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.

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.

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

• 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.

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.

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.)