We are now more than halfway through the semester - time to start those papers! If you haven't sent or discussed your topic with me yet, please e-mail an outline as soon as you can. Again, the idea is not to do a ton of research, but to examine your topic in depth through the lens of the ideas in our course, especially in light of the three units. You can make reference to the stories we have read, and also the narratives we have heard.
Thanks to our three narrative readers this week for sharing some interesting experiences. We heard about starting a new job and how a young person learns to adapt while at the same time developing maturity; how music in a family can provide a sense of security and how a child drawns on intrinsic values to learn perseverence; and, how newcomers have to develop a way to balance two cultures, so as to be able to fit into the new culture but also hold on to their identity and values in their family, community and original culture.
This week's lecture centered on "Learning through Literature" and how this ties in with critical thinking. Our story, "Winky" by George Saunders (image of cover) parodied the self-help industry and how it collides with reality in complex lives. Enjoy the sunshine -- spring is coming!
17 comments:
I could really relate to the narrative about first jobs and working with people who are older than you. I worked at a jewellery store for two years after high school; everyone there was at least twenty years older than me and I hated it! The women were really catty and were always backstabbing each other. Whenever I tried to make a sale, they would swoop in at the last minute (literally at the cash register when I’m about to plug in my employee number) and steal my commission. This drove me absolutely crazy! I had to keep saying to myself that I’m going to university; this is not going to be my job forever. I think if that had been my permanent job I would have exploded. Now that I’m a bit older I can see that the women that worked there needed the job and commission to support themselves and their families and that they would be in that job (or in a job like that) forever, which I was working there to get some extra cash.
I also really related to having severe and easy going bosses. I feel that I work a lot harder when my boss respects me. I am willing to work harder and to go the extra mile to make my boss’s life easier. Right now at work, there’s a bunch of renovations going on so my boss is extra busy, so because my boss is so nice to me I am willing to help out moving things or taking a shorter lunch because I know that if I needed anything she would help me out as well.
In the work environment, it is in a way sad to see older adults working in a place where they do not get paid very well, whereas, most students simply work just to make some extra cash (like Salima said). At the same time, I noticed many adults that do work in this kind of environment are bitter at times as well. Prior to getting a job, I used to think that all adults are very mature and are reasonably nice regardless of where they work. But boy was I wrong! I mean there is a lot of gossip that goes on and it is almost like high school in a sense. Now that I look at it from a different perspective, there may be many reasons for this. I believe for many workers, it is the simple fact that most of students are there only temporarily whereas many of them could be there permanently. In addition many of them may not have a chance to go to school so when they see students working; I can personally see why they would act in such a way but of course it still does not make it right.
In addition to the working environment, I feel that as a supervisor or manager, you have to reward your employees or compliment their work that they have done. I mean I have a supervisor who rarely admires anyone’s work but rather she tends to always take out flaws instead. This simply discourages employees and does not make them want to try at all. When I see myself as a teacher or a manager in the future, I really do hope to encourage my employees or students and even if a mistake is made, I want them to not feel discouraged, rather I want them to feel that their work is still very important. Becoming the ideal boss/ teacher that I hope to be is going to be of course a challenge. At the same time I do feel that the gap between the ideal teacher that I strive to be and the teacher I am now will eventually mesh together through experience and time.
I would like to respond to some of the comments on the blog and from last class about how a manager greatly influences how employees work, from the point of view of a current manager. I completely agree that managers have the responsibility of creating an environment where mistakes are not criticized and that hard work is acknowledged and rewarded. I also strongly believe that how a manager interacts with their associates will directly relate how those associates work for the manager. However, the associates also carry responsibility in creating a positive work environment.
