It is the end of the semester and I am still overwhelmed with assignments; I am not surprised. This course in particular brought a group of people together, who under normal circumstances, I would not have communicated with at all.
It forced me to reveal myself to others, which as early stated in my blog entries, is a process I don't look forward to. I rather keep myself to myself or share with the very few I consider in my life.
Surprisingly it did not turn out as badly as I thought it would have. I have seen (like vantage points) the various aspects of personalities people possess and vice versa.
I found myself being honest and genuinely giving my all because of the group effort and because of those around me, my humor side dominated my personality in order to survive the contradicting personalities of the other members. I paid very careful attention to my verbal and nonverbal language and took consideration of all that was around me. I would rate myself as a 9 now which is one step up from the 8 I previously gave myself. I won't give myself a perfect score because I am not perfect and there are many situations for me to face still where my communication skills will be tested and tried.
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Life is like earth school
Life is the province of learning, and the wisdom we acquire throughout our lives is the reward of existence. As we traverse the winding roads that lead from birth to death, experience is our patient teacher. We exist, bound to human bodies as we are, to evolve, enrolled by the universe in earth school, an informal and individualized academy of living, being, and changing. Life’s lessons can take many forms and present us with many challenges. There are scores of mundane lessons that help us learn to navigate with grace, poise, and tolerance in this world. And there are those once-in-a-lifetime lessons that touch us so deeply that they change the course of our lives. The latter can be heartrending, and we may wander through life as unwilling students for a time. But the quality of our lives is based almost entirely on what we derive from our experiences.
Earth school provides us with an education of the heart and the soul, as well as the intellect. The scope of our instruction is dependent on our ability and readiness to accept the lesson laid out before us in the circumstances we face. When we find ourselves blindsided by life, we are free to choose to close our minds or to view the inbuilt lesson in a narrow-minded way. The notion that existence is a never-ending lesson can be dismaying at times. The courses we undertake in earth school can be painful as well as pleasurable, and as taxing as they are eventually rewarding. However, in every situation, relationship, or encounter, a range of lessons can be unearthed. When we choose to consciously take advantage of each of the lessons we are confronted with, we gradually discover that our previous ideas about love, compassion, resilience, grief, fear, trust, and generosity could have been half-formed.
Ultimately, when we acknowledge that growth is an integral part of life and that attending earth school is the responsibility of every individual, the concept of "life as lesson" no longer chafes. We can openly and joyfully look for the blessing buried in the difficulties we face without feeling that we are trapped in a roller-coaster ride of forced learning. Though we cannot always know when we are experiencing a life lesson, the wisdom we accrue will bless us with the keenest hindsight.
Jealousy
Jealousy is one of the toughest feelings we come up against in our lives. There is not much worse than this aching sense that somehow life has been unfair to us, while amply rewarding someone else. It’s even worse if that someone else is present in our daily lives, making it difficult for us to get the space we need to feel and heal our pain. We may be jealous of a sibling, a dear friend, or even famous personalities. We may even face the challenge of feeling jealous of our spouse, our child, or one of our parents. Whatever the case, we can normalize our experience by understanding that, as painful as it is, jealousy is a common human feeling.
Nevertheless, it is important that we not revel in our jealousy for too long, feeding it with inner talk or gossip with others. If we do, we run the risk of losing ourselves to its negative power. Jealousy has something good to offer us, though, and that is information about our own heart’s desire. When we are jealous of certain people, we want what they have, and if we are to be conscious, we must acknowledge that. In this way, we discover what we want for ourselves, which is the first step to getting it. It may be a certain kind of relationship or a career. Whatever it is, it is possible that we could create it for ourselves, in our own lives, if we are able to honor our own desires.
Of course, there are times when we cannot heal our jealousy in this way, and then the lesson may be about acceptance and the understanding that our path is different from the paths of those around us. It may be hard to see now, but perhaps it will eventually be clear why our life has taken its particular path. In the end, the best cure for jealousy is the recognition that the life we have is full of its own meaning and beauty, utterly unique to us—a gift that could never be found in the life of another.
Loving myself
To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.
When we are told that we have to learn to love ourselves, we may wonder if doing so will lead to self-absorption and selfishness. Shouldn't we be focusing on loving our fellow humans?
In truth, until we are capable of fully accepting and loving ourselves, the love we have to offer others is poor stuff indeed. Rejecting ourselves, even in small ways, clogs our communication with Spirit. Self-acceptance and unconditional love for our real selves are conditions of wholeness and spiritual health. When we have them, we are able to love others unselfishly, not needing to manipulate them to meet our needs, not clinging too tightly to them in fear of loneliness. When we are strong in our love and appreciation of ourselves, our spirits are large enough to care for others and to give freely, without hidden agendas. Self-love even helps us to serve our Higher Power with greater humility, gratitude, and courage.
Permission to be real
Most of us are familiar with the idea of keeping it real and have an intuitive sense about what that means. People who keep it real don’t hide behind a mask to keep themselves safe from their fear of how they might be perceived. They don’t present a false self in order to appear more perfect, more powerful, or more independent. People who keep it real present themselves as they truly are, the good parts and the parts most of us would rather hide, sharing their full selves with the people who are lucky enough to know them.
Being real in this way is not an easy thing to do as we live in a culture that often shows us images of physical and material perfection. As a result, we all want to look younger, thinner, wealthier, and more successful. We are rewarded externally when we succeed at this masquerade, but people who are real remind us that, internally, we suffer. Whenever we feel that who we are is not enough and that we need to be bigger, better, or more exciting, we send a message to ourselves that we are not enough. Meanwhile, people who are not trying to be something more than they are walk into a room and bring a feeling of ease, humor, and warmth with them. They acknowledge their wrinkles and laugh at their personal eccentricities without putting themselves down.
