shout outs to teams that had a little something extra.
The award for . . .
Most Artistic Team Video goes to The Dominators
In my afternoon class, this team created a truly amazing and professional looking video, with excellent editing and sound on. They used it to display both situational and task conflict. It opened their presentation and it's fancy opening image displayed throughout. I also enjoyed this team's use of specially printed team t-shirts, even though they said, "The Denominators." Certainly not the common denominators!
Most Creative Study Tools goes to The Out-of-Towners
This morning group printed study notes on the backs of packets of seeds and put the packets in a little pot, putting a pot on each person's desk. They ended their presentation with a return to the seed/growth metaphor as a way of understanding the different methods of negotiation.
Most Lively Presentation goes to Sunshine Posse
These folks started off the quarter with their eye-catching use of yellow shirts as a team solidarity symbol. They kept their shirts and added a tweed sports jacket with a large yellow patch sporting the team name on the back. They took turns shared for the role of "Used Car Dealer" in skits about methods of negotiation. They even had little cut outs of the cars. They combined the skits with a well organized powerpoint that gave a solid overview of the content.
Best Integrated Team Video goes to Just Seven
Ah, the Magic Bullet Blender! This morning team taught us about methods of conflict management using a very fun video focused on making smoothies. The video'd skits were contained within a PowerPoint presentation. I hope to see the skits someday being used as a sales tool for the product (and the team members can remember the class for the $$ it brought them). This team also did a fine job with showing their team solidarity through the use of the bandana. Each team member wore one above a white shirt.
Best Use of Hollywood's Conflicts goes to The Comm. Group
Wow. This afternoon team used clips from The Office, You've Got Mail, and other tinsel town products to illustrate the methods of conflict management. Each speaker wore something that represented Hollywood (dark glasses, pink feather boas, or a t-shirt with the picture of a star). They took so much care with their PowerPoint that the bullets were little film reels. The team showed both solidarity, knowledge, and a desire to keep the audience interested.
Cleverest Management of PowerPoint Animation goes to Team 5
I loved the use of the various types of slide change and line movement used by this team. I was especially amused by the bouncing titles that jumped in from a space outside the frame.
Most Friendly Group goes to Thundercats
This group adapted well to a last minute change and was very willing to go first when a member of the team that was supposed to go first was late. They chose to get ready early in order to save another team from losing points.
Most Thorough Coverage of Important Course Material and Best Use of the Web goes to Conflict Island
I know this group worked hard to learn the material and deliver it with thoroughness and skill. Their presentation was well organized and had everything we might want to know about what conflict is and how it's situational variables impact it. During the quarter they also used a blog to contact each other. They also had a mug made for each team member. It says, I survived Conflict Island. I got one too! So, THANK YOU Conflict Island!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Team Skills Class and The Great Escape
My Team Skills Workshop rocked! It met this last Friday night and all day Saturday. What a great mix of people -- blue collar, pink collar, white collar and no collar. Both days were very energetic. I liked the positive attitude that most students brought to class. I lost a couple of people after lunch on Saturday, but those who remained worked hard and seriously at our various activities. At the end of class I asked people to talk about how they'd change their behaviors, based on the course material, and several folks said that they would use the team constitution and work at being more open-minded.
Although I always approach a weekend class with some trepidation, I was very happy with this one and quite up and excited when I left. One of the reasons that it worked so well was that I used my own versions of two of Thiagi's favorite games. I took a course back in the mid-nineties from Sivasailam Thiagarajan and learned how to put games in the classroom. Recently I purchased a collection of his hundred favorite games. I used his "Communication Problems" game to go over issues of conflict. This is a game with six teams that write down a communication problem. The teams then start passing papers to other teams around a circle. First, the problem is passed to another team who writes a solution to the problem on another piece of paper. The two papers are passed on to a third team that writes a critique of the solution. Pass the three papers to a fourth team who writes a "testimonial" in support of the solution. Pass the three papers to a fifth team that writes an "enhanced solution." Pass the papers to the sixth team who distributes two hundred points between the two solutions.
It's a great game and the class did well with it. I was happy that I was able to get folks working so often in teams in the class and that I only had really one excruciatingly boring powerpoint lecture.
After class I went out to Bo Restobar with my friend Carolyn Esky. I drank champagne and ate a bunch of appetizers (love the mini ribs and Koba beef sliders) and ended with a huge French press pot of coffee. So I was wired when I got home and stayed up late watching The Great Escape. I loved this flic when I was a kid. It's based on a true story of allied prisoners of war attempting to escape from the Nazis holding them a WWII prison camp. Watching it after a day of talking teams and then drinking, I noticed that it offered a lot of examples of team skills in action. Every person working on the escape plan has a special role -- the forger, the digger, the scout, the planner, the scrounger, etc. They completed a long tunnel, scrounged civilian clothing, and created false passports. Everyone's skill was necessary and vital to the success of the project. People who don't necessarily like each other have to get along for the sake of the project.
Eventually, 76 men escaped the camp. Unfortunately, only three ultimately made it to safety. The rest were captured and fifty of them were then murdered in cold blood by the Gestapo. For more information about the true story behind the movie, see the History in Film website.
I remembered this film with great love. Unfortunately, seeing now it seems really dated. Many of the central characters were played by hot young actors who eventually became television or movie stars: Steve McQueen, James Coburn, David McCallum, and Charles Bronson. Older British actors Richard Attenborough, Donald Pleasance, and Gordon Jackson also had important roles. Unfortunately, at this point in time the hot youngsters all shine a bit too brightly. They are always highly lit. Their hair is clean and washed, their faces scrubbed. Their clothes are MUCH too clean for the situation. They are also carrying more weight than would have been likely in the late war period (1944) when many in Germany were starving. And not only are their clothes clean, their mouths are as well. There is no swearing. And, in this day and age, having military personnel who don't curse just seems kinda silly.