What many associates do not realize is that every shift that a manager starts, they are given a list of priorities that must get done. Sometimes, these priorities are tasks that only the manager themselves can get done, and sometimes these tasks are meant to be delegated to the workers. No matter what kind of priority is it however, the manager will be reprimanded by the managers above them if these priorities do not get done. So in my case, if there are associates who are not working hard, or finishing their priorities that I have given them, I tend to get on edge because I know that the associates will not get in trouble, I will. As well, if there is an associate who is constantly pulling me away from my tasks, and it is obvious that they are not taking initiatve in trying to solve the issues themselves, I again become frustrated; especially if I am getting pulled away by the same associate for the same reasons. What I am trying to get across is that sometimes your managers may not be consciously trying to be mean or create a negative environment; they are just under a lot of pressure from the people above them to meet certain goals (on top of the sales goals they may also be required to meet), and they are not being supported by their staff. What I am trying to say is that if you want your manager to be able to create a good working atmosphere, you have to realize that workers not finishing their priorities directly effects a manager’s relationship with the head manger, and if that relationship is not good, then they are going to be unhappy in the workplace. So please, on behalf of all managers everywhere, respect your managers and work as a team so that they can have a better chance of creating the working environment that is so essential in a positive work place.
Similar to Salima, I could also relate to the first narrative that was read last week in class. Within days after turning 16 (also the middle of the summer), my mom decided that it was time for me to stop being lazy and to get myself a summer job. After a week of no such luck, she told me to print out my resume and she would drive me to the local Safeway where her former boss was a manager. Overtly shy, tall, and skinny me walked into the store looking for a man with the description given to me by my mom. After telling him my moms name, and that she told me to come in and ask for him, I was hired on the spot and told that I would be starting work that weekend.
Although at the time I was not overly thrilled with the idea that I had just gotten a “job”, looking back on it now, working at that store was one of the best things that could have happened to me. I ended up staying there for nearly 4 years after which I decided it was time to move on. Working there however helped me to become the friendly, responsible, and mature person I am today who when put to the test, can do anything she puts her mind to. I learned how to manage my time, how to communicate with happy and unhappy customers, to always be on time, and as Vanessa mentioned, to give your managers and the people above AND below you, the respect that they deserve.
One of the discussion that came up after I read my narrative was the discussion about how managers affect the work of workers. I will also strongly agree that this statement is very true. If a manager treats his employees bad, the enthusiasm of the workers will be low. They would not care to work or show their abilities for the manager.
Personally I currently work with a manager who actually hates me. He has also taking me into the boardroom and told me that if I did anything else wrong, he would take the first chance to fire me. This did not motivate me to work harder; instead I felt like working less hours thus hoping I would see the manager less. And this is exactly what I did, I had restricted my hours to "student status" meaning I would only work a maximum of 16 hours per week. I also choose to work days that I knew I would only see him for a couple of hours. At my work, all the other managers love me and my work shows that I respect them. When they ask me to do things, I do them to the best of my ability and try to make my managers look as good as possible.
I could also really relate on the narrative about first jobs. One of the first jobs I worked was at McDonalds at Metrotown. When I first went into the job I felt embarrassed because McDonalds was "the lowest of the low" in terms of jobs according to my friends but now that I look back at the experience I got from working there, I do not feel embarrassed anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'll never work there again (in fact, I still some times have nightmares about it) but had I not worked there I would not have appreciated the jobs I have worked after leaving. McDonalds has helped me see what hard work really is and was a great stepping stone for me. It was easier to get hired for other jobs because hiring managers saw that I had worked for McDonald’s and knew the work ethic that the job requires.
Had it not been for the help of my managers and trainers I would not have survived the time I worked there. Even though I felt the job was embarrassing at first, my managers and trainers encouraged me and told me to make the best of it and motivated me to work hard for them and eventually I grew to appreciate the job. Although they were higher in authority than I was, they treated me with respect and as a friend. I think it is important for managers to maintain a balance of being strict when needed but otherwise be more lenient when authority isn’t required. Eventually, my managers and trainers left to other jobs and were replaced by new managers who were from head office. These managers treated the workers like garbage in which productivity and results were more important than the worker. Soon afterwards, me and most of the workers that I had become friends with quit the job because we couldn’t stand working for them anymore. I found a new job while others chose to transfer to other locations. I think the main rule is to follow the “golden rule” where you treat others as you want to be treated. If the manager respects the worker, the worker will respect the manager and be motivated to help the manager. When that respect is lost, then the worker is no longer motivated. I understand that managers have people they need to answer to as well, and often times it’s that higher authority figure that isn’t treating everyone with respect and starts the problem, creating a snowball effect.
