Class Reflection

Teaching a class was a new experience for me in may ways. One way was co-teaching and creating a lesson plan that we both can again on was a little challenging. First off I have never created a lesson plan in my entire life. And the way I organizes this ingeneral like creating study guides or taking notes is  very vague and do not include much detail. So elaborating or over elaborating was a challenge for me because in my mind I know what I want/ need to cover in a class, but I do understand that life happens and sometimes I cannot be there to teach and someone will have to step in my place temporally. Then making in flow on paper so that it is clear what or why I was teaching a subject for the class was also challenging because it goes hand-in-hand with elaborating more so a person for the outside will know how this connect and why they are being covered.

Working with another person to create a lesson plan was interesting because we both had different ideas we wanted to cover and it was hard to convince the other sometime on why it is important we do this or cover a particular subject. It helped me work on my communication skills along with being able to compromise so all parties were happy with the end result. Another challenge was dividing up who says what and timing out when this activity should happen or who should facilitate which discussion equally. Even though I had some new experiences and some challenges to overcome I enjoyed teaching the lesson and hearing other people's opinions on different subjects.

Week 9

I enjoyed attending ISCORE. My favorite presentation I went to was  "Can I Touch Your Hair? Lyricism as a space of resistance towards Eurocentric standards of beauty," because it was very interesting all the examples they gave and I identified with the idea of how to control unruly hair. It may not be as hard to control or maintain like African-American hair, but it can still be a pain. Having uncontrollable hair was not the important topic or issue they were trying to address, it was how society as whole are trying to fine into the idea of what is beautiful and how one should look instead of be you. In this seminar they should a video called "A Girl Like Me" (Here is the link: http://bit.ly/33Vc1z) The YouTube video feature young women talking about issues they have to deal with like being "dark skinned" or not having long straight beautiful blonde hair or issues of marry men who have white or lighter skin because they don't have it in their gene pool. It shows how society has the preconditions whether we admit it or not or what women should like not just what African-America women should try to achieve in order to be labeled as pretty, beautiful or attractive when it is hard enough trying to figure out your own identity or who you want to become. They also highlighted Maya Angelou's poem "Phenomenal Women."(Link to the poem: http://bit.ly/48ScJQ) The poem sheds light on many issues women face trying to fit the definition of beauty, which has, be defined by society. And not every woman fit that definition because not one woman is the same as the next and each one it beautiful in their own unique way. Generally speaking, what society decides as beautiful or the "norm" is realistically untamable because not one person fits in to this said box nor do many people what others to dictate what they should look like or do in order to be whatever it is that society wants. Finally, the group showed a YouTube video by Indie Arie's song called "I Am Not My Hair." (http://bit.ly/8o739D) It is a biographical song about what she went through with the change her hair and the finally deciding that she will not have her hair control or dictate her life because beauty or who a person really is more than their outward appears. Interesting enough when I was search for her there was a link to her song and it features Akon another featuring Pink. I can tell you my opinion about each of the videos instead here is the link to Akon feature: http://bit.ly/4OAe9g  and the link to Pink feature: http://bit.ly/lTJji  you can draw your own conclusions. 

Week 8

Working in groups is a fact of life whether it is a group project or a project for work, most of the time called team projects because you are working a team for a company not as a group project were you will most likely never have to work with those individuals like you would at your job. When getting a group of people together to work on  a group there will always be conflict whether it is big or small issue there will also was be some sort of conflict. And with conflict someone has to be the one who is leading the group and is normally the one who has to smooth out the issue effectively and quick as possible so you and your team can move on to complete the project. Being in that leadership position is never easy and someone always has to step up at take the lead. In chapter seven, it gives a five helpful tips for being an effect lead. 1) Leaders stimulate and challenge - meaning that a leader is always looking for new ways to solve a problem or make an idea better to get the best possible result. 2) Leaders activate focs and goal direction - meaning leaders keep the team members are track for complete a project or goal that has been set, otherwise it is easy to get off track on a project without someone keeping everyone on task and setting small manageable goals with the big goal that the group is trying to achieve. 3) Leaser support member Involvement - meaning the leader tries to make sure everyone on the team is participating and each of their ideas are hear because one never know what idea can spark a better one no matter how ridiculous it may seem. 4) Leaders model effective behavior - meaning it is the leader's job to be excited about a project whether they was to the project or not because if others see the leader not wanting to do the project or is in a bad mood all the time the team members will follow in the leader's footsteps. Even when there is conflict the leader has to remain calm, cool and collect because it is easier to result and issue when everyone can calmly talk it out and not have a yelling match, which gets no one anywhere expect even more irritated and angry. 5) Leaders recognize and reward - meaning a leader knows when to show appreciation or recognizes ones efforts because encouragement or giving a :gold star" helps keep individuals spark alive for wanting to complete a project and be the best product they can create. It also helps boost confidence which helps anyone perform well it they know their hard work has paid off. Being a leader is never easy, but it can be the most rewarding position anyone can be in if they believe in themselves and the individuals they are in charge of.

