Small Group Discussions

9-1-05 Small Log #1

Topic – Harold and Maud

The conversation began with Shev expressing his dislike for Harold as a character after his relation with Maud. Vincent backed this idea up by saying she changed him for the worse. After this idea had been thoroughly expressed, Jordan said the story was commonplace. “I knew that she was going to die of [unnatural] causes. Romeo and Juliet all over again.” I felt that since we were all prepared, the conversation would be interesting, but it ended up being completely about the perversions of the movie’s main characters. Something about old women and young men didn’t exactly light a fire in any of my groupmates.

11-10-05 Log #2, small

Topic – The chocolate war.

I read and completed the homework as we were supposed to in preparation for this conversation. We briefly went around, delivering some thoughts. Alexa mentioned that she thought a main character of the story was gay due to his fascination with what she viewed as “strange things.” Aziza replied to this idea by saying “people like strange things. I’m sure you have odd fetishes, too.” At this juncture, the conversation swiftly moved onto other group members. Zhi described the author’s writing as fresh and full of “new metaphors.” Max liked the theme of “finding yourself.” I ended up avoiding commenting on the writing because I felt that an issue raised in the book was more important. I spoke briefly about how the priests kept power because no one objected it, but unfortunately the discussion was abruptly ended. I wish I had gotten to say my piece.

Omitted date Log #3, small

Topic – Can you change yourself?

I was asked to lead a discussion about changing yourself and I think I did a reasonable job. We discussed the topic in interesting ways and I even got to hear the opinions of those who don’t normally speak up in class. Mergim thought that “You can control yourself, but it requires a lot of discipline and concentration” breaking the ice in his group by establishing that the self could be controlled through practice. In another group, Zhi argued that the person is “how the mind expresses itself” implying that unless we can change the mind we cannot change the persona or the self. Angela in her group contested that the mind changes “via outside forces” not from within. She latter stated bluntly that experience forms who you are. Society plays a crucial role, since everyone is so different. Daniella hinted that if you can’t observe your own mind, you can’t change it; meaning that until you understand yourself, you can’t change yourself. I found the conversation to be insightful and meaningful.

Omitted date Log #4, small

Group members: Ray, Mergim, Angela, Eric.

This conversation was very small and even though we all read the excerpt not many people felt the urge to say anything. We all agreed that the article sounded very technical and didn’t really have much of a purpose until later on. Eric was obviously annoyed with the author’s subject choice. The only interesting part was when Mergim and Eric joked about the misfortune of a child who received a botched circumcision.

12-3-05 Log #5, small

Topic – Sports and Masculinity (Mainly revolved around our fathers)

We all read the article at least 75% of the way through. It was mostly about how sports and masculinity were related to father figures. We began the conversation by having a go around about our fathers and how they connected themselves to us and sports. Manny mentioned that his father put a lot of pressure on him when it came to sports; “he always wanted me to be the best.” Nian mentioned that his parents didn’t value sports and that they preferred academic achievements. Stefan said that his father used to play sports and because of that didn’t pressure Stefan into it. Mark mentioned that his father wanted him to play for accomplishment in terms of money. I said that my father never pushed me, but said it was fun. Later on we discussed why our father figures felt the way they did. Manny mentioned that it was probably because fathers want to feel achievement through their sons. After that comment, the conversation shifted to father figures being stronger. Nian and Zhi agreed upon the idea of the father having seniority and being the leader or “man of the family.” Stefan went as far as to say “my dad is insane. He always does what he needs to. Fathers scare you.” I think he was trying to relate that to perseverance. At that point the conversation ended and I actually felt fulfilled.

12-12-2005 Log #6, small

Present – Vincent

This small discussion was about class moments. Among the best in our group: “Smacking Ross verbally” this one came up several times, speaking freely, open ended papers, meeting requirements. Among the worst were: “30 minutes of Manny’s sex life,” Alexa talking, reading books we didn’t like, listening to others and when people try to discuss others being inherently evil. Some of our most memorable moments were “gender conformity discussions,” meeting Jared, respecting your classmates skirmish and Andy imitating two “ghetto guys” in an elevator. I found the conversation amusing.

Omitted date Log #7, small

Topic – Language unit and what we want out of it

We all thought about the topic briefly then concluded a few things. Among them were: The difference in languages is how we perceive things and symbolize them with words, pitch is huge in some languages but not in others, languages that are similar are easier to learn and finally, according to my group mates “Chinese is the master language.” We also agreed upon wanting to obtain a better understanding of what exactly people are saying from the unit. Sometimes the real meaning of what is being said is lost in the way it’s said. It’s a shame, really. Looking back on that conversation, I wish I would’ve said “I’d like to get out of it the ‘right’ way to say things.”

1-4-06 Log #8, small

Facilitator – Eric

This discussion followed a question about dialects posed by Andy, but we decided in my group to make it a session filled with hatred for dialects. I started the conversation off by saying that dialects are rarely intelligible. Eric added onto that by saying “on first contact.” He later stated that you must “fully experience different dialects to understand them.” Vincent commented by saying that this was part of the problem. He justified it by saying “communication problems mean life problems.” Jordan agreed whole heartedly when he said “If you can’t communicate you can’t succeed in any community. Dialects hinder communication, thus hindering success.” Sadly, that was all we had time for. I really agreed with what was being said and tried to reflect that in my presentation to the class. Eric encouraged the conversation, which was also a first. Vincent participated actively which was somewhat astounding as well.

1-12-05 Log #9, small

Topic – Why are we exploring language?

This assigned topic was actually discussed in my group. It’s amazing, I know. I opened the conversation up by saying that Andy wants us to study linguistics because it’s how we communicate. If we’re going to be wise, we’ll need to know how to communicate our wisdom or it’s wasted. Vincent believed Andy just needed filler. This was supported by Jordan and Shev who openly distrusted the unit and dismissed it as “things we already know.” Eric supported me, but it seemed the others didn’t when I said at the end of the conversation “I think that he wants it to be less frustrated when other people speak and we don’t immediately understand them.” A shame, really. It seemed like my group members were genuinely dissatisfied. I was really disappointed by their lack of enthusiasm on the topic.

1-20-2006 Log #10, small

Topic – Biography ideas

The biography conversation was pretty productive. Everyone got involved. I opened it up by asking who everyone would write about. A few ideas were: teachers, parents, lovers and fictional entities. We then explored what we could write about them. The most important details that we discussed included personality aspects, history, hobbies, victims, accomplices, friends, family and defining moments—all of which were presented to the class when I presented. The other things we discussed were secrets, alter egos and dreams of the person we would write about. How would they be relevant? The group seemed very engaged when we discussed how exactly our biographies would reflect if the person was admirable or deplorable.

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