Saurder’s story, “Winky,” made me think about myself and gave me the chance to realize things about my past behavior. I remembered when I went to a “How to Communicate with Others” seminar because I was frustrated communicating with other people. I could not talk to my boyfriend because our small talk always led to an argument. I could not talk to my mom the way I wanted to because I was disrespectful. I could not talk to other people because they simply did not listen. I blamed other people thinking that they didn’t know how to listen and communicate. I was determined to change them. During the seminar we listened to a life skills counsellor and felt excitement and motivation. I believed if I followed what she told me to do I could have true communication with others who I believed were the problem. According to her, I could change the levels of my relationships with in-depth communication. I blamed everyone but myself the whole time at the seminar. After the seminar, I tried to change other people’s communication skills. I told others to listen more carefully and wait for me to finish talking before they did. However, I was the one who got more frustrated and angry. I couldn’t understand why I felt that way. Shortly, I realized I was the one who did not listen or wait until others finished talking. When things did not go the way I wanted it was easy for me to solve the problem by blaming others. I’m guilty of blaming everything on other people. However, If I recognized my problem then I could always improve and change for the better. I could not expect someone to change If I not willing to change myself first. No one is perfect and we all learn from our experiences. Now I realize what I need to work on to improve myself, to become better. As a teacher, I cannot blame my problems on my students. I have to be a good role model for them, to earn their respect and trust so they can learn. My big project to undertake is to live my life influencing my students in a positive way. What I do as a teacher is not only to remember my behavior but to remember there are many students watching me and I cannot disappoint them.
I currently work as a manager at a retail store and due to the fact that we don’t have a main store manager right now, I can really feel what Vanessa has brought up in class last week. Our first assistant manager really doesn’t know how to handle stress well. She would get stressed out really easily, and everybody would feel the negative energy in the store. She doesn’t acknowledge our sales girls when they’ve accomplished something or done a good job, rather she would always pick on the small problems that would upset the girls. One day my co-worker helped a client I was helping to zip up her dress and unfortunately the zipper got stuck and we had to cut the dress. The manager right away started yelling at the other girl saying she shouldn’t have done up the zipper because it was too small. I mean things like this always happen, our dresses’ zippers get stuck and we have to cut it apart.
As a manager myself, I would always remember to let the girls know when they’ve done a good job, because I know how it feels like to be a sales associate. Or even if they did something wrong I would put it in ways that it wouldn’t hurt any feelings, yet still getting my points across. This way, not only will it help them become better at what they already do, it will also help them improve on what they’re doing wrong. It takes great motivation especially when it comes to sales. Being a sales associate isn’t easy, and probably that’s why everyone hates it. You need to communicate well, you need to know how to approach people, but if one thing lets you down, you wouldn’t have the mood or the energy to go for it. Therefore, I strongly agree that having a good work environment is very important and the energy in the store is greatly affected by how a manager treats his/her employees.
One of the narratives read last class described the experience of having separate cultures at home and at school. It really struck home to me, because at a young age I also felt like I had two personas. My school life and home life were completely different. English was my second language, and in kindergarten, I was extremely uncomfortable talking to anyone. I understood a bit of English, but I was too shy to talk out loud myself, since I had trouble articulating my thoughts and I also spoke with an accent. That was the beginning of my "shy and quiet" persona, which lasted for years. Every single teacher I had in elementary school made similar comments on my report cards: "Maria is a quiet/reserved/shy/introverted student...". It became a running joke in my family, because at home, I was often quite the opposite.
Through my experiences with English as a second language, I learned that even the most seemingly insurmountable barriers are worth the challenge of attempting to overcome them. In kindergarten, I was determined to learn how to read, and I pored over picture books in hopes of being able to decipher the squiggly black lines of text. With patience and hard work, I finally cracked the code. By the end of grade one, I remember reading books written by Beverly Cleary, books about Ramona Quimby and Beezus and Henry Huggins and Ribsy... I loved to read. And if I can one day instill in my students a love of reading, I know I will have truly accomplished something great.
