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Volume 4, Issue 4 August 2009

 

 

 

Students' Email Missteps

Countless stories are told around high school and college campuses about the inappropriate email messages that some students send. One of the largest discussion board topics at the Chronicle of Higher Education is a listing of favorite (often highly inappropriate) emails that instructors have seen from students. The New York Times ran an article in 2006 on this topic that is still being shared today because it highlights the inappropriate questions and writing errors found in students’ emails.

Students in the millennial generation—those born between 1981 and 1992—use a wide array of communication technologies. Increasingly, they are using email rather than face-to-face meetings to communicate with their college and university instructors. The University of Colorado at Boulder’s study on students’ use of communication technologyis one example that illustrates their reliance on email, especially in the instructor/student relationship. Often these email messages or text messages are filled with abbreviations and overly casual writing. This study, conducted by Keri Stephens, Marian Houser, and Renee Cowan, examined these email behaviors and focused on the general differences between instructors and students. Read more>

 
 
Cross Current

Communication Skills Training for Elementary School Students

From the beginning children learn about communication, whether it is looking through a picture book to learn the name of household objects, asking dad for more juice, or negotiating with a sibling about sharing a toy. In other words, communication is a major part of childhood.

Communication training is vitally important for elementary school students. Communication skills help children develop healthy interpersonal relationships, evaluate mediated messages, and learn to present themselves in effective and competent ways to others. The Kids Communicatingwebsite offers elementary school teachers easy tips and learning activities to help foster communication training in their classrooms.

Elementary school is an important time for developing effective communication skills. During this time, children are exploring language and message choices, learning about emotions, trying to navigate peer pressure, and building a sense of self. It is often assumed that children will learn communication skills on their own without any formal training. Yet, we know that more formalized instruction about communication is beneficial for children and their futures. Unfortunately, few students in the public school system receive communication skills training.

The importance of providing early training in communication skills grows increasingly evident. Our society has rapidly evolved from a culture which was production- or manufacturing-focused into one in which workers interact with each other, and with information. In this shift toward knowledge-focused work, life and career success will depend more heavily on the development of solid communication competencies. According to national surveys, a variety of communication skills consistently top lists of what employers consider the most desirable personal traits. These skills needed to succeed in the world of work can be cultivated in early education. For the elementary student, communication training can help with a variety of problems. These problems can range from bullying to negative peer pressure, and communication training at an early age can help smaller problems from becoming larger problems in later years. Yet, communication skills are vastly underemphasized in the elementary school curriculum.

The Kids Communicating program created by Chad Edwards and Autumn Edwards helps K-3 teachers implement the integration of basic communication curriculum into their standard grade-level material. Undergraduate and graduate students at Western Michigan Universitydeveloped much of the program. The Kids Communicating program is based on skills and competencies identified by the National Communication Association(NCA). The three overarching competencies of speaking, listening, and media literacy are highlighted in this program. The Kids Communicating program adopts a twofold approach to realizing this goal. The first is a website, KidsCommunicating.org, dedicated to providing K-3 teachers with instructional resources, curricular modules, and a forum for the exchange of best practices related to communication skills training in their classrooms.

The website acts as a clearinghouse for elementary teachers to find information related to communication and a host of topics (for example, leadership, bullying, media literacy, listening, conflict, public speaking). Each of these sections provides learning activities, links to other resources, and suggestions for teaching these topics within specific existing elementary subjects (for example, history, social studies, reading). Eventually, the website will include online videos, podcasts, and printable worksheets that teachers can use in the classroom. Also, the website points to relevant readings and research for teachers seeking best practices in a variety of communication topics. Read more>

 

Communication in Random Acts of Kindness

Although they may be impromptu and brief, random acts of kindness should be viewed as meaningful interactions. Random acts of kindnessare gestures that are completed for a stranger or acquaintance with the expectation that nothing will be received in return. Random acts of kindness should not make either individual feel uncomfortable. Examples include holding the door for someone, returning a shopping cart for a stranger in a parking lot, helping a neighbor find her dog, letting a stranger ahead of you in line, helping a stranger change a tire, and helping another customer retrieve an item from a top shelf at a grocery store. In many instances strangers and acquaintances must work quickly to offer help and be helped. This is accomplished using verbal and nonverbal communication.

