Weekly Minutes #1

Dignitas Weekly Minutes

Campus Announcements:

Dignitas Announcements for Tuesday, September 28, 2010.

Community Day still needs lots of volunteers. If you have a g-mail group for your class you could forward them this link:
https://www2.css.edu/app/community

Ice Cream Social with the sisters today from 1:45 to 3:00 in the Monastery.

Presentation on J-term break trips to Los Angeles and Mexico at 8:00 Wednesday in Tower 2121.

Swanny walk/ run on Wednesday begins at the Wellness Center at 3:30.

Class Announcements:

 Communication Link #1: Small Group Communication
o Read the power point that I sent you carefully on our first communication link

• Blogs
o I am changing the due dates starting next week to Thursday at 12:00am and Sunday at 12:00am this is due to the number of late responses
o You must have correct grammar in your blog comments (no i’s, incomplete sentences, correct spelling, etc) points will be deducted.
o Blog comments need to through and complete to review credit
o A hard copy must be given to Amanda before class starts on Tuesday
 No credit will be given for late work
 No credit will be given if you do not hand in a hard copy
 No credit will be given if you do not sign your name after your posting
• Missing Class
o If you miss class you must write a 2 page paper on what you missed
 This needs to be typed
 Get the information from a classmate if you are absent
• Weekly Readings
o We are behind, we will start this week. The reading is included in your blog this week
o Weekly readings will either be given in class or incorporated in the blog
• Do not text during class
o Students that are texting will lose a half a letter grade for each incident
• Computers must be shut unless I tell you to open them

Assignments:

 Blogs are due weekly
 Team building assignment is due October 12, 2010
o Be sure to print your assignment that I emailed you
o Do not attend a team or group you are already a part of
o All students must attend
 Community Day is next week Wednesday, October 6th
o All students must participate
o You will blog about your experience

Feedback:

 Keep it up and do participate!
 Be sure to complete your work to your best abilities
 Do not hand in late work
 Do not be afraid to talk with Amanda or I about anything you need

Blog #4: A Miracle? What are your two cents?

Today we watched a very powerful clip about a Deaf family that decided to go ahead and travel to Brazil for a very expensive surgery that would make their child Deaf just like them. They wanted to feel that special connection that all families have. Now, I know this was very hard for you to watch and stirred many emotions, but think about this for a minute. Really think about it. How is this any different from hearing parents implanting their children with Cochlear Implants to make them hearing? Hmmmm.... Shouldn't a child have the right to be just what they are...Deaf without the pressures to be molded to fit into the "norm"?
Deaf people are a part of a culture that share a very unique and beautiful language, traditions, values, folklore, and so much more. They can be compared to a language minority in the United States. Yet, the majority believes that Deaf people need to be hearing to be happy, adjusted, successful, educated, and social. Isn't this the same as believing one race is better than another or that people who are gay or lesbian should be straight?

Please read this article and ponder on the story we watched today. What do you think? What are your "two cents"? (be honest, I want you to feel you can share your thoughts and opinions freely here)

We will continue our discussion next week.

http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/cont28.shtml

The Breakast Club

The Breakfast Club takes place at an Illinois high school, where five dissimilar students are sentenced to spend a Saturday detention session together. In attendance is a "princess" (Ringwald), an "athlete" (Estevez), a "brain" (Hall), a "criminal" (Nelson), and a "basket case" (Sheedy). These titles identify the roles the students play during the school week. Because of stereotypes and status levels associated with each role, the students want nothing to do with each other at the outset of the session. However, when confronted by the authoritarian detention teacher (Gleason) and by eight hours of time to kill, the students begin to interact. Through self-disclosure they learn that they are more similar than different. Each wrestles with self-acceptance; each longs for parental approval; each fights against peer pressure. They break through the role barriers and gain greater understanding and acceptance of each other and of themselves. They ultimately develop a group identity and dub themselves, "The Breakfast Club."





