Maslow’s Hierarchy

This cute take on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs has been floating around on Facebook for a while. It’s been on my computer desktop for a couple of weeks. I’m definitely showing it in class when we talk about Maslow, but it’s just too cute not to post here as well.

• Facebook Friday Favorites
• Ben Franklin’s Facebook Status
• Ugly Philosophers

Black doll white doll

Today in class I showed a clip from A Girl Like Me, a documentary made by a 17 year old young woman who revisits the Black Doll White Doll test. The test asks black children to choose between a white doll and a black doll, asking questions such as “which doll is the prettiest” (they pick the white doll),  “which doll is the nicest” (they pick the white doll), and “which doll is the most like you” (they flounder and then pick the black doll). Watching black children struggle with those questions is very sad. I show this video in class when we talk about the relationship between perception, the self, and communication.

What always amazes me about this video is the responses that it provokes. Sometimes students completely shut down and getting them to talk is impossible. Sometimes students are shocked and they express it openly. Sometimes students get angry for a variety of reasons. Sometimes students engage in open discussion.

It also amazes me how many students (though not all), white and of color (primarily black), talk about this internalized racism as if it were in the past and that “the generation of today” is over it. They seem to miss that the documentary is only a couple of years old.

I can never predict how the conversation will go. When it’s horrible, it takes a while for the class to recover. When it goes well, the semester proves to be wonderful because it opens up the space for people to share their opinions on many other topics, both personal and political.

I’m fortunate that tonight the conversation went well. People were open and shared their opinions. That’s always encouraging and I think the semester for this class will be great.

• White Privilege — An example
• Teaching at BRCC
• Public speaking karma rawks!

Wordpress 3

One of my summer goals was to learn Wordpress 3 and convert my websites to the new platform. I did master some of the basics of the new Wordpress, but I didn’t get the chance to do the conversion. I set up my website for my classes (laurasells.net), though, and I was quite pleased that I could figure it all out. Wordpress 3 was complicated until I got the hang of it.

I used the Hybrid theme framework, which made a huge difference.The Hybrid theme framework is free, but any support beyond the basic installation is only available if you buy a membership to the forums. That’s a disappointment and it rubs against my desire for open source free information.

One thing I do like about the new platform is that it incorporates many of the plugins I use. That’s a relief.  I still don’t understand the nuances and subtleties, but I’m hoping to figure more of those out over the semester. I haven’t decided how much I intend to redesign Voxygen or just convert to  WP3.

Something to ponder…

• Wordpress 3
• Widgets, apps, plugins, and other lovely things
• Updating My Website — aka Climbing Mt. Everest

Public speaking activity – first week of class

I’ve twice used the following activity to open the semester and both times it was quite successful. I discovered the general idea by surfing around and I wish I could remember the site so I could acknowledge the creator whose idea I extended.

I have students search the web for public speaking classes, seminars, and workshops. Their task is to find the cheapest possible public speaking lessons but the caveat is that the courses cannot be from a college or university type program (such as continuing ed, University of Phoenix, whatever). Once they find a class, they need to identify the cost, hours to complete, assignments, topics covered, credentials of the instructor, and whether or not there’s an opportunity for practice and evaluation.

During class, we then review the courses they’ve discovered. There are a handful under a thousand dollars but usually the cost at least that much per person. The instructors often have sketchy credentials or they are certified by some sort of agency that I’ve never heard of. I asked on student if he checked out the agency and he laughed and jokingly said no but they have a logo! As you can imagine, the content is generally slim, the opportunity for practice and critique is limited, and the amount of time spent is usually a full day or so.

Of course, the obvious step is next. We talk about our class, how much it costs, how much time the class meets, and we go over the syllabus to determine the content. The students recognize how extensive and substantive the syllabus topics are compared to those covered in the seminars.

At this point, the students have been introduced to what the course will cover in a catchy way rather than in a monotonous review of the syllabus topics and they have an awareness of how valuable the class is (and also they wonder why I’m not doing corporate training for the big bucks!).

This time I opened with a chalk talk about what they wanted to learn in class. Predictably they focused on decreasing communication anxiety. I emphasized the importance of good content, preparation, and practice for increasing confidence and managing apprehension.

In all, I think it was a great way to open the class two semesters in a row now.

• This is my life?
• Teaching evaluations
• Teaching at BRCC