To complete random acts of kindness we must be aware of our surroundings. This includes making a decision about whether or not to help another person. In addition, before a random act of kindness can be performed the other person needs to be receptive to being helped. Recently I visited a public library with my four children. Another mother asked me if I needed help getting my kids upstairs for a children’s library program. I was not receptive to her kind gesture because I thought that she was viewing me as not having control of my kids and I was embarrassed. Certainly she may not have viewed me negatively. I was caught off guard and quickly responded with “No thanks, I’ve got it.” She perceived that I was in need of help and that I would be open to her offer. A random act of kindness would have occurred if I had accepted her offer. I could have responded with a smile and said, “Sure, can you help my daughter up the stairs?” It would then have been appropriate for us to engage in small talk and for me to thank her for her help.

When completing random acts of kindness or if you find yourself the recipient of a random act of kindness, consider the following:

  • Perception: What was it about the other person that made you perceive that he or she needed help and would be receptive to a random act of kindness? For example, while shopping at a mall you notice that another shopper drops her glove. You quickly pick up the glove and hand it to her saying, “Is this your glove?” You have stopped what you were doing and approached the other shopper. In this instance, based on your perceptions, you believe that this stranger would be appreciative of your random act of kindness.
  • Eye-contact: Did you share direct eye-contact with the other person? If so, did this help to enhance the interaction? Did you or the other person avoid eye-contact? Depending on the situation, eye contact can enhance the interaction and help establish rapport between strangers. For example, direct eye gaze when thanking a stranger for holding an elevator door can show sincere appreciation. Read more>
 
  

 

Public Speaking: What Causes Some to Panic?

 

 

 

What is your greatest fear? If you are like many Americans, your answer is speaking before an audience. Public speaking is often said to be the greatest fear a person can have, even greater than death. Consequently, researchers, practitioners, counselors, and teachers have long been examining the causes and treatments for public speaking anxiety with the goal of helping individuals overcome this widespread fear. Read more>

 

 Limitations of Drug Prevention Messages

Anti-drug campaigns, such as the Montana Meth Project, have received national attention for using communication and media tools to craft unique messages to their target audiences. The Montana Meth Project has the noble intention of attempting to tackle teenage drug use in an innovative way. However, visual communication techniques, symbols, and language used in the campaign place the responsibility of drug prevention on the individual in a way that does not adequately address drug issues, making it difficult to fully understand drug use and alternative solutions. Read more>
 
 

Using Communication to Cope with Loss

Thedeath of a childis a devastating and life changing event. A child’s death leaves parents struggling to somehow pick up the pieces of their shattered life and continue living. In the aftermath of their loss, parents are often surprised and disappointed to discover how difficult it is to talk to one another about their child’s death. Likewise, parents may be frustrated to learn that they grieve very differently from their spouse. In many cases, one parent wants to talk a great deal about the child’s death while the other does not.Read more>

The Role of Speech in Seeking Asylum in the U.S.

 

Roughly 50,000 people from other countries apply for asylum in the United States each year. Approximately 15,000 of those cases must be heard in one of the 55 U.S. immigration courtsalongside the rest of 335,000immigration-related cases these immigration judges must decide. As a consequence of this overwhelming caseload, immigration judges rarely have time to spend pondering the complex details of the asylumcases they hear. And as a result of the Real ID Act, they are not obligated to. Instead, judges increasingly base their rulings on three communicative conventions of credibility: the clarity and fluency of a claimant’s speech, the reason and consistency of their testimony, and the plausibility of their emotional displays. Read more>

Muhammad Ali and Political Athletes

Muhammad Alihas long stood as a globally-recognized image of athletic superiority and political courage . For some, he symbolizes a popular longing for politically vocal athletes. As sports stars like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods repeatedly refuse to speak up on political crises, Ali is constantly referred to as a spokesperson on issuesthat seem to bridge his past to our future. As such, he represents a communication-based understanding of social obligation placed on star athletes by popular audiences.

There are two basic, popular versions of Ali today. One is the young, virile fighter who referred to himself as a “new kind of Black man,” and who refused induction into the Army during the Vietnam War for religious reasons. The second is the now-iconic, Parkinson’s-stricken figure who lit the Olympic torch in Atlanta in 1996. Ali, like any historical icon reproduced in films, documentaries, and other media, has become a complex and contradictory exemplar for social justice and advocacy. Read more>

 
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