I also disliked the lighting effects. The film is shot in "high key" -- there aren't many shadows. Even in the tunnel we can see faces. The interior shots all seem to have light coming from all directions. It's not moody at all. And because of that relentless sound track, it's an upbeat film. And that makes it seem very dated, considering the subject matter.
As a kid though, I loved the movie and after seeing it I started sitting in the hallways at school, bouncing a ball against the opposite wall like Steve McQueen, the "cooler king." "To ze coolah!"
Although I always approach a weekend class with some trepidation, I was very happy with this one and quite up and excited when I left. One of the reasons that it worked so well was that I used my own versions of two of Thiagi's favorite games. I took a course back in the mid-nineties from Sivasailam Thiagarajan and learned how to put games in the classroom. Recently I purchased a collection of his hundred favorite games. I used his "Communication Problems" game to go over issues of conflict. This is a game with six teams that write down a communication problem. The teams then start passing papers to other teams around a circle. First, the problem is passed to another team who writes a solution to the problem on another piece of paper. The two papers are passed on to a third team that writes a critique of the solution. Pass the three papers to a fourth team who writes a "testimonial" in support of the solution. Pass the three papers to a fifth team that writes an "enhanced solution." Pass the papers to the sixth team who distributes two hundred points between the two solutions.
It's a great game and the class did well with it. I was happy that I was able to get folks working so often in teams in the class and that I only had really one excruciatingly boring powerpoint lecture.
After class I went out to Bo Restobar with my friend Carolyn Esky. I drank champagne and ate a bunch of appetizers (love the mini ribs and Koba beef sliders) and ended with a huge French press pot of coffee. So I was wired when I got home and stayed up late watching The Great Escape. I loved this flic when I was a kid. It's based on a true story of allied prisoners of war attempting to escape from the Nazis holding them a WWII prison camp. Watching it after a day of talking teams and then drinking, I noticed that it offered a lot of examples of team skills in action. Every person working on the escape plan has a special role -- the forger, the digger, the scout, the planner, the scrounger, etc. They completed a long tunnel, scrounged civilian clothing, and created false passports. Everyone's skill was necessary and vital to the success of the project. People who don't necessarily like each other have to get along for the sake of the project.
Eventually, 76 men escaped the camp. Unfortunately, only three ultimately made it to safety. The rest were captured and fifty of them were then murdered in cold blood by the Gestapo. For more information about the true story behind the movie, see the History in Film website.
I remembered this film with great love. Unfortunately, seeing now it seems really dated. Many of the central characters were played by hot young actors who eventually became television or movie stars: Steve McQueen, James Coburn, David McCallum, and Charles Bronson. Older British actors Richard Attenborough, Donald Pleasance, and Gordon Jackson also had important roles. Unfortunately, at this point in time the hot youngsters all shine a bit too brightly. They are always highly lit. Their hair is clean and washed, their faces scrubbed. Their clothes are MUCH too clean for the situation. They are also carrying more weight than would have been likely in the late war period (1944) when many in Germany were starving. And not only are their clothes clean, their mouths are as well. There is no swearing. And, in this day and age, having military personnel who don't curse just seems kinda silly.
I also disliked the lighting effects. The film is shot in "high key" -- there aren't many shadows. Even in the tunnel we can see faces. The interior shots all seem to have light coming from all directions. It's not moody at all. And because of that relentless sound track, it's an upbeat film. And that makes it seem very dated, considering the subject matter.
As a kid though, I loved the movie and after seeing it I started sitting in the hallways at school, bouncing a ball against the opposite wall like Steve McQueen, the "cooler king." "To ze coolah!"
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Good teacher, bad test writer, great students?
It's a conundrum. (Which, according to the online Merriam Webster dates from 1645 and means "1: a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun 2 a: a question or problem having only a conjectural answer b: an intricate and difficult problem.")
The teams all got between B and A on their midterms. One team was through in 15 minutes with what was supposed to be a 40 minute exam. Sigh. In one way I'm very happy for them. In another way I feel like a total palooka. (thirties slang, boys and girls)
In another part of my life, a colleague wandered over to my blog and read the stuff about charmers and stoners. He's a guy whose life pretty much revolves around getting people to give money to a worthy cause so he's got to use charm or, as he put it, being "directly engaged". I'll do something a bit suspect and quote him, without his permission or his name. He said, He believes in his cause (as do I) and he has ferocious charm and some good looks (slender, great cheekbones, intense eyes). I told him that sometimes being "worked" is what is called for. And that made me think a lot about communication and why I love studying it and why it's such an important topic. I don't think life is ever as easy as: "Just be real." "Just be yourself." I think that's a ration of horse patootie (as Col. Potter used to say) made popular by money grubbing gurus in the 1960s, '70s.
My question is, in a postmodern world is authenticity even possible? What is authenticity? How much of our communication is "of the moment"? If I am responding absolutely authentically to you, and then tomorrow I have to respond absolutely authentically to someone who dislikes you, but I like you both, does that mean that I am inauthentic when I say I like you or inauthentic when, the next day I say I like your enemy? Are we past Aristotle? Is the virtuous man no longer the consistent one? Or is virtue only a matter of consistency within a given parameter? If communication is a matter of transactions (I give you attention, you give me attention. I give you praise, you give me fidelity, etc.) how can an economics of friendship be wrong? And yet we tend to think of relationships as being outside of economics.
And now, just to be "authentic" and "honest," I will tell him I talked about him on my blog. Heck, this set of utterances can't be only about boring classroom stuff. Gotta engage directly with some actual communication issues.
The teams all got between B and A on their midterms. One team was through in 15 minutes with what was supposed to be a 40 minute exam. Sigh. In one way I'm very happy for them. In another way I feel like a total palooka. (thirties slang, boys and girls)
In another part of my life, a colleague wandered over to my blog and read the stuff about charmers and stoners. He's a guy whose life pretty much revolves around getting people to give money to a worthy cause so he's got to use charm or, as he put it, being "directly engaged". I'll do something a bit suspect and quote him, without his permission or his name. He said,
"Well, somehow I ended up at your blog (which I enjoyed—I quickly reviewed all the way down to stoned and charmed) and liked the thought you gave me on people being charming. Maybe the difference is that between being directly engaged and being charming, the latter having an element of working a situation. And who likes to feel they are being worked?"
