Dignity for ALL

Strange Fruit Lyrics

2006-04-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

Here are the lyrics to strange fruit...

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/billie-holiday/17859.html

You can also listen to a clip of the song here:

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/strangefruit/film.html

A picture...

2006-04-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

J.B. and J.E. said....

2006-04-26T18:37:00.000-07:00

In class today, February 28, JB and JE were the first discussion leaders followed by AE and HL. The discussion was opened up with a quote from the chapter…. “ 90% of leadership failures are character failures.” The class over all agreed with this and thought that character really represented a persons true self. Then we discussed what leads to these failures and lots of people felt that people in leadership roles abuse their powers. The use their power and ability in a negative way and don’t give the regular employees the respect they need. The class also felt that gossip and dishonesty was a major character failure.

Then the class covered the first three habits, having to do with making and keeping promises. We discussed how hard this can be at times and why people tend to break promises. We discussed how sometimes things that you find unimportant, others may find more important which causes hard feelings if the promise is broken. Along with this topic we covered confidentiality in medical professions. Most of our class is going into the medical field where confidentiality is huge and you have a legal obligation not to repeat what you hear. Everyone agreed that this is going to e a big part of their career and they felt up to the challenge.

Then we discussed the saying “too busy driving to get gas.” Not everyone in the class related to this but a couple of people really liked it. Sometimes you get so caught up in what your doing that you forget to take time to do the other necessities.

After JB and JE wrapped up by discussing the video. It was a pretty interesting video talking about how to manager your life and it used a rock alliteration. This seemed to put a lot of things in perspective for everyone.

The first discussion took up most of our time so our second leaders, AE and HL, didn’t have that much time. They did how ever finish on a rather fun note. They decided to play a game of hangman with the class which was quite challenging and tested our knowledge of the chapter.

J.D. and W. W-S....

2006-04-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

Today in class we had a get deal of discussion on our papers and how we can make them better. We broke off into our separate small groups and went over each other’s introduction, establishing what was good, what needed work, and finally what was missing in each paper. After that we evaluated each other’s interview questions by establishing what questions needed improvement, what questions were good, and finally we helped each other generate other possible questions. We also learned how to properly site an interview in APA style. It seemed to be very beneficial to our class when we went over the introduction and interviews of our paper. We had a chance to clear up any unsure questions about the paper before we began.

Prior to going over our questions and introductions, we were each asked to evaluate how we were doing as far as accomplishing our physical intelligence goal. I believe that the general consensus was that although we had succeeded in portions of the goal, there was still a need for some work and sustaining what had already been done. As we went around the room it also sounded like people overall where satisfied with their success.

Finally, in the online e-discussions this week we briefly summarized two articles we are planning to or are already using in our research paper. Everyone appeared to have some very good articles and those who didn’t made it apparent that their information was going to come to them through their interview(s). Which leads us to the second part of the e-discussion for this week; which was to establish two things we learned from the interview web site that could help us with your project.

The Lewis Carroll quote..

2006-04-06T11:27:00.000-07:00

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.

“Which road do I take?” she asked.

His response was a question: “Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know,” Alice answered

“Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”

M.C and said....

2006-04-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

This week in class, we covered chapters 11 and 12. In class we spent a considerable amount of time discussing the passage from Alice in Wonderland. People made many different connections between Alice’s decision of paths and their own lives. The type A, organizationally based individuals concluded that they needed to know their destination and follow the right path. Others believed that it didn’t matter if you knew where you wanted to go or not. Simply walking down a path would lead you to your destination.

We also discussed what leadership roles are in a group setting. We agreed that it is important for all members in the group to be on the, “same page”. Many people shared their own experiences in working interdependently. Everyone agreed that it is not good to split an organization or reward only certain individuals. This does not promote team unity. In our small groups we came up with ideas on how to strengthen strengths and minimize weaknesses in a group or team setting. Some ideas that people came up with included, have an open mind, communicate and listen, provide group incentives, etc.

