Sorry for being me.
May. 6th, 2004 12:58 pmI think I aggravate my professor a lot. I also think she needs more experience dealing with loud, pushy, opinionated, irate people. It is, therefor, my job to help her gain more experience.
I strolled into class about forty-five minutes late. I wasn't going to go, but I feel bad about skipping the one thing I actually have scheduled for the day, especially when the semester's only a month long. Within five minutes, Joy was struggling to explain something to me, and I was sitting there with my arms crossed and my brows furrowed, being a stubbornly un-understanding student.
Joy is trying to teach us how to listen to other people. More specifically, she's trying to teach us how to-- what is it now?-- "reflectively listen". This means that, say, for example, Angela goes off on how she can't stand America anymore, and I would respond by saying something to the effect of, "So, what you're saying is that you feel oppressed by the new laws that are being passed, and that the government is turning into a tyrannous dictatorship?"
Ok, maybe not quite like that, but that's the general idea. The speaker speaks, and I'm supposed to paraphrase it back to them to both encourage them to keep speaking and to show that I am listening and engaged in what they are saying.
There are several problems with this. First, I am much more likely to ask a question (i.e. "Why do you feel this way? Could you give an example?"), and Joy says that by doing this I am trying to dominate and lead the speaker; I'm not listening. Second, I only repeat back something when I'm confused or not understanding what the speaker has said. To me, the reflective listener sounds like they are bewildered by what I am saying the majority of the time. Third, this also means that I have to override the natural impulse to tell people that they are wrong and prove it logically or statistically; use sarcasm, irony, or wit; ask questions; or imput anything of my own, including any analysis.
Joy especially wants us to use this on people who disagree with us, with makes it infinitely harder. You know how hard it will be for me to hold my tongue while someone's ranting about something I radically disagree with, and instead only repeat their own words back at them like some sort of stupid parrot?
This is apparently supposed to get people to reflect deeper on their own values and opinions, but I'm pretty well convinced that Joy taught us this solely for the purpose of irritating me.
I'll show her some human conflict... there seems to be some conflict between her values and actual application.
Yay! Free dinner at the Deepwater tonight! (Paid for by CommComm, including drinks.) Sweet... I'm gonna order whatever I want, as much as I want, and stuff myself.
And life will be good.
_____
(P.S. Jenny, I have to get some of this music off my computer for you to listen to... you'll either love it or hate it, but it's definitely entertaining! *points to current music*)
I strolled into class about forty-five minutes late. I wasn't going to go, but I feel bad about skipping the one thing I actually have scheduled for the day, especially when the semester's only a month long. Within five minutes, Joy was struggling to explain something to me, and I was sitting there with my arms crossed and my brows furrowed, being a stubbornly un-understanding student.
Joy is trying to teach us how to listen to other people. More specifically, she's trying to teach us how to-- what is it now?-- "reflectively listen". This means that, say, for example, Angela goes off on how she can't stand America anymore, and I would respond by saying something to the effect of, "So, what you're saying is that you feel oppressed by the new laws that are being passed, and that the government is turning into a tyrannous dictatorship?"
Ok, maybe not quite like that, but that's the general idea. The speaker speaks, and I'm supposed to paraphrase it back to them to both encourage them to keep speaking and to show that I am listening and engaged in what they are saying.
There are several problems with this. First, I am much more likely to ask a question (i.e. "Why do you feel this way? Could you give an example?"), and Joy says that by doing this I am trying to dominate and lead the speaker; I'm not listening. Second, I only repeat back something when I'm confused or not understanding what the speaker has said. To me, the reflective listener sounds like they are bewildered by what I am saying the majority of the time. Third, this also means that I have to override the natural impulse to tell people that they are wrong and prove it logically or statistically; use sarcasm, irony, or wit; ask questions; or imput anything of my own, including any analysis.
Joy especially wants us to use this on people who disagree with us, with makes it infinitely harder. You know how hard it will be for me to hold my tongue while someone's ranting about something I radically disagree with, and instead only repeat their own words back at them like some sort of stupid parrot?
This is apparently supposed to get people to reflect deeper on their own values and opinions, but I'm pretty well convinced that Joy taught us this solely for the purpose of irritating me.
I'll show her some human conflict... there seems to be some conflict between her values and actual application.
Yay! Free dinner at the Deepwater tonight! (Paid for by CommComm, including drinks.) Sweet... I'm gonna order whatever I want, as much as I want, and stuff myself.
And life will be good.
_____
(P.S. Jenny, I have to get some of this music off my computer for you to listen to... you'll either love it or hate it, but it's definitely entertaining! *points to current music*)
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