My question is, in a postmodern world is authenticity even possible? What is authenticity? How much of our communication is "of the moment"? If I am responding absolutely authentically to you, and then tomorrow I have to respond absolutely authentically to someone who dislikes you, but I like you both, does that mean that I am inauthentic when I say I like you or inauthentic when, the next day I say I like your enemy? Are we past Aristotle? Is the virtuous man no longer the consistent one? Or is virtue only a matter of consistency within a given parameter? If communication is a matter of transactions (I give you attention, you give me attention. I give you praise, you give me fidelity, etc.) how can an economics of friendship be wrong? And yet we tend to think of relationships as being outside of economics.
And now, just to be "authentic" and "honest," I will tell him I talked about him on my blog. Heck, this set of utterances can't be only about boring classroom stuff. Gotta engage directly with some actual communication issues.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
First Team Presentations
I am so happy now! Both my small group communication classes did such a great job with their first team assignments.* While the teams differed in terms of their practice level, each of them did a great job satisfying the requirements of the assignment while showing a noticable level of comfort and solidarity.
Morning Class
I especially enjoyed the first team, Conflict Island. These folks not only did everything they were supposed to do, they went the extra step and did a PowerPoint with photographs of each team member's food item as well as notes on what they learned from our text (Dan Rothwell's excellent but overpriced In Mixed Company).
Pictured above are the table decorations made by one of the team members for their event. The beauty of this table setting is just one example of the time and effort taken by team members to make their "feed" a positive and cohesive experience. During their presentation they made excellent use of photographs of their event. They also used humor in their presentation and talked about humorous aspects of their team members. While only two team members gave the oral presentation, the other members stood quietly on the other side of the screen, smiling and paying attention to their colleagues. The team showed a lot of solidarity.
But then, every other team showed solidarity as well. The other four teams took turns presenting different aspects of the Feed assignment, thus giving each member the opportunity to perform for the class. Team Five shared plenty of laughter with us as they reviewed what they learned at a Feed they called "Breakfast for Dinner." They didn't offer pictures of their Feed itself but instead used borrowed images that symbolized what they learned about their team members. For example, a team member who is an ex-Marine who worked in the Presidential Detail was represented by a picture of the White House. Team Five has six males and one female and they showed an awareness of gender diversity and its lack, calling their one female a "token."
Just Seven used the text thoughtfully as they talked about making "the best fajitas." There was plenty of positivity both on the slide, with its images of a happy team eating, as well as in the language they used to describe each other's food. They described a meeting in which they shared lots of good stories, including a series of anecdotes about broken bones (one team member had broken collar bones four times and another had broken both legs as a child). The two four member teams, The Out-of-Towners, which is all male and Team Thundercat, which is all female, both showed an appreciation for the smallness of their groups, sharing the hope that they would experience excellent cohesiveness. I really enjoyed the pictures of the Thundercats -- they showed a group of four smiling young women who seemed be be having a good time. The four men talked about meeting for a bar-b-que in 12 degrees. I hope the toughness this required carries through into their commitment to their team project.
The imbalance in the team sizes and gender mix makes me think I needed to rethink the way I have people select their teams. But, teaching is about learning from your mistakes, kinda like life.
Afternoon in Redmond
My afternoon class has only three groups because of some early shake-ups in attendance. Each team had to take on a new member when the fourth team imploded. Each group this afternoon showed plenty of solidarity through the use of each other's names and allowing each team member to take a turn presenting information.
My favorite display of cohesiveness, however, was by the Sunshine Posse whose members all wore yellow or orange shirts. The colors themselves expressed positivity. The Posse also showed a lot of cohesiveness in their use of friendly nonverbal cues in their team photographs. (But I will be suggesting to them that they should not have print across the tops of their photographs unless its a contrasting color.) Comm Group had attractive slides and made excellent use of the text. They did a very good job talking about how what happens when a newcomer enters the team. Plenty of positive language was used in describing their activities and the space where the Feed took place. The Dominators had an excellent presentation in which they used a slide show on automatic rotation to provide an account of their experience. Because their extra member appeared after they'd experienced the Feed, they made a special effort to take pictures with him and describe his entrance to the team. Unfortunately, they also lost a team member who chose not to communicate appropriately. This team has a very strict contract in which team members who miss meetings will be asked to leave the group.
I am really pleased with the work done by all of these teams. The Feed is an important event because it helps establish cohesiveness, promotes synergy, and allows them to get to know each other. Although I was worried by the chaos at the the quarter, I now feel good about the teams and expect them to do well through the rest of the quarter.
* This is The Feed assignment from my Small Group Communication Class
Rules for The Feed
1. Don’t go out to eat. You should create the meal together.
2. It may be breakfast, lunch or dinner.
3. Each team member should bring something.
4. The meal should be presented with some ceremony. Don’t just flop down in front of the tv and stare at someone else’s world. Set the table. Have a toast with a legal and appropriate beverage. Make things look nice. TALK with each other.
5. Possible discussion topics: Your team contract, how you will encourage “we” instead of “me” orientation among teammates, and/or what behaviors you think most enhance teamwork.
Graded product: Report on The Feed
Oral report: 2.5% Written Report: 2.5%
Each team should create an oral and written report about The Feed. Your written team report should have all the team members’ signatures on it when it’s turned in. The oral and written report are due on the same day.
What should be included in the written report:
1. A list of the foods people brought, identified by team member.
2. A description of The Feed environment. (Table settings, lighting, where was it, were there other people present, etc.)
3. Something the team learned about each team member. This should be something that the team thinks it’s important for Huck to know and that no member is embarrassed about sharing with Huck.