In our e- discussion this week, everyone made connections between the chapter and their individual type. Many included ideas on how their type could benefit from leadership positions. Some of us also talked about how our different personality type worked in different group settings.

2006-04-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

Clayton Jackson Mcghie Memorial

2006-04-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to the Clayton Jackson Mcghie Memorial website.

L.L. and A. M. said......

2006-04-03T19:27:00.000-07:00

This week in class we talked about Chapter 10, Blending Voices—Searching for the 3^rd Alternative. This chapter seemed to spark a lot of interest among the students. One quote that drew a lot of discussion amongst the class was, “The power lies in you ability to be vulnerable, because deep down, your integrity to you value system based on principles makes you invulnerable and secure.” Most students believed that it meant that you should be vulnerable to others ideas and beliefs.

Another point that sparked a lot of interest was the fact of the “Listening Continuum.” The class did not agree with Covey in how he said it was a process. We thought it was more of you choosing what level you were in. The five levels of the “Listening Continuum” are as followed, 1. Being Ignoring, 2. Pretend listening ( Patronizing), 3. Selective Listening, 4. Attentive Listening, and 5. Empathetic listening. The majority of the class believed that Empathetic Listening stage was the hardest to be at because it’s so hard to put your self in someone else’s shoes.

One other topic that was discussed a lot was the topic of the Third Alternative. For the Third Alternative Covey explains that instead of having a win lose situation, both parties should compromise and have a win, win situation. That way nobody goes away loosing and both feel happy and neutral with more of an understanding of the other person or party.

The class also noted that Covey had a lot of stories and occurrences for this chapter. And, what the class thought to be very interesting was the thought that “no more than about 5 percent of us have had more than two weeks of formal training in how to listen.”

Kids with cameras...

2006-02-22T21:52:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to the "Kids with Cameras" web site.

A.E. and H. I. said...

2006-02-22T21:51:00.000-08:00

This week in class we watched “Born into Brothels.” It was about Zana Briski and her quest to empower children of prostitutes in the red light district of Calcutta, India. She teaches them photography.

Before we watched the movie we thought the kids would be very shy and timid because of their backgrounds. But after watching the movie we were proven wrong. They were just normal kids with normal personalities. Some were shy and quiet and others were loud and feisty. They fought and teased each other like all kids do. They were surprisingly candid about their lives and situations.

We expected the mothers to be more veiled. We thought they wouldn’t be so open about their lives, being prostitutes. However in the video we saw that they were open about it. They didn’t seem to care that they were prostitutes; they seemed to just accept the way things were. Usually we don’t see women as the punishers, but they were the heads of the families. The one women was beating that child. They yelled and screamed at the kids. They had very foul mouths.

We feel that Zana “empowered” the children. She pointed out that they had potential to do what they wanted to do. She showed them that they would need to get out of the “red Light” district to do it. She showed them that and education would change their lives.

By giving them the cameras and the skills to use them and make art she helps them to express their voices. They can show their outlook on the world and eventually become something more than a prostitute. We also feel that Zana also found her voice. She went there to learn about the prostitution but became attached to the children.

In the discussion about the word servant we came up with the idea that the children were servants. They had to do dishes, mop, cook, watch siblings, and draw water.
One of our groups felt that Zana was an obvious leader. She took them places and got things done (i.e. Avijit’s passport). Also among the children we felt that Puja, Avijit, and Gour were the leaders. They were outspoken and seemed to care about the others kids and wanted things to change.
We felt that there wasn’t very much dignity overall. However some of the families acted with dignity even if their careers weren’t very dignified. We also feel that even if the kids weren’t treated with dignity at home Zana certainly did. She treated them like adults and asked their opinions and let them make their own choices.
To break out of this cycle is going to be hard. It won’t happen all at once. Education is the one thing that can help them move on. We also feel that someone needs to come in and take charge and help them make this change, like Zana. You also need to make the parents understand and cooperate, because then they will allow their children to move on. The kids also need to understand that to move on they need to stay in school and make the change.

E.H. and J.N said...