People like this inspire us to let go of our own defenses and relax for a moment in the truth of who we really are. In their presence, we feel safe enough to take off our masks and experience the freedom of not hiding behind a barrier. Those of us who were lucky enough to have a parent who was able to keep it real may find it easier to be that way ourselves. The rest of us may have to work a little harder to let go of our pretenses and share the beauty and humor of our real selves. Our reward for taking such a risk is that as we do, we will attract and inspire others, giving them the permission to be real too.
Accepting yourself
There is no such thing as a good person or a bad person. There are choices and actions that lead us in different directions, and it is through those choices and actions that we create our realities. Sometimes we choose or do something that takes us in the opposite direction of the reality we want to create for ourselves. When we do this, we feel bad—uneasy, unhappy, unsure. We might go so far as to label ourselves “bad” when a situation like this arises. Instead of labeling ourselves, though, we could simply acknowledge that we made a choice that lead us down a particular path, and then let it go, forgiving ourselves and preparing for our next opportunity to choose, and act, in ways that support our best intentions.
Many of us experienced childhoods in which the words good and bad were used as weapons to control us—you were good if you did what you were told and bad if you didn’t. This kind of discipline undermines a person’s ability to find their own moral center and to trust and be guided by their own inner self. If you were raised this way, you may find yourself feeling shockwaves of badness when you do something you were taught was wrong, even if now you don’t agree that it’s bad. Conversely, you may feel good when you do what you learned was right. Notice how this puts you in something of a straitjacket. An important part of our spiritual unfolding requires that we grow beyond what we learned and take responsibility for our own liberation in our own terms.
You are a human being with every right to be here, learning and exploring. To label yourself good or bad is to think too small. What you are is a decision-maker and every moment provides you the opportunity to move in the direction of your higher self or in the direction of stagnation or degradation. In the end, only you know the difference. If you find yourself going into self-judgment, try to stop yourself as soon as you can and come back to center. Know that you are not good or bad, you are simply you.
Argument
This is advice I received that I am sharing with you because it is a very common issue that can bring people closer together to separate them even further. When we find ourselves in an argument, we may feel like we are losing control of emotions that have taken on lives of their own. When we can become aware that this is happening, taking a deep breath can help us step back from the situation. Once we can separate ourselves from the heat of the moment, we may find that the emotional trigger that began the argument has little to do with the present situation, but may have brought up feelings related to something else entirely. Looking honestly at what caused our reaction allows us to consciously respond more appropriately to the situation and make the best choices.
We can make an agreement with our partners and those closest to us that asking questions can help all of us discover the source of the argument. The shared awareness can result in finding simple solutions to something physical, like low blood sugar or even a hormonal surge. Maybe we are taking ourselves too seriously, and we can just laugh and watch the tension dissolve. We could also discover that perhaps we are addicted to the excitement that drama brings and the chemicals that our body creates when we are angry. But there may be a deeper issue that requires discussion, understanding, and patience. The more we allow ourselves to step back and examine our reasons for arguing, the easier it becomes to allow real feelings to surface and guide us toward solutions that improve our lives.
When we can be clear about our feelings and intentions and communicate them clearly, we have a far better chance of getting what we want than if we lose control or allow our subconscious minds to manipulate the situation. We might take our frustrations out on the people closest to us because we feel safe and comfortable with them, but misplaced anger can cause more harm than good. Arguing for what we truly believe can empower us and help us to direct our passions toward greater life experiences. Truly knowing our reasons for arguing enables us to grow emotionally in ways that will affect our whole being.
We can make an agreement with our partners and those closest to us that asking questions can help all of us discover the source of the argument. The shared awareness can result in finding simple solutions to something physical, like low blood sugar or even a hormonal surge. Maybe we are taking ourselves too seriously, and we can just laugh and watch the tension dissolve. We could also discover that perhaps we are addicted to the excitement that drama brings and the chemicals that our body creates when we are angry. But there may be a deeper issue that requires discussion, understanding, and patience. The more we allow ourselves to step back and examine our reasons for arguing, the easier it becomes to allow real feelings to surface and guide us toward solutions that improve our lives.
When we can be clear about our feelings and intentions and communicate them clearly, we have a far better chance of getting what we want than if we lose control or allow our subconscious minds to manipulate the situation. We might take our frustrations out on the people closest to us because we feel safe and comfortable with them, but misplaced anger can cause more harm than good. Arguing for what we truly believe can empower us and help us to direct our passions toward greater life experiences. Truly knowing our reasons for arguing enables us to grow emotionally in ways that will affect our whole being.
Distraction
Once we are born into this world we are distracted by survival instincts and norms and requirements. We go to school for most of our lives (most people) probably from the age of 3 until about 30 years, in between which we work and probably have a family and continue to work to support that family until the children grow older and leave and set out to repeat the cycle.
There is more to live that this. Yes it is understood that in living such a life we gain knowledge and experience but the knowledge and experience a lot of persons are gaining is just to help them survive their day to day livelihoods.
We must stop and take the time to ponder about what life really is all about and your purpose in it. Hence reason the Bible says that even man at his best state is altogether vanity. It is human nature to want what is best for yourself and to figure things out for "yourself" and to become a better "self" and to gain things to improve yourself and your life. But after all of this is done, you are not yourself alone. You are deeply connected with every single life form and as such it could never end there. According to H.I.M Emperor Haile Selassie 1st of Ethiopia "It is both the duty of the educated few to fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the unfortunate many." Humanity depends on humans.