4. Three references to ideas in Rothwell’s In Mixed Company and an explanation of how each idea was illustrated by your team’s experiences at The Feed. (You might actually have covered these during your Feed discussion.) References must be cited appropriately with a page number. (You need not use MLA or APA style for this report.)
Criteria for Success on the written report (to receive an “A”)
· Report must be keyboarded
· Report must have all four requirements.
· Report must avoid spelling and grammatical errors (with the exception of appropriately used fragment sentences).
Criteria for Success on the oral report (to receive an “A”)
· All team members must be present.
· Team must offer at least one visual aid.
· Report should be between 4 – 8 minutes long.
· The oral report may cover the same material as the written report or it may cover a team concept of your choice.
Morning Class
I especially enjoyed the first team, Conflict Island. These folks not only did everything they were supposed to do, they went the extra step and did a PowerPoint with photographs of each team member's food item as well as notes on what they learned from our text (Dan Rothwell's excellent but overpriced In Mixed Company).
Pictured above are the table decorations made by one of the team members for their event. The beauty of this table setting is just one example of the time and effort taken by team members to make their "feed" a positive and cohesive experience. During their presentation they made excellent use of photographs of their event. They also used humor in their presentation and talked about humorous aspects of their team members. While only two team members gave the oral presentation, the other members stood quietly on the other side of the screen, smiling and paying attention to their colleagues. The team showed a lot of solidarity.
But then, every other team showed solidarity as well. The other four teams took turns presenting different aspects of the Feed assignment, thus giving each member the opportunity to perform for the class. Team Five shared plenty of laughter with us as they reviewed what they learned at a Feed they called "Breakfast for Dinner." They didn't offer pictures of their Feed itself but instead used borrowed images that symbolized what they learned about their team members. For example, a team member who is an ex-Marine who worked in the Presidential Detail was represented by a picture of the White House. Team Five has six males and one female and they showed an awareness of gender diversity and its lack, calling their one female a "token."
Just Seven used the text thoughtfully as they talked about making "the best fajitas." There was plenty of positivity both on the slide, with its images of a happy team eating, as well as in the language they used to describe each other's food. They described a meeting in which they shared lots of good stories, including a series of anecdotes about broken bones (one team member had broken collar bones four times and another had broken both legs as a child). The two four member teams, The Out-of-Towners, which is all male and Team Thundercat, which is all female, both showed an appreciation for the smallness of their groups, sharing the hope that they would experience excellent cohesiveness. I really enjoyed the pictures of the Thundercats -- they showed a group of four smiling young women who seemed be be having a good time. The four men talked about meeting for a bar-b-que in 12 degrees. I hope the toughness this required carries through into their commitment to their team project.
The imbalance in the team sizes and gender mix makes me think I needed to rethink the way I have people select their teams. But, teaching is about learning from your mistakes, kinda like life.
Afternoon in Redmond
My afternoon class has only three groups because of some early shake-ups in attendance. Each team had to take on a new member when the fourth team imploded. Each group this afternoon showed plenty of solidarity through the use of each other's names and allowing each team member to take a turn presenting information.
My favorite display of cohesiveness, however, was by the Sunshine Posse whose members all wore yellow or orange shirts. The colors themselves expressed positivity. The Posse also showed a lot of cohesiveness in their use of friendly nonverbal cues in their team photographs. (But I will be suggesting to them that they should not have print across the tops of their photographs unless its a contrasting color.) Comm Group had attractive slides and made excellent use of the text. They did a very good job talking about how what happens when a newcomer enters the team. Plenty of positive language was used in describing their activities and the space where the Feed took place. The Dominators had an excellent presentation in which they used a slide show on automatic rotation to provide an account of their experience. Because their extra member appeared after they'd experienced the Feed, they made a special effort to take pictures with him and describe his entrance to the team. Unfortunately, they also lost a team member who chose not to communicate appropriately. This team has a very strict contract in which team members who miss meetings will be asked to leave the group.
I am really pleased with the work done by all of these teams. The Feed is an important event because it helps establish cohesiveness, promotes synergy, and allows them to get to know each other. Although I was worried by the chaos at the the quarter, I now feel good about the teams and expect them to do well through the rest of the quarter.
* This is The Feed assignment from my Small Group Communication Class
Rules for The Feed
1. Don’t go out to eat. You should create the meal together.
2. It may be breakfast, lunch or dinner.
3. Each team member should bring something.
4. The meal should be presented with some ceremony. Don’t just flop down in front of the tv and stare at someone else’s world. Set the table. Have a toast with a legal and appropriate beverage. Make things look nice. TALK with each other.
5. Possible discussion topics: Your team contract, how you will encourage “we” instead of “me” orientation among teammates, and/or what behaviors you think most enhance teamwork.
Graded product: Report on The Feed
Oral report: 2.5% Written Report: 2.5%
Each team should create an oral and written report about The Feed. Your written team report should have all the team members’ signatures on it when it’s turned in. The oral and written report are due on the same day.
What should be included in the written report:
1. A list of the foods people brought, identified by team member.
2. A description of The Feed environment. (Table settings, lighting, where was it, were there other people present, etc.)
3. Something the team learned about each team member. This should be something that the team thinks it’s important for Huck to know and that no member is embarrassed about sharing with Huck.
4. Three references to ideas in Rothwell’s In Mixed Company and an explanation of how each idea was illustrated by your team’s experiences at The Feed. (You might actually have covered these during your Feed discussion.) References must be cited appropriately with a page number. (You need not use MLA or APA style for this report.)
Criteria for Success on the written report (to receive an “A”)
· Report must be keyboarded
· Report must have all four requirements.
· Report must avoid spelling and grammatical errors (with the exception of appropriately used fragment sentences).
Criteria for Success on the oral report (to receive an “A”)
· All team members must be present.
· Team must offer at least one visual aid.
· Report should be between 4 – 8 minutes long.