2006-02-21T09:21:00.000-08:00

Our assigned reading for the week was chapter 7, entitled, ‘The Voice of Influence-Be a Trim-Tab.’

In the eDiscussion many people talked about Coveys view on not being the victim. According to Covey, admitting fault and not placing blame on others is a powerful way to lead others to do the same and be a good role model and positive influence in a company.

B. and J. were the discussion leaders for this week. They mentioned that Nike is the greek goddess for victory. And that Nike’s motto is ‘just do it!’ This motto is very similar to the point Covey is trying to convey in this chapter.

Another good point they brought up was the quote from page 128, which says, “Victimism gives your future away.” This means that when we allow ourselves to be the victim we let others control who we are and what we do.

We then broke into groups and discussed victimization experiences we may have had.

We got back together as a group and some students shared their experiences. One student brought up a situation about her and her boyfriend. Her friends kept telling her that he was controlling but she didn’t realize this until she stepped back from the situation and looked at it from the outside in.

Next, we discussed the Seven Levels of Initiative. Some students shared experiences with different steps and discussed where and when they can/should come into play. E. brought up the fact that on the side of the chart it says ‘trustworthiness’ on the bottom and ‘trust’ on the top. This shows that one must start from the bottom of the chart to prove their trustworthiness and as they progress they will eventually gain the trust of their employer/teacher/parent.

KP and ND said...

2006-02-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

Our class discussion focused primarily on three topics, marginalization, physical intelligence and leadership. When discussing marginalization, we talked about not only the way we feel when we are marginalized but also the way we feel when we marginalize others. Surprisingly enough, we feel the same way. So the big question is, why do we marginalize others when we know how bad it makes us feel, and how bad we feel when we are marginalized? Is it something we automatically do without thinking? Is it a part of human nature?

From the e-discussions and class discussion, we focused on physical intelligence. Everyone has their own areas to improve upon, but eating healthy and exercising seemed to be the most common. Stress management also seemed to be somewhat of a problem area for some students. By doing these things, we’d feel better physically and be better able to deal with life’s daily problems.

The third thing we discussed was leadership versus management. A quote by Albert Schweitzer was one of the main focuses of our discussion: “In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” We discussed the quote meaning that even though we have struggles in our lives, once we’ve overcome them with the help of others, it is then our turn to help someone else through one of their struggles so the chain of help continues. This is a lot of what a leader does: works to help people through their struggles so that those people can help others, causing a ripple effect. When discussing leadership, we looked at one way that Covey defined it as, “To communicate the worth and potential of others so clearly, so powerfully and so consistently that they really come to see it in themselves is to set in motion the process of seeing, doing and becoming.” (Pg. 98) This ties back with the first quote and how a leader is someone who does what they can to help others reach their maximum potential. Do you think people are born leaders or is it a skill that can be acquired?

Leadership and management are something that a lot of us feel we used interchangably before looking at the differences between the two. Most people agreed that leadership is more about being the architects – that is, doing the dreaming and motivating and seeing that everything will work, and that management is more about the building – playing the numbers game, making sure that everything runs smoothly. We also discussed that leadership entails making someone else feel empowered, helping a person feel positive about themselves, and helping a person in general. While leadership is glorified, management is more minimizing. The manager tends to be the glue that holds the people together and the authoritative figure who is often more concerned about success than how that success is achieved. The class also brought up the point that management seems less concerned about the patrons than a leader does. You need both managers and leaders to run a business, and the leaders tend to give employees their tasks, while managers simply make sure that everything is going well.

JL and DS said..

2006-02-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

Dignity for ALL

Our class had some very strong feelings towards chapter two in the section of “On Moral Grounds.” From our class discussions it seems that the class enjoyed chapter two more then chapter one. One student said that this chapter seemed to be a lot less black and white and gave the readers a chance to think and develop an opinion. The next big thing that was talked about in our class discussion was morals. What are they, who influenced them, how they came to be, and when did we start to practice and use them? Most of the class agreed that relatives and friends were the ones that shaped most of our morals and that we started really living by our serious morals in middle school and high school. Faith was an aspect that was brought up in our class discussion. Many say that their faith is the cornerstone of their morals.

