New perspective of "Worry"

This TEDtalk was a real eye-opener for me! As one who has struggled with anxiety for years, worry is a feeling I'm pretty familiar with, but after listening to this TEDtalk, I have a new perspective. My perception of "worry is different" as well as my connotation, which we will discuss in Chapter 5.

How Movies Teach the Masculine Culture

While looking up the Blue Eyes Brow Eyes experiment video for class, I stumbled upon this interested TEDTalk that looks at how movies can influence masculine and feminine culture! Check it out here:

Dancing to Our Own Beat

Rather than write my own blog post this week, I would like to share the one I contributed to Rochester City Moms Blog! I'm pretty proud of this one. Once a month, I write a blog for them to publish. It's a fun hobby!

https://rochestermn.citymomsblog.com/family/dancing-to-our-own-beat/?fbclid=IwAR1wLs8vBjioShyUt4xeOxAP-EODHCfIaqdp82VdPurjfU4udUqO-RHppuI

Earplugs

Last night my hubby and I went to a concert at the Armory in Minneapolis. We were there for The Devil Makes Three and one of our favorites, Flogging Molly. We've been to this venue before, but for some reason, it was exceptionally loud last night. So much so that the venue was giving out earplugs, which we gratefully accepted. We'be both been to dozens of concerts together, but this one was one of the loudest. Once the earplugs were in, we had an obstacle. Those earplugs caused us even more physical noise than the music did; there was no way to hear each other with earplugs in. We came up with a quick solution, though. Although we probably looked a little silly, we texted out messages and showed them to each other rather than send them. It worked really well!

Oh no she didn't!

My daughter used some common body movements on me this morning, and it caught me by surprise. While talking to my son a little loudly (since he was downstairs), my two-year-old daughter looked at me and said, "Shhhhh! Mommy quiet!" Then she held up her finger to her lips, a very clear example of both an emblem and regulator. I have to admit, I was a little shocked!

Nonverbal communication of PJ Day

During Snow Week and Homecoming, I often forget that the majority of people I interact with outside of school aren't celebrating the dress up days. For example, when I was picking up my kiddos at daycare on Monday, I got some funny looks being in sweatpants and a sweatshirt on a school day. Then today while walking in the building, proudly sporting my Hogwarts PJ pants, a mom dropping off her son looked at me really funny. These outfits did not send the professional, put-together nonverbal message my clothing usually sends on a school day. I am usually less focused on these days as a teacher, too. Self-fulfilling prophecy?

Psychological noise today

I'm dealing with a little bit of psychological noise today; my mind keeps getting stuck. You see, my brother in law went into unexpected emergency surgery last night and then again today. I keep waiting for updates to see how he's doing, hoping and praying for the best. While I'm supposed to be teaching today, my thoughts are on him. I'm hoping it hasn't shown too much, though.

Speech Culture

One culture that I've been a part of since 1995 is Speech Team culture.  Within that culture, there are beliefs in supporting your teammates, having a mascot, practicing to do your best, taking judges' critiques as guidance, and giving it your best effort every round. We dress up for meets, and duos might even try to match each other. There are nicknames for the different categories or traditions like wall-talking that are specific to this group of people. There's even a "speech clap," similar to the KoMet clap.  I'm proud to be a part of this culture. I've met many life-long friends because of it and was even able to get to know my hubby, then my boyfriend, much better because of it.

Zootopia and culture

The movie Zootopia offers examples from a variety of cultures. Each area of Zootopia has its own expected dress, language, rules, and tradition. This can especially be seen with the police force, and Judy needs to quickly learn this new language. She has a specific dress. She has goals she needs to achieve on her shift as well as personal goals. There is even a hierarchy to the animals in Zootopia.

Got Any Grapes?

I don't know what it is, but whenever someone mentions a duck, my mind immediately follow with "Got any Grapes?" or "Waddle Waddle." Then the song gets stuck in my head, causing some extreme psychological noise. My family has been witness to this earworm as well as many others.  And now for your viewing pleasure:

Translating Toddler

It is no secret I adore my kiddos as well as talking about them, so expect to seem them popping up in my blog from time-to-time. Right now, my two-year-old daughter is learning to talk. Each day she shares more words and clearer words, but there are times that I just don't understand what she is saying. This is an example of Semantic Noise. She knows what she is trying to say, but I am just not always understanding. Often, I'll repeat back what I think she is saying, but as a question, and she'll respond with "ya" or "no." It can be fun at times, but other times frustrating. 

Ope

Over this past summer, I was informed that "ope" is the Minnesota word for "excuse me." It was after I heard a radio segment on it that I realized I use "ope" all the time and hear it just as much. I asked some cousins in Oklahoma and California if they had ever heard the word used in that context before, and they said no! This is a word that could be considered Minnesota slang or jargon. Learn more here:  Article on Ope

Ambiguous sign

While flipping through Social Media a little while ago, I noticed a post my brother-in-law Craig shared. It took me a few seconds to click with what was going on, and that is because of ambiguity. Like the driver of the truck in the picture, I thought of the color green right away. After a moment, I realized it was green as in environmentally friendly parking, like a Tesla for example. Which way did you take the sign the first time you saw it?

Nonverbal example in class today

Today we started Chapter 6, my favorite chapter, all about nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication is powerful; even when we are sleeping or dead, we are still communicating nonverbally. In class today, I gave students "the look" and "the hand" as shared by a student in class. Both of these combined helped to motivate at least a couple students to get to work. Without words, I used my face and body to send messages. This is nonverbal communication.