· The oral report may cover the same material as the written report or it may cover a team concept of your choice.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Raw Notes on Watching the Inauguration in the Library
8:44 a.m.
I am in the library at COCC watching the inauguration with a cluster of colleagues. Barack H. Obama has just entered the scene on NBC. I am listening to my colleagues chat.
"I hear he was reading Thomas Jefferson when he was a little boy."
Feinstein speaking. She has a nice big burgundy wool coat. (One remembers her holding the head of her dying colleague in her lap in San Francisco so many years ago.) "The dream that echoed across history finally echoes from the walls of the White House." (not exact quote)
Rick Warren. He's plump with a blue shirt and tie. Everything is God's. "Hear oh Israel." "A hinge point of history." "Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses." Nice use of parallelism which I'll find and quote later. Now he is praying the "Our Father."
According to The West Wing the men don't get to wear great coats. They are stuck wearing heavy suit coats. I'll have to take a look. Nope -- they are wearing well-tailored long coats.
Aretha Franklin in a very lovely church hat with a big gray bow sparkling with crystals or diamonds. "Look at that hat," says a woman in the room. A librarian just entered with her two kids. There are about 10 people in the room. NBC's director of this event is showing lots of audience members (who look very cold) and lots of flags. Now we've cut to Los Angeles where there's a crowd watching outside on some big projection unit. Aretha is doing a great job with My Country 'Tis of Thee. (A song that she is giving a really beautiful jazz interpretation).
John Paul Stevens is now giving the oath to Joseph Biden. Biden wishes he had dark glasses. Ah, and he IS wearing a great coat! He looks relatively warm. There's that giant smile. They shake hands. The Justice has his robes over what looks like a lot of clothing.
Now, WOW, a six star quartet of numbers arranged by John Williams that includes Yo-Yo Ma and Itzak Perelman. The VP elect and Pres elect were just shown turning around backwards, craning their necks to see the musicians. A gift to be simple that one person here said was Dvorak. I said "No, it's a Shaker hymn that Dvorak stole."
BHB being sworn in with the "so help me God" that some dude didn't want him to use. Michelle giving him a Jackie Kennedy smile. He's president now. Someone says, "Isn't that his biggest job to preserve and protect the Constitution?" With the implication that the outgoing president, now the EX-President, did not do so.
The speech
"My fellow citizens. I stand here today humbled by the task before us." Good start and warning.
Thanks the ex pres for cooperation.
"Gathering clouds and raging storms" Weather metaphor to call upon us in a time of crisis. It's hard for us to make hard choices. "Sapping of confidence....a sagging fear that America's decline is inevitable." He promises our challenges will be met.
Didn't Bush also say that we would work together? We'll see if Obama can do it.
"Greatness is never a given, it must be earned....Not a path for the faint hearted." He calls on ournational spirit of risk taking, doing, etc. "For us they packed up ... For us they endured... For us they fought and died." History. Hard work. Worked till hands raw. America bigger than our differences.
Hat in the audience -- "Tuskegee Airman" Couple old black dudes wearing the sign of our past.
"Pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off . . ." song quote.
"We will restore science to it's natural place." He talks about infrastructure building. Some who question our ability. Their memories are short. The ground has shifted beneath them. Stale political arguments no longer apply. We don't ask how big government is but whether or not it can do the job. He likes the Market but warns it can "spin out of control"
"Willingness to extend opportunity" for common good. "A charter to ensure the rule of law and the rights of man." We will not give up constitution for expedience sake. "We are ready to lead once more." "America a friend to all" who value peace and dignity.
Once again, he calls on history. Promises for security. To the terrorists, "You cannot outlast us and we will defeat you."
"Our patchwork heritage." "We cannot help but believe that our old hatreds will pass."
"We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."
NBC had the script of the speech I know because when he's mentioning Americans in far off lands they cut to a camp in Baghdad where folks in desert camo are watching the speech.
"Honesty, hard work, ...., loyalty, patriotism" "These things are old, these things are true. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility."
Appeals to George Washington at Valley Forge. "Hope and virtue."
Colleague: "I'm glad he showed that fierceness. He was serious and fierce."
Now the poet, Elizabeth Alexander. In Reagan red with that bushy hair. "Praise song for the Day." Oh my gosh. She's not a good reader. She's not relaxed. A list of ordinary things, ordinary activities. Certainly a people's poem. "Say it plain, that many have died for this day."
Bearded, scruffy guy sitting on the floor: "Wow, you could write a book critiquing that. . . "
Final benediction by a man from the civil rights trenches. A prayer as rhymed poem. Asking for prayers for Obama. "We pray for not only our nation but by the community of nations."
Now there are 15 people in the room.
"We have sewn the seed of greed and corruption and reaped the whirlwind . . ." "We must turn to each other and not on each other." More parallelism. Look forward to time of peace. "when tanks shall be beaten into tractors." Ends with humor. "A time when black won't go back, brown can still around, yellow can be mellow, a red man can get ahead man."
I stood for the Star Spangled Banner, as did a couple of other folks. Much laughter in this room as NBC cameras lit on a girl in Times Square who screamed on seeing herself on television.
I may blog more deeply later on. But my initial reaction is, good speech, sufficient for the temper of our times.
I am in the library at COCC watching the inauguration with a cluster of colleagues. Barack H. Obama has just entered the scene on NBC. I am listening to my colleagues chat.
"I hear he was reading Thomas Jefferson when he was a little boy."
Feinstein speaking. She has a nice big burgundy wool coat. (One remembers her holding the head of her dying colleague in her lap in San Francisco so many years ago.) "The dream that echoed across history finally echoes from the walls of the White House." (not exact quote)
Rick Warren. He's plump with a blue shirt and tie. Everything is God's. "Hear oh Israel." "A hinge point of history." "Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses." Nice use of parallelism which I'll find and quote later. Now he is praying the "Our Father."
According to The West Wing the men don't get to wear great coats. They are stuck wearing heavy suit coats. I'll have to take a look. Nope -- they are wearing well-tailored long coats.