There is more to live that this. Yes it is understood that in living such a life we gain knowledge and experience but the knowledge and experience a lot of persons are gaining is just to help them survive their day to day livelihoods.
We must stop and take the time to ponder about what life really is all about and your purpose in it. Hence reason the Bible says that even man at his best state is altogether vanity. It is human nature to want what is best for yourself and to figure things out for "yourself" and to become a better "self" and to gain things to improve yourself and your life. But after all of this is done, you are not yourself alone. You are deeply connected with every single life form and as such it could never end there. According to H.I.M Emperor Haile Selassie 1st of Ethiopia "It is both the duty of the educated few to fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the unfortunate many." Humanity depends on humans.
Communication in yoga
Yoga focuses on the healing of body and mind, and on reconnection to Spirit by blending asanas (physical postures), pranayamas (breathing techniques), mudras, bandhas, relaxation and meditation so that you are progressively led into deeper states of focus, awareness, concentration, and deep relaxation.
Yoga is a soul-centered practice and seeks to lead one closer and closer to the ultimate reality of our true nature, which is one of love and compassion. This is accomplished by combining the movement of the asanas (yogic postures) with the conscious awareness of the breath, and by using that focused state of awareness to bring about a gradual calming and balancing of both mind and body. Deep guided relaxation, breathing exercises, and basic meditation techniques guides you to experience a state of deep quiet where one can then begin to understand and tap into the vast resources of peace, strength, creativity and love that are present at the core of all human beings.
To me this is also a form of communicating with oneself and the universe. Such a meditation means listening to your higher self and acknowledging your inner self in light of all good and all there is, embracing oneness.
Yoga is a soul-centered practice and seeks to lead one closer and closer to the ultimate reality of our true nature, which is one of love and compassion. This is accomplished by combining the movement of the asanas (yogic postures) with the conscious awareness of the breath, and by using that focused state of awareness to bring about a gradual calming and balancing of both mind and body. Deep guided relaxation, breathing exercises, and basic meditation techniques guides you to experience a state of deep quiet where one can then begin to understand and tap into the vast resources of peace, strength, creativity and love that are present at the core of all human beings.
To me this is also a form of communicating with oneself and the universe. Such a meditation means listening to your higher self and acknowledging your inner self in light of all good and all there is, embracing oneness.
Selection of Music by DJs
Music is God’s gift to man, the only art of heaven given to earth and the only art of earth we take to heaven. Music can be traced right back to the days the Israelites rejoiced while in the wilderness, and even further than that when Lucifer having the most beautiful voice , would sing for God.
Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul. Music, in its entirety, does in fact have a deep impact on persons. It affects the mind and touches the heart. It inspires, uplifts and can be a great teacher. Reggae music is one genre that expresses the message of love for God, self, others and culture. It is one of peace and unity and when given the opportunity to express itself, reggae music can be found in high, low, far and near places. This revelation is not a recent phenomenon. This is a stepping stone for persons to become more conscious of who they are, their surroundings and their place in this world. After which, some semblance of a relationship with God can be established and that is all that is needed to begin the journey.
Djs in reggae dances need to remember that when they play the same music over and over the communication process becomes stagnant and leaves little room for growth and change. Music is a form of communication as it sends messages and internally we interpret this music and respond to it. Explore and grow in the selections as the messages being sent will be renewed, refreshed and changes can occur.
Racism
Racism comes in many hues even in the form of "white chicken legs." This phrase "white chicken leg" was used in a comment thread by someone commenting on an African indigenous shoe being modeled by the leg of a "white" woman. After attention was draw to what would be considered a "racist" comment the person them began to belittle everyone for assuming that he/she intended to display any racial connotations. This in itself proved fruitless and futile. Even if it the racist connotation was not intended the remark in itself was negative and could have been phrased better.
We are aware that the term "Africans" does no equal "black" for the mere fact that there are "white" "Africans", so the argument could be considered null and void, but ignorance and guilt went hand in hand in this argument. We must be careful of the things we say, how we communicate verbally and non-verbally because speech is a very fundamental way of expressing the mind and one's character. As one of my famous quotes says "Speak! That I may know thee".
We are aware that the term "Africans" does no equal "black" for the mere fact that there are "white" "Africans", so the argument could be considered null and void, but ignorance and guilt went hand in hand in this argument. We must be careful of the things we say, how we communicate verbally and non-verbally because speech is a very fundamental way of expressing the mind and one's character. As one of my famous quotes says "Speak! That I may know thee".
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Use of Slang
First let me say, I love slangs, I find them very amusing and some of them are very "cool". I come from an area that used slang as though it were the only language known to them, and I have a lot of sistrens from Jamaica who I speak to on a regular basis and their language is full of slangs too!
Yes I speak slang on a regular basis because its makes the situations more comfortable and relaxing and exciting. I absolutely love to laugh and I enjoy experiences that make me do, using slangs is the beginning to entertainment for me. I do not use slangs when speaking to people in authority and I hardly ever use it with my students. I do use it when I want to lighten the mood and make them laugh and they very well understand what I mean because they use those slangs too. However I do this sparingly and they know not to get carried away.
Given these details I would say I use slang appropriately. My family (except my mother) uses slangs when they are in the mood to "play cool". It depends on the physical context as well that slangs are used, the location and people around might deter me from using slangs when I would like to but this is just to be respectful towards them. When I am in different social settings and physical settings them i would use them to my leisure.
