The question today was "where are you emotionally in this class?" Another part of this question was how you view trust in the class. Do you believe that the class has lost your trust or do you think that you can no longer be completely honest with the people in class because you are afraid you may hurt someone's feelings?
4 comments:
I believe that trust takes time to develop between persons and that my level of trust with you all is still at the stage of tentative development. It takes me about a year to really trust someone and we don't have that much time.
Now if we're talking about something else like security, or feeling like class is an environment in which I can share my true thoughts and feelings about our course, then I think we're doing a good job.
But I'll switch back again to trust because I do want to trust you all . . . I think every person in our class is worth me putting in some effort and getting to a place of trust.
One of my biggest issues is that I want to be able to speak without being judged on the quality and content of what I say. I am so tired of feeling like everyone (minus maybe 1 or 2 individuals) is judging what I say based on Rhodes' standards of what is a "good contribution to class". I worry so much about that part of it--being judged--that I sometimes don't speak. Is that possible--to try to refrain from judging each other in our class? Would you be willing to try? Could our class try to accept the diversity that may exist in our class but is slow to emerge?
I personally don't think that what we are speaking about is something that is so personal we shouldn't speak about it. I guess I'm used to discussing important issues like these with those around me that I do think about discussing topics like these as dealing with whether I trust someone or not. I feel as though if you ask me an honest question, I'm going to give you an honest answer, and maybe that's something that you may not like, but I can't help but be honest. I don't like being fake and to keep myself from doing that I just shut down.
Personally, I'm not a fan of people who talk just to talk.If you're going to say something, then make sure you're actually saying something because I feel as though some people talk just to talk and they aren't really saying anything.I don't want people to speak and not actually say anything valuable to class. What's the point of speaking if you aren't going to say anything valuable to the conversation? I know that some people in class don't say a lot, but they actually say something important. What I'm trying to say is that there are some people in the class whose nonverbal says more to me then their verbal.
I don't think that many people can refrain from judging others. I mean idealistically that would be wonderful, but to be honest we all do it.Like if you say something I think is ignorant, I'm going to react to it. I'm not going to think you're ignorant person, but I'm going to think this person really isn't thinking or they aren't trying to see what I see or they can't look at different perspectives.
I think that people should just be more open. Who cares if someone has a negative opinion of you? I honestly could care less because I'm not going to think less of myself or my ideas because someone else has a negative opinion of me. But I also understand that not everyone comes from this perspective. I know that in some people's cultures, what others think of them matters very much.And I know some people don't want to be viewed in a way that they aren't because of what they say. But you have to go into this class without that hanging over your head or else you may never say anything.
I feel that asking the class to be non-judgmental is not a reasonable request. Everyone makes judgments, it’s just a matter of which judgments are overtly expressed and which ones you attempt to suppress. I personally made the decision to not share personal experiences because several people do not get anything from the story and just go on a tangent about something not even vaguely related. In order to improve student relations I believe everyone should actually listen to the person talking and ask questions about what they are attempting to convey rather than sudden bursts of unlinked babbling which is what the last several classes were. I do appreciate my classmates that listen and contribute meaningful comments and I just feel the listening portion has diminished drastically. *On an unrelated note I feel that anonymous posts will only fuel more division and silence in the classroom. Personally I won’t respect anyone that cannot voice their opinions with an identity*
I apologize to the class for not writing on the blog earlier, but this past week was very busy and emotionally draining for me. I am going through a lot of personal changes involving a relationship I have been in for two years. To be honest with everyone, the issues our class is facing are not high on my priority list because I’m a bit of an emotional mess right now and more emotion would probably put me on overload.
Even though I feel overwhelmed right now I am willing to share what I am thinking with everyone. I was surprised when this discussion came up in class, even disappointed. I don’t think I was observant enough to realize that there were problems with discussion in our class. I feel that I have been completely open with what I feel and have been trying to listen honestly and openly to others. I value everyone’s perspective on life and what they bring to our class discussions. I hope that I have not done anything to hurt anyone’s feelings and I’m sorry if I ever have.
I know that I have more to learn from this class and I want the environment to be one of mutual respect and cooperation. I am willing to do what it takes to help bring things back to an open and pleasant atmosphere. I guess the thought I really wanted to express through my blog post is that I’m very confused right now not only with my personal life but in regards to the dynamic of the class is right now.
There is one last point I would like to bring up before I finish. At times I feel that I do not completely understand what is going on in class with respect to the African American culture and experience. I know we have talked about it a lot, but there are nuances that are brought up in class that are not elaborated on and I wish they were. I am completely ignorant about African American culture and what is like to be an African American, especially at a school like Rhodes. I guess I want to dig deeper into the culture and learn as much as I can about it from this class. I want the members of the class who are African American to feel comfortable enough to elaborate on why things are the way they are in their culture. I would really like to learn more and I have been afraid to express this in class for some reason. I feel embarrassed asking more questions because I feel that the topic would be uncomfortable for some.
I appreciate everyone being open throughout this process.
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