Aretha Franklin in a very lovely church hat with a big gray bow sparkling with crystals or diamonds. "Look at that hat," says a woman in the room. A librarian just entered with her two kids. There are about 10 people in the room. NBC's director of this event is showing lots of audience members (who look very cold) and lots of flags. Now we've cut to Los Angeles where there's a crowd watching outside on some big projection unit. Aretha is doing a great job with My Country 'Tis of Thee. (A song that she is giving a really beautiful jazz interpretation).
John Paul Stevens is now giving the oath to Joseph Biden. Biden wishes he had dark glasses. Ah, and he IS wearing a great coat! He looks relatively warm. There's that giant smile. They shake hands. The Justice has his robes over what looks like a lot of clothing.
Now, WOW, a six star quartet of numbers arranged by John Williams that includes Yo-Yo Ma and Itzak Perelman. The VP elect and Pres elect were just shown turning around backwards, craning their necks to see the musicians. A gift to be simple that one person here said was Dvorak. I said "No, it's a Shaker hymn that Dvorak stole."
BHB being sworn in with the "so help me God" that some dude didn't want him to use. Michelle giving him a Jackie Kennedy smile. He's president now. Someone says, "Isn't that his biggest job to preserve and protect the Constitution?" With the implication that the outgoing president, now the EX-President, did not do so.
The speech
"My fellow citizens. I stand here today humbled by the task before us." Good start and warning.
Thanks the ex pres for cooperation.
"Gathering clouds and raging storms" Weather metaphor to call upon us in a time of crisis. It's hard for us to make hard choices. "Sapping of confidence....a sagging fear that America's decline is inevitable." He promises our challenges will be met.
Didn't Bush also say that we would work together? We'll see if Obama can do it.
"Greatness is never a given, it must be earned....Not a path for the faint hearted." He calls on ournational spirit of risk taking, doing, etc. "For us they packed up ... For us they endured... For us they fought and died." History. Hard work. Worked till hands raw. America bigger than our differences.
Hat in the audience -- "Tuskegee Airman" Couple old black dudes wearing the sign of our past.
"Pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off . . ." song quote.
"We will restore science to it's natural place." He talks about infrastructure building. Some who question our ability. Their memories are short. The ground has shifted beneath them. Stale political arguments no longer apply. We don't ask how big government is but whether or not it can do the job. He likes the Market but warns it can "spin out of control"
"Willingness to extend opportunity" for common good. "A charter to ensure the rule of law and the rights of man." We will not give up constitution for expedience sake. "We are ready to lead once more." "America a friend to all" who value peace and dignity.
Once again, he calls on history. Promises for security. To the terrorists, "You cannot outlast us and we will defeat you."
"Our patchwork heritage." "We cannot help but believe that our old hatreds will pass."
"We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."
NBC had the script of the speech I know because when he's mentioning Americans in far off lands they cut to a camp in Baghdad where folks in desert camo are watching the speech.
"Honesty, hard work, ...., loyalty, patriotism" "These things are old, these things are true. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility."
Appeals to George Washington at Valley Forge. "Hope and virtue."
Colleague: "I'm glad he showed that fierceness. He was serious and fierce."
Now the poet, Elizabeth Alexander. In Reagan red with that bushy hair. "Praise song for the Day." Oh my gosh. She's not a good reader. She's not relaxed. A list of ordinary things, ordinary activities. Certainly a people's poem. "Say it plain, that many have died for this day."
Bearded, scruffy guy sitting on the floor: "Wow, you could write a book critiquing that. . . "
Final benediction by a man from the civil rights trenches. A prayer as rhymed poem. Asking for prayers for Obama. "We pray for not only our nation but by the community of nations."
Now there are 15 people in the room.
"We have sewn the seed of greed and corruption and reaped the whirlwind . . ." "We must turn to each other and not on each other." More parallelism. Look forward to time of peace. "when tanks shall be beaten into tractors." Ends with humor. "A time when black won't go back, brown can still around, yellow can be mellow, a red man can get ahead man."
I stood for the Star Spangled Banner, as did a couple of other folks. Much laughter in this room as NBC cameras lit on a girl in Times Square who screamed on seeing herself on television.
I may blog more deeply later on. But my initial reaction is, good speech, sufficient for the temper of our times.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Charming Students, Stoned Students
Although I am often discombobulated in my interactions with other sentient beings, I want to write this morning about two particular types of students who challenge my expressive abilities: the charming student and the stoned student. Let's take them in reverse order.(Image lifted from another blog. Original production company is Refugee Films.)
The stoned student is the one who, like Spicolli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, shows up to class with red eyes, a smile, and problematic thinking processes. The individual may even reek of weed. What do I say to this person when they don't understand the directions I'm giving for an assignment or ask me to repeat something four or five times? I'd love to say, "Hey, email me when you're not baked." Or, even better, I'd like to make my voice do weird stuff like, "We l l l l, the way you do this assignment is that you start by reading this section of the text and . . ." But what if the student isn't stoned? What if the student is just particularly obtuse and has a cold? I don't want to say anything I could get sued for. So, I usually just repeat myself and keep smiling, all the while being annoyed. The good thing is that if the student is stoned or obtuse, they probably won't be able to detect from my body posture or voice how ticked off I am.
The charming student also creates problems for me. Now, I don't mean the attractive student, though sometimes charm and good lucks go together. As a fifty-something character,* I understand the traps of physical attractiveness and know enough not to say or do anything that reveals my inner self screaming out, "WOW, you are smokin' hot! TSSS" That would be
incredibly unprofessional and, actually, illegal. So I'm armed against the merely handsome or beautiful. But if good looks are combined with excellent social graces and good communication abilities, or even if the latter two sets of skills are not collected inside a lovely exterior, I will have trouble. (Picture of Scarlett Johansson borrowed from Celebrity Hair)
The charmer. How do I defend myself against the charmer's use of verbal and nonverbal communication skills? How do I reject the smile, the eye contact, the question asked at the right time, the joking, the self-awareness, the humor, the energy that is intense but not annoying, the sweetness that is sure but not cloying?