Yes I speak slang on a regular basis because its makes the situations more comfortable and relaxing and exciting. I absolutely love to laugh and I enjoy experiences that make me do, using slangs is the beginning to entertainment for me. I do not use slangs when speaking to people in authority and I hardly ever use it with my students. I do use it when I want to lighten the mood and make them laugh and they very well understand what I mean because they use those slangs too. However I do this sparingly and they know not to get carried away.
Given these details I would say I use slang appropriately. My family (except my mother) uses slangs when they are in the mood to "play cool". It depends on the physical context as well that slangs are used, the location and people around might deter me from using slangs when I would like to but this is just to be respectful towards them. When I am in different social settings and physical settings them i would use them to my leisure.
Am I an effective verbal communicator?
When communicating it is only natural that you are doing so for a purpose. Regardless of the purpose itself, when communicating it is also natural that you want to be understood. You are sending a message that you have encoded in your mind because of particular perceptions that you may have and as a result of that or because of it, you will want to send a message to someone and it is hoped that they understand you or interpret the message the way you would like them too. However there are many things one must consider to ensure that the purpose of the message is understood and the message itself is correctly interpreted. Effective communication is when those things are accomplished.
I would not say I am always an effective communicator on any given instance. I would say I am more of an effective communicator in my class when sending messages to my students. Because I have a standard one class and they too have problems relating experiences and expressing themselves, I have to set the precedent for them. With the exception of spontaneous and scripted communication, I carefully construct my messages and I do a lot of repetition or phrase the same message differently while drawing on references and asking questions to make sure I am understood and they too understand the purpose of the message and the message itself. We are six weeks into school and I learnt this lesson probably by my second week of school after realizing that my kids were behaving the opposite to what was previously expressed. I came from a standard 4-5 class and because their level of maturity and understanding would have been greater, I grew accustom to that and took it for granted that my standard ones would too. Well they do now and I am thankful for it.
With adults however, I cannot say that I am as effective a communicator as I am with adults. I often take it for granted that because we are mature and possess a certain level of understanding that some things should apply to common sense while others could be rationalized according to verbal/nonverbal cues given in the first place. This is not always so because many times especially with strangers or persons I am slightly acquainted with misinterpret my actions and messages to mean something else. Only when necessary will I try to recreate the message and ensure that I am understood, otherwise I do not even bother. Persons who I am closely related to almost always (if not always) gets the message first time around but that is because they know me.
Because I am respectful I would say that I demonstrate not a perfect but high level of linguistic sensitivity. I don't ever belittle persons according to their characteristics. I like to feel comfortable in spaces and around others so that I also try to do the same. I do not like labelling either and generalizing because it is often done by others when they describe "Rastafarians" to which sometimes they do not even apply to me although I belong to that co-culture. I try to pluralize and use words such as "their/they, some people, sometimes, in some cases, might..." etc. This was introduced to me at an early age because I was on a debate team in school and also when doing General Paper and Sociology for A Levels these things applied and maintained importance.
I am ever so conscious about how I speak, my language choices and body language because as a teacher so much is expected from you, even if you do not agree with those expectations one might find themselves trying to cause minimum disturbances and misinterpretations to save your image as a teacher. I use vocabulary I believe persons should understand and if I do not know you then during the course of communication I will be better able to decipher what one's vocabulary status may or may not be. I use jargons when I know I am with persons who belong to the same group associated with such terms, for example teachers and Rastas. ALl in all I do try to be sensitive and respectful because in my mind, its enough having to deal with the real content in our messages, let's try not to make situations even more complex by being offensive or insensitive.
I would not say I am always an effective communicator on any given instance. I would say I am more of an effective communicator in my class when sending messages to my students. Because I have a standard one class and they too have problems relating experiences and expressing themselves, I have to set the precedent for them. With the exception of spontaneous and scripted communication, I carefully construct my messages and I do a lot of repetition or phrase the same message differently while drawing on references and asking questions to make sure I am understood and they too understand the purpose of the message and the message itself. We are six weeks into school and I learnt this lesson probably by my second week of school after realizing that my kids were behaving the opposite to what was previously expressed. I came from a standard 4-5 class and because their level of maturity and understanding would have been greater, I grew accustom to that and took it for granted that my standard ones would too. Well they do now and I am thankful for it.
With adults however, I cannot say that I am as effective a communicator as I am with adults. I often take it for granted that because we are mature and possess a certain level of understanding that some things should apply to common sense while others could be rationalized according to verbal/nonverbal cues given in the first place. This is not always so because many times especially with strangers or persons I am slightly acquainted with misinterpret my actions and messages to mean something else. Only when necessary will I try to recreate the message and ensure that I am understood, otherwise I do not even bother. Persons who I am closely related to almost always (if not always) gets the message first time around but that is because they know me.
Because I am respectful I would say that I demonstrate not a perfect but high level of linguistic sensitivity. I don't ever belittle persons according to their characteristics. I like to feel comfortable in spaces and around others so that I also try to do the same. I do not like labelling either and generalizing because it is often done by others when they describe "Rastafarians" to which sometimes they do not even apply to me although I belong to that co-culture. I try to pluralize and use words such as "their/they, some people, sometimes, in some cases, might..." etc. This was introduced to me at an early age because I was on a debate team in school and also when doing General Paper and Sociology for A Levels these things applied and maintained importance.
