After reading Schmidt
chapter eleven, I realized there is a lot more to good communication than
enunciating your words and speaking clearly. The thought of communication being
about enlightenment was something that had never crossed my mind but made perfect
sense once explained. One of the main reasons we communicate is to share
thoughts and ideas, often in hopes of bring about a change or some action
together. In order to do so accurately, however, we must also learn the ways
that others may respond and communicate differently from ourselves. In the
past, I often presumed good communication was what my dad taught me. As a
communications major, he had me practice conversations. I had to look him in
the eye, speak clearly and directly, and articulate my thoughts without filler
words. As I’ve grown I’ve realized that though I may do all these things
proficiently, my communication has not always produced the results I’d imagined
it would.
Chapter eleven provides ten essential elements of effective
communication. Many of these things I
knew, minus a couple helpful hints such as including co-custodial parents in
communication. What really helped me was reading about the different types of
cultural communication practices. Well, helped and scared me! At first reading
about all the things I could do wrong when engaging my parents left me feeling
very insecure. Nonetheless, I realized that these aren’t things I am expected
to know now but to make myself sensitive to uncovering if I were to have
families of diverse backgrounds in my class.
I feel much more prepared for parent teacher conferences as
well, having some tools such as a conference information sheet and preparation
packet to help both the parents and myself have a common “road map”. Both the
parents and I will feel less overwhelmed and more like allies when we are
jointly being enlightened about the other’s world. I’m a fairly confident
person but have a driving need to feel and get “prepared” for all the day’s
circumstances to really shine my best (whether or not I actually am fully
prepared). The idea of walking into situations and being able to say “I’ve put
work in to ready myself for this”, is a huge confidence boost for me. The tips
in this book will definitely help guide my readiness process!
Morgan,
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is Wow! You've gleaned so much from this chapter on communication in Schmidt. I think that this book has begun to shape your teaching habits.
I'm glad that you are learning so much from this book.
Dr. Meyer