Perhaps you're asking, "Why should you reject charm?"
Well, because it has the power to distort clear thinking. If I feel "charmed," I feel a bit as if a spell is being cast on me that reduces the clarity of my vision. I have to start asking myself, "Am I working to understand and accept this student because I am charmed?" Or, it can have the opposite effect. "Am I being too tough on this student because I'm attempting to reject the charm?" So I get confused about how I'm supposed to react, usually because charm works kind of slowly and by the time I'm feeling worked over by its sweet and subtle powers, it's too late to reject my perception of the student as charming.
Definitions of "charm" from Princeton wordweb
The charmer. How do I defend myself against the charmer's use of verbal and nonverbal communication skills? How do I reject the smile, the eye contact, the question asked at the right time, the joking, the self-awareness, the humor, the energy that is intense but not annoying, the sweetness that is sure but not cloying?
Perhaps you're asking, "Why should you reject charm?"
Well, because it has the power to distort clear thinking. If I feel "charmed," I feel a bit as if a spell is being cast on me that reduces the clarity of my vision. I have to start asking myself, "Am I working to understand and accept this student because I am charmed?" Or, it can have the opposite effect. "Am I being too tough on this student because I'm attempting to reject the charm?" So I get confused about how I'm supposed to react, usually because charm works kind of slowly and by the time I'm feeling worked over by its sweet and subtle powers, it's too late to reject my perception of the student as charming.
Definitions of "charm" from Princeton wordweb
- capture: attract; cause to be enamored; "She captured all the men's hearts"
appeal: attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates; "his smile was part of his appeal to her" - control by magic spells, as by practicing witchcraft
- spell: a verbal formula believed to have magical force; "he whispered a spell as he moved his hands"; "inscribed around its base is a charm in Balinese"
- protect through supernatural powers or charms
- something believed to bring good luck
- induce into action by using one's charm; "She charmed him into giving her all his money"
- (physics) one of the six flavors of quark
So, I guess the moral of this story is that I need to pay more attention to the other six flavors of quark.
* When I was first teaching, however, my immunity was not set. I remember the first young redheaded male I had in a classroom at the University of Utah. He wasn't all that handsome, but he did have even facial features and was slim. Once he came up to talk with me after class and, I swear it, my hands shook. I've always had trouble with redheads.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Love Students, Hate Textbooks
I love teaching speech communication!
That's what I think at the beginning of every quarter. I'm also nervous at the beginning of every quarter. Is it ironic that a speech teacher has communication apprehension? Not so much if you think about the old adage that "we teach what we need to learn." I'm also a bit anxious about teaching a class I haven't taught for over two years -- small group communication. I love the class but the material is not quite as clear cut as public speaking. And unfortunately, in the two years I've been teaching public speaking the cost of the small groups textbook I love shot skyward.
$105 for a text used for just one quarter? What's with that? Crazy! The book is very well written, well researched, filled with humor. It's an excellent text. But it doesn't need all the color pictures! It doesn't need all the ancillaries! I am really irritated. I emailed the writer last week and may post some of our email conversation later.
Anyway, back to what I love. My students! It's always fun to start with new people. I look at them and wonder, who's going to get this material? Who's going to drop? Who's life is going to be changed?
On Monday they were friendly and thoughtful as they worked on their first assignment. I have people do some instant teamwork with questions about me. This helps them get to know me and also helps them start thinking about what makes for effective team communication. This time I put in a new observation step. I divided the class in two and had some observe as others discussed. It made some folks uncomfortable (fishbowl experience) but I think it also jump started a self-awareness they will require as they learn to pay attention to their own behaviors.
Another reason I love my students is that they sometimes bring their own wonderful skills into my classes so that I can benefit. I'm thinking now about the beanie made by Scottie Hoffman, a student from last quarter. Don't worry, it wasn't a gift! I purchased it based on his persuasive speech. For two straight weeks in December after the giant snowfall I wore it every day! It's warm, it covers my ears, and the colors are lovely. Well, I bought the yarn, so thank you to Huck! for the color. And thank you to Scottie for the winter warmth. He told me he was off to the Tahoe area over the holidays to sell his beanies. I hope he had good business.
That's what I think at the beginning of every quarter. I'm also nervous at the beginning of every quarter. Is it ironic that a speech teacher has communication apprehension? Not so much if you think about the old adage that "we teach what we need to learn." I'm also a bit anxious about teaching a class I haven't taught for over two years -- small group communication. I love the class but the material is not quite as clear cut as public speaking. And unfortunately, in the two years I've been teaching public speaking the cost of the small groups textbook I love shot skyward.
$105 for a text used for just one quarter? What's with that? Crazy! The book is very well written, well researched, filled with humor. It's an excellent text. But it doesn't need all the color pictures! It doesn't need all the ancillaries! I am really irritated. I emailed the writer last week and may post some of our email conversation later.
Anyway, back to what I love. My students! It's always fun to start with new people. I look at them and wonder, who's going to get this material? Who's going to drop? Who's life is going to be changed?
On Monday they were friendly and thoughtful as they worked on their first assignment. I have people do some instant teamwork with questions about me. This helps them get to know me and also helps them start thinking about what makes for effective team communication. This time I put in a new observation step. I divided the class in two and had some observe as others discussed. It made some folks uncomfortable (fishbowl experience) but I think it also jump started a self-awareness they will require as they learn to pay attention to their own behaviors.