I am ever so conscious about how I speak, my language choices and body language because as a teacher so much is expected from you, even if you do not agree with those expectations one might find themselves trying to cause minimum disturbances and misinterpretations to save your image as a teacher. I use vocabulary I believe persons should understand and if I do not know you then during the course of communication I will be better able to decipher what one's vocabulary status may or may not be. I use jargons when I know I am with persons who belong to the same group associated with such terms, for example teachers and Rastas. ALl in all I do try to be sensitive and respectful because in my mind, its enough having to deal with the real content in our messages, let's try not to make situations even more complex by being offensive or insensitive.
Newspaper Article- my perception
Title: Corporal Punishment is not the Answer
Newspaper: Trinidad Express
Date: October 11th
Author: Lennox Bernard PhD
Mr. Bernard expounded the idea of alternative methods to corporal punishment in schools. He explained the negative effects and dangers of such a resort and also gave alternative methods offered by the Ministry of Education and probably his own research. Frankly and fairly, the article was great and effective too, because I definitely caused in stir in me so much so that I chose this article to comment on. I am quite accustom to hearing people argue against the use of corporal punishment but many times these persons are not teachers. Parents too have called for the punishment to cease and I take it that this is because they don't have the kind of children that "haunt" our hallways and openly, consciously and purposefully cause serious detriment to others: that too is understood. So honestly, upon reading the article, I immediately got on my defensive and was annoyed by yet another "don't beat the children" argument.
It was only until I read his alternatives and gave arguments who which even they might fail to work as well, was when I seriously considered his point of view. I thought if he could admit that they do not always work then he is being unbiased in his claims. Furthermore he went to say that the culture of schools vary and some alternatives can be applied in certain cases whereas in other schools they are definitely out of the question. What I do find "funny" is that the parents who are mature and honest enough to admit their kids are a "terror" don't rebuke the notion of corporal punishment. For that matter, many parents in my school have come forward and asked teachers to use corporal punishment to discipline their children because they know for a fact that there is no other immediate, and I stress, immediate, method that would work as well.
"The disciplinary model of practice includes verbal reprimand, withdrawal of privileges, applying extra academic work, making reparation, a system of demerits, counselling services, detention, pupil/student courts, isolation, temporary and permanent exclusion to an alternative school setting." I quote his alternative methods because I have used such methods and I can laugh now because the boys in my school are immune to such applications. They laugh and smile at these things because they know to themselves that we are fooling ourselves. According to a classmate of mine, in a Character Education class, people need to realize we live in a physical and spiritual world, and believe it or not, many of these children are possessed. I have seen it for myself and whoever doesn't believe apparently does not read the Bible to know these things exist. They existed then and they exists now.
For my part, I use the alternative methods for my boys especially because they hate losing their play time on a lunch hour. The girls do not give me trouble to say I have to resort to anything other than a verbal warning. My boys on the other hand are another story and yet still I am thankful because it could have been worse. My boys are just playful and wild, not possessed. However, I have witnessed on more than one occasion boys who most likely were and in such cases even corporal punishment can't stop them. They have been to counsellors, social workers, psychiatrists, given detention, a beating, lines, called in parents, the full works. What is more worrying is that some of the deeds they do not point to or give evidence as to the root of the problem. They have manipulated even psychiatrist and the principal on many occasions to think that they own up to their deeds and will even apologize and give logical explanations as to why he did things and apologize. After this the psychiatrist thinks they have succeeded, then as soon as he walks away the terror starts and he smiles while doing it. In such cases, when all else fails, what are teachers supposed to do?
Newspaper: Trinidad Express
Date: October 11th
Author: Lennox Bernard PhD
Mr. Bernard expounded the idea of alternative methods to corporal punishment in schools. He explained the negative effects and dangers of such a resort and also gave alternative methods offered by the Ministry of Education and probably his own research. Frankly and fairly, the article was great and effective too, because I definitely caused in stir in me so much so that I chose this article to comment on. I am quite accustom to hearing people argue against the use of corporal punishment but many times these persons are not teachers. Parents too have called for the punishment to cease and I take it that this is because they don't have the kind of children that "haunt" our hallways and openly, consciously and purposefully cause serious detriment to others: that too is understood. So honestly, upon reading the article, I immediately got on my defensive and was annoyed by yet another "don't beat the children" argument.
It was only until I read his alternatives and gave arguments who which even they might fail to work as well, was when I seriously considered his point of view. I thought if he could admit that they do not always work then he is being unbiased in his claims. Furthermore he went to say that the culture of schools vary and some alternatives can be applied in certain cases whereas in other schools they are definitely out of the question. What I do find "funny" is that the parents who are mature and honest enough to admit their kids are a "terror" don't rebuke the notion of corporal punishment. For that matter, many parents in my school have come forward and asked teachers to use corporal punishment to discipline their children because they know for a fact that there is no other immediate, and I stress, immediate, method that would work as well.
"The disciplinary model of practice includes verbal reprimand, withdrawal of privileges, applying extra academic work, making reparation, a system of demerits, counselling services, detention, pupil/student courts, isolation, temporary and permanent exclusion to an alternative school setting." I quote his alternative methods because I have used such methods and I can laugh now because the boys in my school are immune to such applications. They laugh and smile at these things because they know to themselves that we are fooling ourselves. According to a classmate of mine, in a Character Education class, people need to realize we live in a physical and spiritual world, and believe it or not, many of these children are possessed. I have seen it for myself and whoever doesn't believe apparently does not read the Bible to know these things exist. They existed then and they exists now.
