Take One for which Team?

1. Take One for which Team?
2. Audience: people I may have just met or are acquaintances, but probably not super close friends | Kairos: in a get-to-know-you sort of conversation about playing sports in high school
3. Story:

At 13 years old, I joined Canyon High School's girls’ basketball program. As our freshman team formed, I started and played most games all the way through without subs during pre-season. Our team had true chemistry.

One day at practice, the head varsity coach approached me.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" 

We walked off to the side of the court as he asked, "we'd like to ask you to play in the JV tournament in La Canada next week. Would you be willing to do that?"

My eyes lit up, "Sure!"

A week later, there I was warming up with the JV girls before our first game

The majority of baskets were made by me and Marissa. Three other girls trotted along--confusedly trying to remember where they were supposed to be for whatever play Marissa signaled.

We didn't do so hot in that tournament. The team didn't work together. Plays and defense were everywhere. Even after that, I don't remember the scores, but I do remember standing in the locker room with the whole team and the short, Asian coach smiling at me as I basked in the spotlight. They wanted me because their scores were at least higher than usual. They really, really wanted me. And I really wanted... to be the one who they wanted. 

When the tournament was over, I alternated practicing with the JV and freshman teams. After being asked several times if I wanted to join JV and not giving a direct answer, my mom got a call from the Varsity coach.

"So what did she decide?"

At 13 I stopped and considered what was in front of me--a year of either basking in a light that would soon fade with a disconnected team or challenging myself with a team that had chemistry and potential;. 

I chose my team in the end. And we placed in our league that season while the JV team lost every game. I may have stepped down from that pedestal, but I still got to be in the spotlight with a team that was mine.

1. All for Basketball

2. I would tell this to someone who I might be trying to show my character and work ethic to (like on a resume or letter of intent-type thing). 

3. Story:

“It’s just because you’re tall and they need taller players.”

“No, it’s because you’re good and they want you.”

My family and teammates said a lot of things. And I’m sure my teammates said a lot more behind my back when they heard I was chosen.

Either I take the opportunity play at the JV level at 13 or I regret losing the opportunity. [Contradiction] But it wasn’t really that simple. 

It began with the tournament. I improved their points, but one player can't win alone. Even then, I had been welcomed and esteemed as an asset to the JV team and I knew I could find my place as one of the starting, respected players during the season if I wanted to. [Past Act/Future Act]. Would it be worth it to abandon my team and what I had worked for with them? [Rhetorical Question]

Dribble, shoot, swish. [Onomatopoeia] “We need you on this team because Regan is our only other post player.” Even at practice, the chemistry between my freshman teammates and I was so much better. When I practiced with JV, all I could feel was the disconnect.

Finally, the Varsity coach called up my mom and said that a decision had to be made. The rules said I could not continue to be a part of both teams into the season [Possible/Impossible and Law]. 

At 13 I stood with a choice—a choice [Anadiplosis] not just between basketball teams, but between  potential and recognition. Mere endurance or purposeful, enduring hard work. Earning respect or having it handed to me. [Ellipsis]

In the end I chose to challenge myself and work with a team that worked—even when having to work on the usual jealous competition between team members. We placed that year. And the status and praise I turned from? Maybe it was intuition, but that team lost every game that season.

Communication and Persuasion in Seminary/Institute Teaching

Teaching of any kind requires effective communication.  Teaching the religious curriculum as established by the Church Board of Education of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to high school or college age young men and women is no different.   In addition to conveying scripture-based messages, leading gospel-centered discussions, and promoting testimony-building activities and habits in a classroom full of students, a religious educator must also be capable of communicating efficiently in meetings with fellow faculty members, in the office with secretaries, as well as in other interactions with local stake and ward leaders.

As a religious lecturer, a seminary or institute teacher needs to be well-versed in the written, standard works used by the Church (comprised of the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price) in order to powerfully and persuasively present the principles and doctrines of the gospel in understandable terms.  The typical audience a religious educator would be assigned to entertain is the youth, commonly referred to as the rising generation.  As such, it is all the advantage to the teacher to employ up-to-date methods of learning and implement lively games and activities into his or her lesson plan, such as the showing of videos or scripture mastery Jeopardy.