Another reason I love my students is that they sometimes bring their own wonderful skills into my classes so that I can benefit. I'm thinking now about the beanie made by Scottie Hoffman, a student from last quarter. Don't worry, it wasn't a gift! I purchased it based on his persuasive speech. For two straight weeks in December after the giant snowfall I wore it every day! It's warm, it covers my ears, and the colors are lovely. Well, I bought the yarn, so thank you to Huck! for the color. And thank you to Scottie for the winter warmth. He told me he was off to the Tahoe area over the holidays to sell his beanies. I hope he had good business.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
What is News? (Provoked by NPR)
I'm listening to NPR's Weekend Edition. Lead story is that Israelis and Palestinians are once again at war. To me, that's not news. That's gossip about "the latest brawl" between folks who have been killing each other for several thousand years. In my own ethnic history, the folks who used to kill each other often (Scots and Swedes) are now relatively calm in their relationship. So, according to my understanding of news, Scotland dropping bombs on Sweden would be news. Two middle eastern cultures attacking each other -- not news.
So, that's a contradictory claim. Where do I get my definition of news?
The first definition of news I ever heard was this one: "Dog bites man -- not news. Man bites dog - news." I learned that definition either from watching T.V. cop shows with my mom (San Francisco Beat, 77 Sunset Strip) or directly from my Dad who was a hard drinking newsman like those in old RKO and Warner Brothers movies.* I knew this definition by sixth grade. Like most stuff I learned in 6th grade, I thought it came directly from The Truth of Things. (I had no sense that adults -- people -- are always motivated to motivate.)
(Researcher tip: I found the obituary mentioned below by googling "man bites dog" then googling "John B. Bogart" and finding the NYTimes obit. URL: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9800E7DE113CE533A2575BC1A9679D946095D6CF )
I didn't know the definition came from John B. Bogart, who, according to his November 18, 1921 obituary in the New York Times, "was city editor of the Sun for seventeen years from 1873 to 1890, and often referred to as 'the best editor in the country,' died Wednesday night at his home, 181 West Eighty-seventh street, in his seventy sixth year." That's the lead of the story (who what where when). The how is in the next sentence: "seriously ill only one day" but "long suffered from diabetes." Information helpful to the readers comes next: Those who care can "view the body" the next day at the Stephen Merrit Chapel on Eighth Avenue. Internment will be in New Haven.** (Those who care would include people going just to see who is there, if anyone. Bogart hadn't worked in the news business since 1915.)
See how all the news in this story is in the first paragraph. That's how my Dad told me to write when I was in 7th grade, and that's how I learned to write in my two years of high school journalism and the college reporting classes that lead up to my B. A. in photo-journalism.
Bogart's famous quote is in the second to the last paragraph of a four paragraph article. I'd cut and paste it for you but I can't in the given formats.*** "His remarks on the subject of 'news' are often quoted by newspaper men. Perhaps the most famous was that about the man and the dog. 'When a dog bites a man, that isn't news. It often happens. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.'" So, that was one of the great public definitions from the latter part of the 19th Century and well known by 1921.
For other definitions of yews, y'all can do your own googling. I stand by my original statement: people who have been beating each other up for centuries beating each other again is not news. It's maddening, disheartening, and deeply, deeply tragic. But it's not news.
*In old movies, however, you don't see the four kids watching mom haul Dad's sorry ass up the front steps when he came home late and drunk.)
** For a time in New York Broadway shows tried out in New Haven. So some New Yorkers might think it ironic that Bogart closed his life there. )
*** I'm not up on all current skills. Scanned PDF to Blog -- "naht gunna daht" to quote Dana Carvey as George Bush, Sr.)
So, that's a contradictory claim. Where do I get my definition of news?
The first definition of news I ever heard was this one: "Dog bites man -- not news. Man bites dog - news." I learned that definition either from watching T.V. cop shows with my mom (San Francisco Beat, 77 Sunset Strip) or directly from my Dad who was a hard drinking newsman like those in old RKO and Warner Brothers movies.* I knew this definition by sixth grade. Like most stuff I learned in 6th grade, I thought it came directly from The Truth of Things. (I had no sense that adults -- people -- are always motivated to motivate.)
(Researcher tip: I found the obituary mentioned below by googling "man bites dog" then googling "John B. Bogart" and finding the NYTimes obit. URL: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9800E7DE113CE533A2575BC1A9679D946095D6CF )
I didn't know the definition came from John B. Bogart, who, according to his November 18, 1921 obituary in the New York Times, "was city editor of the Sun for seventeen years from 1873 to 1890, and often referred to as 'the best editor in the country,' died Wednesday night at his home, 181 West Eighty-seventh street, in his seventy sixth year." That's the lead of the story (who what where when). The how is in the next sentence: "seriously ill only one day" but "long suffered from diabetes." Information helpful to the readers comes next: Those who care can "view the body" the next day at the Stephen Merrit Chapel on Eighth Avenue. Internment will be in New Haven.** (Those who care would include people going just to see who is there, if anyone. Bogart hadn't worked in the news business since 1915.)
See how all the news in this story is in the first paragraph. That's how my Dad told me to write when I was in 7th grade, and that's how I learned to write in my two years of high school journalism and the college reporting classes that lead up to my B. A. in photo-journalism.
Bogart's famous quote is in the second to the last paragraph of a four paragraph article. I'd cut and paste it for you but I can't in the given formats.*** "His remarks on the subject of 'news' are often quoted by newspaper men. Perhaps the most famous was that about the man and the dog. 'When a dog bites a man, that isn't news. It often happens. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.'" So, that was one of the great public definitions from the latter part of the 19th Century and well known by 1921.
For other definitions of yews, y'all can do your own googling. I stand by my original statement: people who have been beating each other up for centuries beating each other again is not news. It's maddening, disheartening, and deeply, deeply tragic. But it's not news.
*In old movies, however, you don't see the four kids watching mom haul Dad's sorry ass up the front steps when he came home late and drunk.)
** For a time in New York Broadway shows tried out in New Haven. So some New Yorkers might think it ironic that Bogart closed his life there. )
*** I'm not up on all current skills. Scanned PDF to Blog -- "naht gunna daht" to quote Dana Carvey as George Bush, Sr.)
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