For my part, I use the alternative methods for my boys especially because they hate losing their play time on a lunch hour. The girls do not give me trouble to say I have to resort to anything other than a verbal warning. My boys on the other hand are another story and yet still I am thankful because it could have been worse. My boys are just playful and wild, not possessed. However, I have witnessed on more than one occasion boys who most likely were and in such cases even corporal punishment can't stop them. They have been to counsellors, social workers, psychiatrists, given detention, a beating, lines, called in parents, the full works. What is more worrying is that some of the deeds they do not point to or give evidence as to the root of the problem. They have manipulated even psychiatrist and the principal on many occasions to think that they own up to their deeds and will even apologize and give logical explanations as to why he did things and apologize. After this the psychiatrist thinks they have succeeded, then as soon as he walks away the terror starts and he smiles while doing it. In such cases, when all else fails, what are teachers supposed to do?
Saturday, 15 October 2011
What I learnt from the culture I presented
My group presented the Aborigines tribe in Australia. yes I would say it was strange to me for many reasons:
1. They were mostly naked except in cold parts of the region they wore animal skin.
2. They were semi-nomadic, moving from place to place according to the season
3. They don't have any written record of their language, it was only spoken
4. The family and marriage rites were too confusing because it involved too many co-cultures that included people who also belonged to other co-cultures.
Now presently I would not say it was so strange that it affected me or my way of communication is a dramatic way. All I have to do is watch national Geographic and I would find many other cultures that have similar differences. What I did learn was that despite the numerous differences they possessed in comparison to the western world, their culture worked effectively enough for them and that is really what mattered to me most. It worked. For that matter they were existing quite comfortably until some ethnocentric Europeans came and wiped them out. It just goes to show that domination and invasion destroys cultures, it doesn't integrate or expand it.
1. They were mostly naked except in cold parts of the region they wore animal skin.
2. They were semi-nomadic, moving from place to place according to the season
3. They don't have any written record of their language, it was only spoken
4. The family and marriage rites were too confusing because it involved too many co-cultures that included people who also belonged to other co-cultures.
Now presently I would not say it was so strange that it affected me or my way of communication is a dramatic way. All I have to do is watch national Geographic and I would find many other cultures that have similar differences. What I did learn was that despite the numerous differences they possessed in comparison to the western world, their culture worked effectively enough for them and that is really what mattered to me most. It worked. For that matter they were existing quite comfortably until some ethnocentric Europeans came and wiped them out. It just goes to show that domination and invasion destroys cultures, it doesn't integrate or expand it.
In-class presentations on culture
The presentations shared the same categories I would say of language, dress, food, speech, behaviours. The cultures all had something differentiating them from each other. I learnt that simple greetings such as a hug may be well accepted by one culture but banned in another. Greetings vary according to the culture as well (that is the language). Dress code and religion seem to go hand in hand in certain cultures where religion is the state. Food is not a universal ethic where meat is concerned especially for Muslims and Rastafarians. Naturally one's entire lifestyle is guided relatively by culture and this is evident in mannerisms and the way we communicate with each other, may it be through verbal cues, gestures or other non-verbal cues. To each their own and it is only through a matter of respect that each can live in harmony by understanding that they are all equally important.
How culture affects my communication
Your culture is actually your way of life, how you do things, customs, mores, traditions, beliefs, laws and more so guidelines on one's behaviour. By its definition alone one should be able to understand why culture can influence certain behaviours and affect communication, but sometimes, we forget that their are co-cultures within a dominant culture and this changes things a lot. A dominant culture is a shared system of beliefs by the masses. It is a general understanding of how things work around there, but a co-culture is a group within a dominant culture who operate differently.
I am a Trinidadian and in our culture people generally dress however they please when in a social atmosphere, eat various types of food and meat, listen to different genres of music, etcetera. However, I belong to a co-culture with that dominant culture, that is, the Rastafarian community. More specifically I am belong to the 12 Tribes of Israel which is a sub-culture of that culture, one would say. Now within this culture (12 Tribes) females are not allowed to wear pants, generally we listen to reggae music and we eat the meats the Bible spoke of in the Old Testament. The way we greet each other is different to the way the dominant culture greets one another. Whereas one might say "Hello, good morning..." we usually say "Greetings" to which the same is replied or we say "Rastafari" to which "Selassie I" is the reply.
Now we are not ethnocentric because we believe that other culture too will also enter into the kingdom of God. We do hold ourselves in high esteem because we belief that we are prince and princesses out of Africa. Some might find us proud and that we are but we are humble in that give Jah glory and not ourselves! This makes us think a certain way and behave a certain way which in itself is communication. I wear mostly skirts (only pants when hiking or on field trips with my students) and I speak and think a certain way because of my beliefs. Certain body languages I do may only be interpreted by other Rastafarians and the things I say may only make sense to Rastafarians but generally because I am part of a dominant culture I reflect those things are are common with my co-culture.
I am a Trinidadian and in our culture people generally dress however they please when in a social atmosphere, eat various types of food and meat, listen to different genres of music, etcetera. However, I belong to a co-culture with that dominant culture, that is, the Rastafarian community. More specifically I am belong to the 12 Tribes of Israel which is a sub-culture of that culture, one would say. Now within this culture (12 Tribes) females are not allowed to wear pants, generally we listen to reggae music and we eat the meats the Bible spoke of in the Old Testament. The way we greet each other is different to the way the dominant culture greets one another. Whereas one might say "Hello, good morning..." we usually say "Greetings" to which the same is replied or we say "Rastafari" to which "Selassie I" is the reply.
