Titanium and Educator's Insight
Guess what song I woke up to this morning? Well I didn't exactly wake up to any song. Instead I cut on the television after I woke up and the song that played after some random stripper song--the type that has a beat and the type of lyrics that will only have an affect if you are drunk in a club throwing ones--was a song that I am beginning to use as my own. Low and behold after the stripper song was a video to "Titanium" by David Guetta and Sia, which is the latest single off the album Nothing But the Beat. Pop music fans may recognize Sia because she is featured on FloRida's song Wild One. "Titanium" goes like this:
I'm bullet proof nothing to loose fire away fire away
Ricochet, you take your aim fire away fire away
You shoot me down but I won't fall I am titanium
You shoot me down but I won't fall I am titanium
Not only does this song get me hyped to run when I don't want to but it also encourages me to keep pushing through the wear and tear of serving people. From teaching, to advising, to accomplishing things for the ministry it burns a brotha out, especially when people look to me to come up with new ideas or entertainment. The heck I look like? This song was my inspiration for the day and something I gotta continue to listen to and while out. Definitely not a stripper song LOL.
Good news. I finally got it! I was speaking to a friend today and I realized that I have not told people that I have been officially appointed as a full time Communication Studies Instructor at NVCC's Annandale Campus. This is what I wanted. I got it and so here's to an exciting 2012-2013 academic year. I'm pretty sure the challenge has officially begun. I've worked a year to prove myself and it's crazy all of the insights that I'm getting.
Insight #1: Go out of your way to tell students when they impress you. I have a few kids in my public speaking class that are extremely talented. It's easy to assume that because someone draws in class while you lecture that they just don't care. Well on the contrary they are super talented and they really refreshed me with their initiative to think. Once challenge to educating at the community college level is that because students come in at all levels of academic preparation you find your teaching directed to those that are not on the advanced side, which bores the hell out of the ones really ready to work. How do you give meat when the majority can barely digest milk. How can you give several courses when the majority take for granted that you give them options. We had a good talk after class about how education is dumbing down, youth are becoming less motivated, and the system does not challenge youth to think. Conversations like that are what I live for. It makes me want to be a better instructor.
Insight #2: Nonverbals are pervasive. As an instructor, I find that I engage the class more when I move around, walk closer to the student's seat, look them dead in the face when I'm talking--even though I'm lecturing to the mass. My audience's nonverbals play a big role in how I interpret their understanding. I constantly ask for feedback to gauge my class' understanding. Of course, at 9 am if I ask if there are any questions or if everyone understands what I'm saying, I'll either get complete silence or one or two people say yes. It's the silence and what I interpret as a blank stare that let me know they don't really get it they just want me to move on. If a student falls asleep in class, comes in late, plays with their cellphone, I interpret these things to mean certain things. They could be outright disrespect, which I usually interpret as such or it could be something legitimate. This coupled with other things really makes me want to monitor my nonverbals. I noticed even in church when I raise my voice while speaking before a song I get certain reactions. What I'm not saying is that during praise and worship, I'll do certain things to certain reactions but it's funny how even in this respect I see more how my message comes more from how I say something and less from what was actually said. Do you know how many times I've probably effed up my communication just because of how I said something? I'm thinking about all the people that don't really know me and how many misunderstandings have probably took place because of the perception of how I said something. Guess I gotta charge it to the game.
Insight #3: I'm going to start studying rhetoric, argumentation and more historical figures. I gotta step my professor game up.
I'm bullet proof nothing to loose fire away fire away
Ricochet, you take your aim fire away fire away
You shoot me down but I won't fall I am titanium
You shoot me down but I won't fall I am titanium
Not only does this song get me hyped to run when I don't want to but it also encourages me to keep pushing through the wear and tear of serving people. From teaching, to advising, to accomplishing things for the ministry it burns a brotha out, especially when people look to me to come up with new ideas or entertainment. The heck I look like? This song was my inspiration for the day and something I gotta continue to listen to and while out. Definitely not a stripper song LOL.
Good news. I finally got it! I was speaking to a friend today and I realized that I have not told people that I have been officially appointed as a full time Communication Studies Instructor at NVCC's Annandale Campus. This is what I wanted. I got it and so here's to an exciting 2012-2013 academic year. I'm pretty sure the challenge has officially begun. I've worked a year to prove myself and it's crazy all of the insights that I'm getting.
Insight #1: Go out of your way to tell students when they impress you. I have a few kids in my public speaking class that are extremely talented. It's easy to assume that because someone draws in class while you lecture that they just don't care. Well on the contrary they are super talented and they really refreshed me with their initiative to think. Once challenge to educating at the community college level is that because students come in at all levels of academic preparation you find your teaching directed to those that are not on the advanced side, which bores the hell out of the ones really ready to work. How do you give meat when the majority can barely digest milk. How can you give several courses when the majority take for granted that you give them options. We had a good talk after class about how education is dumbing down, youth are becoming less motivated, and the system does not challenge youth to think. Conversations like that are what I live for. It makes me want to be a better instructor.
Insight #2: Nonverbals are pervasive. As an instructor, I find that I engage the class more when I move around, walk closer to the student's seat, look them dead in the face when I'm talking--even though I'm lecturing to the mass. My audience's nonverbals play a big role in how I interpret their understanding. I constantly ask for feedback to gauge my class' understanding. Of course, at 9 am if I ask if there are any questions or if everyone understands what I'm saying, I'll either get complete silence or one or two people say yes. It's the silence and what I interpret as a blank stare that let me know they don't really get it they just want me to move on. If a student falls asleep in class, comes in late, plays with their cellphone, I interpret these things to mean certain things. They could be outright disrespect, which I usually interpret as such or it could be something legitimate. This coupled with other things really makes me want to monitor my nonverbals. I noticed even in church when I raise my voice while speaking before a song I get certain reactions. What I'm not saying is that during praise and worship, I'll do certain things to certain reactions but it's funny how even in this respect I see more how my message comes more from how I say something and less from what was actually said. Do you know how many times I've probably effed up my communication just because of how I said something? I'm thinking about all the people that don't really know me and how many misunderstandings have probably took place because of the perception of how I said something. Guess I gotta charge it to the game.
Insight #3: I'm going to start studying rhetoric, argumentation and more historical figures. I gotta step my professor game up.
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