Room Supervisor

I had a very important job today; I was a room supervisor for the ACT test.  One of the responsibilities of this job was the very closely monitor the students testing in my room from 9am to 1:15 pm. That gave me a lot of time to make some nonverbal observations.  One thing I inferred was that the Math test was the most challenging for the Juniors in my room.  During that test, students were constantly shifting weight, bouncing their legs, running hands through hair, and even dropping pencils.  There was definitely a tenseness to the air in the room.  Students were also incredibly focused during the Reading test.  Their heads were down, and I didn't see any wandering eyes.  Eyes seemed to bounce from the test booklet to the answer sheet and back again; that's it.  When I gave the five minute warning, about half the room jumped. That was the only test the warning startled them.  I observed that the students in the room were pretty spent after the Writing test.  Most of them looked dazed and half asleep.  Those are just a few of the observations of nonverbal communication I made.

Sometimes it's tough...

Sometimes it's tough being a speech coach and past speech teacher. I feel like I am much harder on other public speakers, particularly adults. Although I found the advertisements and other visual aids helpful in illustrating nonverbal communication in Patrick's presentation today, I was incredibly distracted by the fact he continued to pace (step forward and backward) throughout the entire presentation.  I also struggled with the "uhs" and "ums," but after a while, I was able to ignore them. 
I know I'm guilty of moving around and using the occasional filler words too, but I find it so much easier to spot other people's use of them over my own. The same goes for proofreading; I am really good at proofreading other's work, but when it comes to proofreading my own, it's like my mind knows what is supposed to be there rather than what is there.  I guess it's a matter of perception in that case.  

Tuesday Night Noise

Source: https://media.licdn.com/media/p/7/000/1f5/34c/39de0a1.png

Almost every Tuesday evening, once the weather is nicer, I participate in charity 5k races at Terra Loco in Rochester. Terra Loco is a running story by Trader Joe's and Apache Mall, and every Tuesday night when the weather cooperates they host an organized 5k race followed with snacks and raffles.  It's a good time, and each race raises money for a different organization; the races are only $5 each, too. 

A lot of Tuesdays, we make the race a family affair, meaning my husband, son, and I all participate, or just my son and I do it together.  He's got the 1-mile run down, but 3.1 miles is a bit too much for him yet, so I push him the B.O.B. stroller I've been running with him in since he was less than 6 months old. 

One of the challenges of pushing Murphy while running is my inability to hear him well.  Whether it's because of cars passing, people passing. or the one ear bud I allow myself to wear when it is the two of us, there is a lot of physical noise that gets in the way of hearing Murphy well. I usually say "wait until we aren't by the cars" or something to let him know that I can't hear him, but I want to, and will be able to soon; that way he doesn't feel like his message is any less important.

You know you are from Minnesota when...

Today in class we talked about a culture we all have in common: being KoMets.  Another culture we all have in common is being Minnesotan, whether you are a recent Minnesotan or have lived here all you life. Here are a few things I found online that represent Minnesotan culture, although some of these are a little stereotypical.

(Source: http://www.surfminnesota.net/couldbemn2.html)

You measure distance in minutes. 
Down south to you means Iowa. 
People from other states love to hear you say words with O's in them. 
You assume when you say "Twin Cities" people know to where you're referring. 
You know what uff-da means and how to use it properly. 
You own an icehouse, snowmobile, and a 4-wheel drive vehicle. 
Everyone you know has a cabin. 
You consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping the food will swim by. 
You have refused to buy something because it's too "spendy." 
Your local Dairy Queen is closed from December through February. 
You instinctively walk like a penguin for three months out of the year. 
Someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there. 
You know more than one person that has hit a deer. 
You may not have actually eaten it, but you have heard of Lutefisk. 
You know what Mille Lacs is and how to spell it. 
Nothing gets you madder than seeing a Green Bay sticker on a Minnesota car. 
Your town has an equal number of bars and churches. 
You have had an entire telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number. 
The only reason you go to Wisconsin is to get fireworks, to fish, or to buy beer on Sunday. 
You know how to say Wayzata, Mahtomedi, and Shakopee. 
You drink POP, not SODA. 
You can recite, from memory, more than a half-dozen "Ole and Lena" jokes. 
You've gone trick-or-treating in 3 feet of snow.
You play "Duck, Duck, Gray Duck" and not "Duck, Duck, Goose." 
Planting and harvesting times means your class sizes decrease.
You've ever done a Snow Day Dance. 
You believe Camo matches anything. 

Source: http://www.fasthorseinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/5488823250_57d22f0c19_z.jpg

 

Speech Team: A Culture of Its Own

Yesterday, after school, I coached at the Speech Team's Sectional Meet. While I was walking the halls between rounds, I realized how being a part of Speech is really an example of being a part of an individual culture (we'll get into culture next chapter). 

One example of a cultural-specific activity is that of wall talking. Students often find a chunk of wall to practice their speeches to/with.  To an observer, this looks really funny, but to competitors, this is an acceptable and helpful method of practice and preparation. 

Here's an example:

Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/74/1d/da/741dda6891289dcdf9992c67e324f619.jpg