Blog #1

"Hearing is a physiological experience in which sound waves vibrate our ear drums, we take hearing as a passive act, contrasted with the more active practice of listening. Listening is a practice that requires our active attention and focus, when we are listening we believe ourselves to be engaging with, and thinking carefully about the message" 

This reference in the reading stood out to me most because it framed class discussions, along with a particular in-class activity. As a class, we essentially used yarn to visualize the process of active listening. The yarn was passed around to those who wanted to share their opinion on such topic, and was wrapped around your hand for however many seconds you spoke. This gave a clear indication of those who were active listeners, and those who chose to passively listen or to just “hear” the conversation at hand. I thought this was very interesting and fun because the topic was very controversial as it had to do with big time athletes choosing not to stand while the pledge of allegiance was being played before their game. This activity also shows what kind of speaker you are, and overall contributor to the conversations, and open discussion.

            I found myself relating to critical paradigm in that my worldviews, and my own ways of communicating didn’t line up with everyone in my group as we all had very interesting and different points and ideas towards the topic. In reference to culture where “shared meanings and assumptions that draw people together within a social context of shared power.” I learned more about a certain perspective than I had previous to the conversation, and also developed an acquired listening skill towards modes of listening.

Modes of listening is in terms of “competencies or strategies we might develop to relate to specific listening situations” in regards of this definition, and my group discussion it seemed very present that some knew more about the topic than others. In which may have led others towards a passive act of listening rather than being active and focused within the group discussion. Because of this specific context within our discussion, I believed it shaped the overall expectation of social and cultural approaches within each group member individually. From my personal understanding of the topic I chose to form a relation towards politics, and our president. This caught attention from more of my classmates as this relates to everyone living in the United States, finding a mutual spark within a historical context. 

As our conversation grew we all became more compassionate towards critical thinking, as we benefitted from engaging with one another, the discussion was accounted for by the end of the activity. Listeners and speakers within the group held one another accountable, and were open to share ideas, and beliefs.