"What I want....
A soda, a million dollars, maybe a pony too. Unfortunately intercultural communications cannot give me those things. Instead I hope to settle for learning how to keep my foot out of my mouth when dealing with other cultures." (Wagner 2011)
If it's not obvious, I failed the assignment on blogging about what I want to gain and what my expectations were for the class.
I feel that I summed up my wants fairly well, and I really don't think I have attained that goal. In all honesty, I'm much to blunt and frank for political correctness. I did learn plenty of skills in dealing with other cultures, but it seems the number one way to get by is to just say nothing. If another culture wants to communicate with me, just keep my end of the communication to a minimum, that way, I don't step on any toes. (As I often do)
As for expectations, not what I expected... I could probably rant about that for a while and perhaps I will AFTER I'm holding my certificate...
Bah, what the hell;
I expected it to be an introductory class teaching students that there are differences between cultures and how to best avoid delicate situations. I did not expect the 700 pages of reading, only two written exams, blogging, and the additional hours of work this class required versus what the 'other' required class required. That I couldn't take becuase of my Accounting class. "Oh well, whatever, nevermind. Hello? Hello? How low?" (cobain)
I must say that I did get more enjoyment, and did learn significantly more than I excpected, but I didnt expect to be expected to learn so much. It may be that my personality just doesn't fit with "intercultural communications" but since when do accountants need to be socialites? I'm the only one in the accounting II class that can ace every test WITHOUT using a calculator, but I have a difficult time accepting other cultures that don't accept me. Sure, I can keep my mouth shut (which is one of the things I learned from class, sometimes the best COA is to just STFU) but I have a hard time being accepting of un-accepting people.
As with most things I learn at the learning institutions I have attended, I will lock it away in some part of my brain and use it when necessary, and this class ranks right up there with Algebra II in terms of how often I use it... Which is everyday. But that's the way it goes when you sell stuff for a living.
*reads the list of things to touch on in this blog*
"What ideas changed?"
Not many of my ideas of other cultures have changed. Change is something I don't typically like, besides, my dislike of certain cultures is part of my culture... wow, that looks a lot more profound in type than it did in my head... it gets its own line.
"My dislike of certain cultures is part of my culture."
If all snorks are snoggles and some snoggles are zorks, then all zorks are definitely...
Logic, that is why I feel the way I do about certain cultures. Specifically those that will remain nameless for the sake of me not wanting to harm any future relations with anyone I may meet... But those of you who know me well know what it is I'm talking about.
uh oh... I totally just spent the last 15 minutes blogging about what should be on the paper. DAMNIT!
-Look at goals for class *CHECK*
-Have you met these goals *CHECK*
-What did you learn from this class *CHECK*
I am sorry that you feel that there was too much work in this class. Keep in mind, you can't compare two classes. They are seperate classes with seperate expectations. Every instructor assesses his or her students differently. I believe in using various methods such as exams, writings, assignments, presentations, etc. Not ever student wants to take a lot of tests and not every student likes to write lots of papers, blogs, etc. However, these are the assessment methods that I chose to use so I can assess your learning.
ReplyDeleteThere was not 700 pages of reading in this class. Keep in mind, I said at the beginning of the class, I do not expect you to read everything word for word, skimming is a skill that we must learn. However, there were high expectations in this class. I have high expectations in all of my classes. Those expectations are set from day one. In this class, we meet once a week. According to guidelines for classes, you are supposed to put in 3 hours of work a week for every 1 credit of classes. Therefore, this class, you should spend 9 hours a week on it (2.5 of those hours being in class).
I understand that you are an accounting major. There are people in this class with all sorts of majors. Everyone will encounter people throughout their lives. How we choose to communicate with them is important. You may have a client who is from that culture that we know you disagree with. How will you deal with that? Will you turn him or her away because you disagree? Just something to think about. We don't have to like everyone or agree with everyone else's beliefs, but we need to be respectful (even if that means saying nothing at all).