1. Discuss the group's developmental stages.



The developmental stages of forming, storming, norming, and performing can be seen in the movie. The group is formed because each student has broken the school rules; they are together because they are all serving detention (except for Allison, who at day's end admits she is there because she had nothing better to do). During the storming stage, both types of social tension are exhibited. Primary tension can be seen in Claire's statement that she doesn't "belong here." It is also evident when Brian gives up his seat to Bender and in Allison's nail biting. Examples of secondary tension include Bender's antagonistic exchanges with Claire, the shouting matches between Bender and Andrew, and Allison's strange outburst during Claire's disclosure about her parents.



Mr. Vernon attempts to set explicit norms by stating that there is to be no talking, no moving, and no monkey business. However, this attempt to establish norms is unsuccessful because the norms are not accepted by the group. Implicit norms develop in the group, such as yelling, questioning, disrespect for authority, and, most notably, self-disclosure. Many of these norms are initiated by Bender, which points to his power, status, and leadership in the group.



Regarding performing, the group ultimately accomplishes its explicit task--writing a detention essay--by assigning it to Brian. The group also has a number of less-explicit goals that it achieves. The most obvious is that they successfully kill eight hours of detention with a minimum of boredom. They perform many of the functions of an encounter group, learning about themselves and each other through intimate self-disclosures. They also band together in a variety of rebellious acts, from roaming the halls to smoking pot. All of these acts suggest a level of "groupness" that develops in a few short hours.



2. What factors contribute to the group's cohesiveness?



The first factor leading to the group's cohesiveness is the amount of time and interaction they have with each other. While time alone does not insure the development of cohesiveness, the group has nothing else to do and plenty of opportunity to talk. After weathering some primary and secondary tension, the group starts to congeal when it identifies a mutual enemy: Mr. Vernon. An early indicator of group identity emerges in Bender's use of "we" as he asks, "Why don't we close that door? We can't have any party with Vernon checking us out." They begin to perform as a group after Bender removes the screw from the door leading to Vernon's office. The other students cover for him when Vernon comes back asking, "How did that door get shut?"



Cohesion is further developed through self-disclosure. Bender gets Claire to self-disclose about her feelings toward her parents. Andrew then turns and asks Bender to tell about his parents. This discussion is critical to the development of cohesion because the group members begin to see the similarity of their struggles and they identify with each other. Later, the group pressures Claire to confess her virginity. An embarrassed Claire calls Allison "bizarre" for lying to force the confession. Andrew replies, "We are all pretty bizarre. Some of us are better at hiding it, that's all." This marks another point of similarity: they all protect their self-concepts by putting on faces in line with the expectations that others have for them. Andrew describes his struggle to live up to his father's athletic expectations and Bender tells of his father's abuse. Thus, two very different characters find common ground, typified by Bender's comment to Andrew: "I think my dad and your dad ought to get together and go bowling."



As they band together to fight against mutual enemies--parents, peer pressure, authority figures, stereotypes, boredom--the Breakfast Club develops into a highly cohesive group.

QUESTIONS!

What stages do you predict your group will go through? How do you see your group developing group-cohesiveness? Do you think self-disclosure will help your group bond? What about the class as a whole?

RESPONSE REQUIRED!

Disclosure is important in team building. Disclose 5 things about yourself that you feel are important about you to your group members. It does not have to be something confidential, just something unique and special about you!

Who are Americans?

Do Americans Share a Common Culture?

By:
Professor Gregory Jay

What common beliefs, values, and cultural practices make up the culture shared by most people in the United States? The term “multiculturalism” suggests that people in the U.S. belong to many different cultures rather than all belonging to a single “American” culture? Is this true? Or is there a common culture shared by most Americans? How would we define and describe this common culture? Below I have attempted to identify and describe some key
elements of a common American
culture.

They include:

(Define each of these in your comment section and give an example of what each means to you)

Individualism
Capitalism
Modernism
Religiosity
Secularism

Create 2 questions for each other in regards to the American Culture. Select 2 or more questions and answer them.

Dignity: "What Have You Done Today to Make You Feel Proud?"

Dignity....

All people are created equal
Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity
Communities transform through partnerships, not handouts
Human dignity is paramount in relieveing human distress.

What do you believe?
What does Dignity mean to you?
What would you add to this?


Listen to this song and reflect on what it means.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tms-ayMYzb8
How does it protray dignity?
What have you done today to make you feel proud?