Rhetorically speaking, evidence of all branches of oratory can be clearly seen in religious educating.  For example, when teaching about the commandments, teachers commonly elaborate on the just nature of God's laws and the unjust interpretations of these laws by those that were in opposition to Christ.  Teachers endeavor to exhort their students to live up to high standards and seek to dissuade them from partaking of the evils the world has to offer.  Finally, religious educators often voice his or her admiration for a particular prophet or leader such as Joseph Smith or Captain Moroni.  All efforts are centered on inspiring young men and women to strengthen his or her own faith.

As a preacher of restored truth, a religious educator must strive to live the doctrines they endorse, lest they be deemed hypocrites, and their words counted as dross.  Stereotypes often associated with religious educators are that they are humorous, have a pleasant disposition, and very knowledgeable.  When students find shortcomings in one of these three areas, often the ethos of that teacher takes a significant hit. 

I am personally interested in this field because I grew up watching my dad teach at the high school level (where he taught for nearly a decade), and now at the college level (where he currently teaches at BYU-I).  I saw how he developed the art of persuasion and could move audiences, large or small, by means of bearing pure testimony and calling souls to repentance.  Most of what I know about this field is through observation and private conversations with various religious educators. 



 

Communication and Persuasion in English Teaching

            English teachers, especially high school English teachers, use communication in more diverse ways than arguably any other career.  They not only teach communication and persuasion; they live communication and persuasion.  Their whole career basically revolves around communication and persuasion. 

Every school day, high school English teachers teach the finer points of communication to their students during class. They hold conferences with students to help them with their writing skills.  They might tutor after school as well.  All of these activities require effective communication to a specific audience of students.  All students differ in personality, motivation, engagement in class studies, and intellect.  How an English teacher communicates to his or her class is largely dependent on the students.  AP, IB, and Honors students are typically more engaged in English and learning in general than College Prep or regular classes.  While honors students might appreciate an entertaining lesson just as much as non-honors students, honors students are typically more able to engage even in classic lecture lessons without YouTube videos and PowerPoints than non-honors students.  English teachers must be aware of their students’ personality in order to communicate effectively the lesson given.  Teachers are inherently quite different from students.  They are older, more mature, and in a leadership position.  These differences sometimes make students pull away from the teacher.  The English teacher must be able to highlight the similarities between him or her and the students.  The similarities are that both students and English teachers want the student to learn about English.

In order to communicate effectively to their students’ demographic, English teachers also need to know popular communication techniques.  Social media, YouTube, and multi-media presentations are all extremely popular.  In order to communicate effectively in the classroom setting, the English teacher must know how to not only classically lecture and inform but also incorporate modern communication techniques.  Though most of the classroom communication is oral, more and more English teachers are using written social media and emails to interact quickly with their students.  They therefore use types of “e-communication” regularly.  Apps and websites like Edmodo give English teachers ways to quickly and easily communicate with students over a social media platform.

English teachers differ greatly of how they communicate knowledge to their students.  Some feel lecturing is best.  Others like back-and-forth communication, posing questions to their students and having them answer.  Written communication also occurs as English teachers give tests and quizzes and send emails.  Their communication techniques, however, all alter with where they are communicating or persuading.  They mostly communicate in their classroom, but they also must one-on-one communicate in their offices.  English teachers must be available to communicate with during class, after class and at home using email or social media.  Large amounts of informative communication usually occur when students email questions about large assignments to him or her. 

Therefore, although most people assume that the teacher is usually the speaker and the students are the audience, a lot of the time, students are speaking to the teacher and the teacher must be the audience.

 Despite the obvious fact that English teachers use communication regularly and even teach the art of communication, what is lesser known is the persuasion that English teachers must use.  For example at least a few times a year, they must use effective rhetoric to stave off angry parents or students upset about a bad grade on an essay or grammar test.  Persuasion through body language and enthusiasm is often common.  English teachers must make students “buy into” their lessons.  Furthermore, a few times a year, frustrated English teachers will usually give speeches to their students about how important English is and how they cannot relax their engagement and attentiveness in the class.  Oftentimes, English teachers will be in direct conflict between administrators, other departments, or even other English teachers about what is best for the school and students or how best to spend the budget.  Though all faculty wants what is best for the students, administrators are bound by government laws and have different views of the best way to effectively teach than English teachers might.  Thus, English teachers must also be persuasive as well as informative, though they usually persuade in dialectic oratory.  Clearly, both communication and persuasion are vital to the high-school English teacher.

I found my information chiefly from email correspondences with my high-school English teacher Christopher Rice.