From the e-discussions there was also a lot of talk about faith. The majority of our class seems to believe that their strongest of morals tend to happen because of their religion or particular faith in something. These days faith is being tested by just about everything. It is being tested in technology with the stem cell research, in politics, even in some churches.

In our online discussions there were three quotes that were brought up time and time again. These quotes are:

“Not only can they perceive what is and respond to that; they can imagine what could be and bring it about. They can find and create beauty. They can love. They can speak and sing and dance and laugh. They can be merciful and compassionate. They can and sometimes do transcend everything, even their own lives, in the phenomenon of supreme sacrifice.”

"Faith is a normal and basic way of knowing. Believing is knowing what you cannot see or prove, but what you still accept and hold with firmness.”

This is another quote that sums up our whole class discussion: "Can we know truth, but
also by the heart, for the heart has reasons that the mind cannot comprehend. Feeling is
a way of knowing. We often feel and sense more than we can see or explain"

All of these quotes really stuck out to a lot of our classmates and for obvious reasons. One thing that all of these quotes have in common in they talk about us, humans. They all talk about what we can believe, love, imagine, what we can know or see or explain. We think that is why everyone loved them so much, because they helped us to understand ourselves better.

So, our class discussions and e-discussions lead us to one final thought. Should our decisions be made from our hearts or from our minds?

American Dignity

2006-01-30T18:48:00.000-08:00

Here is a painting called American Dignity. The artist is Tomas Lasansky.

jkreiegs&bb said:

2006-01-29T12:39:00.000-08:00

said...

The class discussion surrounding chapter one of On Moral Grounds contained many highlights of the reading’s perspective about morality. The group leaders brought out actual examples of morality, morality as human, amoral things only mere objects on their own, but once put in a certain situation that threatens the well-being of a human the objects instantly become immoral. “How things affect people is what morality is all about.” from page, eight of On Moral Grounds clearly states the fact that objects can become immoral. Also discussed in class were: who decides what is morality? The different cultural aspects on morality as it varies from society to society, and religion’s involvement with morality. An actual definition of morality was not identified; rather it was supported with different examples of moral actions and feelings that surround the word morality. However, many people said that the reading stated morality as very black and white and they believe that nobody is always moral or all immoral, but have shady places in between.

While reviewing the edisscussion posts, there were many different examples cited of humans acting moral in certain situations. Some people said that they did not fully understand the reading, while others enjoyed the authors’ opinions about morals and ethics. The stories that the authors used seemed to strike a nerve, and many people talked about the moral actions of the characters and how this makes them feel on a moral basis.

We thought that our classmate gave an excellent interpretation of how morality changes from culture to culture. “I now believe that the definition of “moral” does not fluctuate among individuals; rather, the interpretation—or how an individual responds to their interpretation- of “moral” does indeed fluctuate among persons of different races, family backgrounds, religions, political views, and so on.”

Another important aspect of the discussion was the thought of self-sacrifice. Many quoted Plato as means of support. “Plato writes that only those in love are willing to die for the other.” We thought that this was an interesting concept; especially that it was common in the responses of college students. Do we feel as though we need to be in love to fully grasp life? Who knows, but the concept set off many interesting responses among our peers.

All in all, we felt as though there were many different opinions on morality, and this helped to define an encouraging class discussion, and interesting ediscussion posts.

2:09 PM

Dignity For All

2006-01-17T19:14:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the course blog!

Each week two students will prepare a posting for this course blog. You will work together with your "blog partner" to review the week's ediscussion items and the course discussions and activities. Your posting should include highlights, insights, any new questions or more information. You should not reveal the names of people in our class but can highlight ideas that other students presented. Please see course assessment criteria for scoring.

An interesting "tid bit"...below is the Chinese symbol for dignity.

A quote and a question to ponder:

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121 AD - 180 AD)
One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered.

What do you think of this idea? Can our dignity only be taken away if we surrender it?
C.T.