Now we are not ethnocentric because we believe that other culture too will also enter into the kingdom of God. We do hold ourselves in high esteem because we belief that we are prince and princesses out of Africa. Some might find us proud and that we are but we are humble in that give Jah glory and not ourselves! This makes us think a certain way and behave a certain way which in itself is communication. I wear mostly skirts (only pants when hiking or on field trips with my students) and I speak and think a certain way because of my beliefs. Certain body languages I do may only be interpreted by other Rastafarians and the things I say may only make sense to Rastafarians but generally because I am part of a dominant culture I reflect those things are are common with my co-culture.
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Comm Skills 104 - My perception
From what I read, self perception is divided into two parts; one being self concept and the other being self-esteem. The former is referred to as your self-identity or my mental image about my abilities, knowledge, competencies and and my personality. My self-esteem is my overall evaluation of my personal worthiness or how I value myself.
My perception of myself is as follows:
First and foremost I am a child of God, I am my own life's author, I create my own masterpieces. He gave me free will so He gave me this option to create how my life should unfold. I am a Rastafarian (a proud one I might add) and I am open minded too. I am a great friend to have. I am honest 98% of the time (I may tell a "harmless lie" for lack of a better adjective). Once it is my choice to do something, or walk a particular path, you can bet your bottom dollar I'll work VERY hard towards for it. I am caring, considerate and respectful
I try not to be judgmental, but once you are human that is just a hard thing not to be. I think I am skilled at verbally expressing things, especially if I want to get the point across very clearly. I am also skilled at writing and expressing myself (if I want to be read).
I am a teacher, a concerned, willing and assiduous one. I am a daughter, sister, mother, friend and girlfriend. I am protective of my sistrens because the ones I have are rare and hard to find. I am emotional, free-spirited and nature-loving. I'm a thinker, I am always thinking metaphysically and spiritually about something. I love myself, I love my spirit and my characteristics, I adore my personality. I am very understanding. I do not believe my appearance contributes THAT much towards who I am; and I am referring to my dress code. I am currently doing a wardrobe make-over, when I'm done with that, then I will agree that my appearance contributes or reflects (a little more than before) the type of person I am. I am intelligent, (I sometimes boast or others do it for me), I love to read and I love life.
I have mixed temperaments, that is, my personality is dominantly choleric and sanguine, which means I am out-going, a daydreamer, compassionate and thoughtful, while also being full of energy, ambition and passion. hardly ever am I melancholic but sometimes I am phlegmatic especially when it comes to some courses.
I believe I have a strong heart and spirit and my mind is positively on a roll. My favourite quote is from Deepak Chopra and it says a lot about my perception: "Each of us is here to discover our true selves; that essentially we are spiritual beings who have taken manifestation in physical form;that we're not human beings that have occasional spiritual experiences,
My perception of myself is as follows:
First and foremost I am a child of God, I am my own life's author, I create my own masterpieces. He gave me free will so He gave me this option to create how my life should unfold. I am a Rastafarian (a proud one I might add) and I am open minded too. I am a great friend to have. I am honest 98% of the time (I may tell a "harmless lie" for lack of a better adjective). Once it is my choice to do something, or walk a particular path, you can bet your bottom dollar I'll work VERY hard towards for it. I am caring, considerate and respectful
I try not to be judgmental, but once you are human that is just a hard thing not to be. I think I am skilled at verbally expressing things, especially if I want to get the point across very clearly. I am also skilled at writing and expressing myself (if I want to be read).
I am a teacher, a concerned, willing and assiduous one. I am a daughter, sister, mother, friend and girlfriend. I am protective of my sistrens because the ones I have are rare and hard to find. I am emotional, free-spirited and nature-loving. I'm a thinker, I am always thinking metaphysically and spiritually about something. I love myself, I love my spirit and my characteristics, I adore my personality. I am very understanding. I do not believe my appearance contributes THAT much towards who I am; and I am referring to my dress code. I am currently doing a wardrobe make-over, when I'm done with that, then I will agree that my appearance contributes or reflects (a little more than before) the type of person I am. I am intelligent, (I sometimes boast or others do it for me), I love to read and I love life.
I have mixed temperaments, that is, my personality is dominantly choleric and sanguine, which means I am out-going, a daydreamer, compassionate and thoughtful, while also being full of energy, ambition and passion. hardly ever am I melancholic but sometimes I am phlegmatic especially when it comes to some courses.
I believe I have a strong heart and spirit and my mind is positively on a roll. My favourite quote is from Deepak Chopra and it says a lot about my perception: "Each of us is here to discover our true selves; that essentially we are spiritual beings who have taken manifestation in physical form;that we're not human beings that have occasional spiritual experiences,
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Comm Skills 104 - Newspaper Article
Newspaper: Express
Article Title: The Sins of the Fathers
Author: A.P. Toussaint
"The sins of the fathers will be visited unto the children, even unto the third and fourth generations of them who hate me."
Yes, I agree with the author in that we do in fact often forget to quote the last part of that scripture, "...of them who hate me." And one would think for a moment, after realizing you don't hate God, that 'yuh safe'. But in truth and in fact, biblically speaking "of them who hate me" does not necessarily equal "intensely despise". Rather it most likely refers to disobeying. He said if you love Him then keep His commandments. So that one can interpret this to mean that if you are not keeping His commandments then you don't love Him (hate Him).
I would not like to believe that this is the kind of God I serve. To know that if I break a commandment then it translates into "me hating God". Hence the reason, hate cannot be taken to mean despise (at least I don't agree with that). Regardless the author went on to discuss how it might seem unfair, and to many it is because now we have to deal with our own shortcomings of the glory of God AND those of our forefathers. That's A LOT!