Week 7

I have never be one who enjoys working with a group because there are always issues and conflict even if  you try and avoid them. Also it probably does not help when I have had some bad experiences when working in a group. But in life it is necessary to work in groups whether it is a school project, club activities or working on a project for your job. One problem is communication sometime only one person is communicating with the group or no one is until the very last minute. But along with working in groups, communication is all so essential in life. Inorder to successful the lines of communication have to be open and free of judgement. This does not always happens because we do not live in a ideal world. Another aspect to have a successful group is making sure everyone has a task and are doing their part along with being one time with deadlines. Another thing to keep thing running smoothly is having a positive atmosphere for everyone which will make for happy group members and allows individuals to feel free to say an idea which can be a good one for whatever the project the groups is working without making them feel insecure about sharing. Knowing this traits to create a successful group it can help make thing run smooth with the next group project I have to work on.

Week 6

I am a person who tries to solve problems on my own with little to no help at all so working with others can be somewhat of a challenge when other members of the group do not know how I operate and can frustrate them along with causing friction. When I attend one of the confidences, there was a session about conflict styles. Everyone filled out a worksheet reading statements and rating them 1 - 5. On the back  there was a section with each conflict style along with what letters on the front page coincide with the particular style. After adding all it up the one with the most points was your strongest still and the one with the lowest was your weakest style. The first time I took it my top two styles were compromise and avoid then with I took it again about two weeks later it was compromise and collaborating. It was surprise to me that my styles can change then when I said my styles have changed to another peer they said it probably change with the situations I am in at a particular time. It was also interesting discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each style along with how it may frustrate someone who's strength is not the same as yours and vice versa. Another aspect I need really thought about is how each style may be more beneficial than the other even when one of those styles is not my strength. Conflict is never easy, but when you understand different styles and how to work with those style is can be easier to navigate the waters.

Week 5

Reading chapter four it the book the on thing the stood out to me the most was the defense between interpersonal communication and advice giving. Because we someone is seeking help to understand something or help figuring what they want to do with their life or whether they should A or B was all advice and that is what the person asking for help was wanting. But when you start stepping into authoritative  role like a peer mentor you have to separate when you should be giving advice and when you should be using interpersonal communication because advice is based on personal experiences and you are giving your opinion which is not always the best. Being a peer mentor is your job to help your students figure things our on their own, but ask helpful questions which will make them think deeper and draw connections on their own. Also sometime they just need someone who is neutral to vent to or bounce ideas off. When thinking of the difference of interpersonal communication and advice giving my grandma comes to mind. Even without knowing the correct terminology or flipping a switch she automatically does this on our weekly phone calls. There are sometime I will talk and talk and talk until the end of whatever is on my mind has been exhausted then an aha moment happens then a say something which would be something she would say. And by reading this chapter it has helped me understand the different and identify someone in my life who uses both styles of listening.

Week 4

The two sessions I enjoyed the most at last Friday's leadership conference was "Taking a Sit Out of Diversity" and "Heathy Relationships and Communication Styles." They were both enlightening and made me take a step back. 

The diversity session was interesting because everyone is diverse in their own way along with learning different ice breakers. It was interesting to see with a group of individual who are primarily white and from the midwest and yet we were extremely diverse. And that just because two people can go through the same situation or event, but still have an different experiences and affect them in their own personal way. One of the ice breakers was inner and outer circle where people are face to face answering question, but it was more like speed dating with question that make you take a step back and think. 

Healthy Relationships and Communication Styles was a great way to learn different ways to communicate to a mentee in tough situations. Also we talked about where the lines it to how much we can help out before going and getting a professional or someone with more training. And with every situation when talking to  someone seeking your help is to ask open-ended questions not close-ended ones to help you better understand the situation.