Dear Class

Dear Class,

I want to start off by saying that this past weeks blog posting was NOT directed towards anyone. I am sorry that people may have assumed this. Josh, you said that it was directed towards you, but it was not. I am sorry it made you feel that way. That was not my intention at all. I created this posting because several students, not just one, stated I was being a hypocrite. Perhaps it was voiced directly towards me by only a few, but I saw side comments as well. It was also brought to my attention that students were talking among themselves about this after class. I thought to myself, "Oh dear, I need to clarify to everyone what my intentions are and what a hypocrite actually means". I posted this weekly read because I thought it was an excellent opportunity to clarify some things about what I am doing and what I am trying to accomplish. Our discussion also reminded me that we need to start using "I" statements for more effective communication now that some of us are getting more comfortable and voicing more.

I appreciate everyone's comments in class and I want everyone to have or find their voice. I however, believe that when students begin to negatively label each other or me as occurred in front of the class this past week (as people get more comfortable this can occur) , it will only hinder our development and students will not be involved with our discussions because they will become fearful to express their thoughts and opinions. Josh you stated., "I do enjoy this class, but at the same time I feel like there is only a select few of persons that are comfortable enough to voice their opinion", this is exactly why I felt that I needed to address this issue. I wanted to express the need to start using "I" statements and really think about labeling people in front of others and how it can hinder our discussions.

I decide what to post, based on the class prior every week. "It is what it is", is just another example of a posting I created based off of our class discussion. It was brought up during class by a student and I thought, this is excellent; lets really look at that, and so we did. I was thrilled this was voiced and we could work through it. I love these teaching moments they are valuable and teach us the most valuable things about ourselves, each other and life. Last week we had another one of those moments that I wanted to take advantage of.

I choose to blog about this weeks posting to help everyone in class understand what I am trying to accomplish, since my intentions were obviously misunderstood by many. I felt that I had failed at communicating, not you. I left class deeply troubled and upset by this. I felt that it was important to clarify and help everyone realize what I am doing and why. I thought this posting would do that. If people do not understand my intentions, then I am not successful in what I hope to accomplish each week. I owe it to you to do my job well. I wanted to clarify and help you understand what I am trying to do and why. I also wanted to ask students to use "I" statements so all of us can be comfortable in class voicing our thoughts, feelings, ideas and opinions. I also wanted to use this weeks posting to continue our class discussion because we did not have enough time to finish it in class because the group assignments have now begun and they take up the last 30 minutes of class.

To all of you...I want to hear what you have to say and so does everyone else in this class. Lets learn from our comments we make together, not alone. Lets work as a team not a group or an individual. Together, we can communicate more effectively. We are all learning, even me. The journey never ends, ever.

My apologies to all of you for not explaining myself well enough that you understood my purpose or what it was I was striving for. I hope that this helped you and that we can grow together.


Monica