What is to remembered is the popular quote, "the Lion of Judah shall break every chain." Really now, if we simply ignore the sins of our fathers and our own, and just try to continue on our merry way, then no headway would be made and we would end up walking in circles; facing trials after trials, some of which are very similar in nature. It is my belief that situations will keep resurfacing or rearing its head over and over until we break that chain. At this point I am elated that the God I serve is full of mercy and grace. I trust that once I seek Him the chain will be broken and I will be under grace and not under law.
"I realize now that nothing in life really matters except that I get my conscious attunement with God — because when I have that, everything else will rightly follow, and until I do get that nothing else can be right". This is my favourite quote and I try to live by it everyday. Should I sin does not mean that i hate God, it means that I am human and I too like everyone else falls short of His glory. The thing is I am responsible enough to acknowledge my sins and ask for forgiveness and pray that His mercy extends unto me and even more to my descendants.
A.P. Toussaint hit the nail on the head with this article. It made me reflect on myself and all that I am and have been experiencing. Some of which made no sense to me just did and I am thankful for that reminder and insight. I am not living for me alone. I mean I live for God, but my actions will affect (directly me yes) but indirectly my offspring and theirs too. God have mercy on us all.
Article Title: The Sins of the Fathers
Author: A.P. Toussaint
"The sins of the fathers will be visited unto the children, even unto the third and fourth generations of them who hate me."
Yes, I agree with the author in that we do in fact often forget to quote the last part of that scripture, "...of them who hate me." And one would think for a moment, after realizing you don't hate God, that 'yuh safe'. But in truth and in fact, biblically speaking "of them who hate me" does not necessarily equal "intensely despise". Rather it most likely refers to disobeying. He said if you love Him then keep His commandments. So that one can interpret this to mean that if you are not keeping His commandments then you don't love Him (hate Him).
I would not like to believe that this is the kind of God I serve. To know that if I break a commandment then it translates into "me hating God". Hence the reason, hate cannot be taken to mean despise (at least I don't agree with that). Regardless the author went on to discuss how it might seem unfair, and to many it is because now we have to deal with our own shortcomings of the glory of God AND those of our forefathers. That's A LOT!
What is to remembered is the popular quote, "the Lion of Judah shall break every chain." Really now, if we simply ignore the sins of our fathers and our own, and just try to continue on our merry way, then no headway would be made and we would end up walking in circles; facing trials after trials, some of which are very similar in nature. It is my belief that situations will keep resurfacing or rearing its head over and over until we break that chain. At this point I am elated that the God I serve is full of mercy and grace. I trust that once I seek Him the chain will be broken and I will be under grace and not under law.
"I realize now that nothing in life really matters except that I get my conscious attunement with God — because when I have that, everything else will rightly follow, and until I do get that nothing else can be right". This is my favourite quote and I try to live by it everyday. Should I sin does not mean that i hate God, it means that I am human and I too like everyone else falls short of His glory. The thing is I am responsible enough to acknowledge my sins and ask for forgiveness and pray that His mercy extends unto me and even more to my descendants.
A.P. Toussaint hit the nail on the head with this article. It made me reflect on myself and all that I am and have been experiencing. Some of which made no sense to me just did and I am thankful for that reminder and insight. I am not living for me alone. I mean I live for God, but my actions will affect (directly me yes) but indirectly my offspring and theirs too. God have mercy on us all.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Comm Skills 104 - 9/11
The attacks of 9/11 in the U.S. occurred when I was 15 years old (ten years ago). I would have been in form 4 somewhere there about. At that time, the attacks would have been like a scene from a movie for me. I was shocked, and a tad bit saddened by it. But that feeling was fleeting and quite frankly today I am still not deeply moved or affected by it. This could be as a result of being detached from the U.S. and it's affairs or because of the fact that very little surprises me anymore. A plane flying through a building and killing thousands is just as tragic as the wars in the middle east killing thousands there or the tribal wars in Africa. To me it doesn't matter the circumstances under which the numerous deaths occur. The bottom line still remains that thousands died tragically.These things were becoming the norm. I am disturbed by the kind of deaths and situations these people had to face but that is as far as my sentiments would go. Should a relative of mine been subject to that kind of experience, who knows, my response might have been different. As it is now, the 9/11 attacks did not awaken in me any hatred, disgust, malice towards anyone at all. I don't view people as groups, I view them as individuals, so I can't say anything about Muslims really. At the end of the day we have to face judgement individually, not collectively. For those who were affected however, please accept my condolences if you lost someone, or my sincerest regard for how you feel. I try my best to remember nothing happens before its time and nothing is a coincidence. I am thankful for every moment I breathe and I try to express that always especially with loved ones.
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Comm Skills 104 - Me
My name is Shinelle Cross. I'm a 3rd year student here at USC pursuing my B.Sc in Elementary Education. I teach at Diamond Vale Government Primary School (in Diego Martin). I enjoy going to springs, waterfalls, rivers and hiking. As a communicator I would rate myself as a seven, reason being I consider myself to be a great listener and my body language is a 'give away'. However, I don't verbally share much because if I do not consider you a friend, then my business is my own but at the same time, nothing in me is hidden per say, if you have eyes you will see. There will always be room for improvement hence I gave myself a seven leaving room for those who disagree with me about my communicating skills. I expect this course will enlighten me about some skills that I have been unaware about and how best I can adopt them to my benefit and pleasure. I look forward to getting the work done and getting through this semester as quickly and successfully as possible.
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