I never worked in retail so I am not sure how
it feels like to have a manager who was not supportive and worst yet, negative about everything. My first job and only job so far is `at the recreation centre. I understand how it is important to have supervisors that are supportive and create an enjoyable working environment. The attitude of the supervisors affects how effective the employee completes their job. My supervisor was very nice and really enganged in our work. Whenever we needed help, she would give us advice and assure the employees that she would always be around to help. That created a positive atmosphere however although my employer was very positive in giving guidelines or correcting us when we do soemthing wrong, she was not actually very supportive. She was never found in her office and hardly answers her calls; emails were largely ignored and on the occasions that we do see her, she would be encouraging, and kind, though, still puts off any aid for us.
From this experience, I realize that it is important to have an manager or supervisor that is positive, however it is also crucial that they are strict and organized enough to get things done.
After reading “Winky”, I was thinking about how it’s easy to get caught up in my own life and reality without much thought that someone else is not experiencing life the same way. I liked that the writing was done from both characters perspective reminding me that people can view the same situation very differently. By taking the position of judge, criticizing others, seeing their faults and blaming others ‘Neil’, along with many other real people, limits his view and understanding of himself. Being able to see and change my own faults, choices and person is when real power is experienced and allows me to be open to see someone else’s reality. This of course is important when exploring my intended profession. I won’t be an effective teacher if my students don’t feel like I relate to them. Children are highly intuitive and don’t really trust lies, that being said the only true way to relate to them is by being able to see life from their view.
I was really intrigued by the writings on the blog about managers. I have experienced high strung managers/bosses, too relaxed and even thieving (Big Theft). What was interesting was the atmosphere and dynamics of the working environment was different with all of them. This had to do with not only the personality and temperament of the manager but of the workers too. This idea is seen in families as well the number of people and different characters interact and play off each other creating the environment. As a parent and the leader/boss of my family I have learned that if I am purposeful at setting a particular tone with my children, then they will react and behave in a certain way in response thus setting the environment. An example of this is that I have to get up very early on Tuesdays for class. My daughter hates getting up and can be very slow and difficult to get out of the house. If I wake up in a panic, high stung and yelling, pushing to GO GO GO, I get resistant, miserable, cranky children who ultimately spread misery through their day. If on the other hand I stay calm and pleasant, and help them get off to school happy and loved, the children don’t drag their heels, are cooperative and have more of a constructive good day. This is really important to remember if I can catch myself before I behave in a negative way then I am doing myself a huge favour, when dealing with anyone. Experience with the military has shown me this too. I have seen commanders that can motivate you into doing just about anything, as well as commanders that risk getting shot in the back on deployment. I will be setting the atmosphere in my class room and I really don’t want a class of miserable students. Misery spreads quickly but so can a smile.
I could definitely relate to some of the work stories that went around last week. I recently just left one of my jobs many locations because my boss was not someone I wished to work with any longer. Unfortunately, in the past, there had been roughly 13 other girls who left the same position because of her. She was a very nice person to your face, but usually had some demeaning comments if you didn't understand a procedure or something. And if you were alone on your shift and needed to ask her a question, often her replies through email were just nasty! It’s like she had two sides to her! Once she told me that I liked to create more work for her and that I should be more trained than I was. But she was the one who originally trained me! Whenever I worked, it was always butting heads with her. Finally, after another one of her nasty emails I replied and asked her if I could meet with her as I did not appreciate receiving these kinds of emails. She said yes. When I told her when I could come see her, however, she always seemed to be sick, away or too busy to ever meet with me. So that said, I just left her location and now work with people who really are nice, helpful and not two-faced like my former boss.
After reading all the comments, I’ve had similar work experience relating to people that are older and theft. Most of the employees are nice to each other most of the time, but there are always a few that are not so friendly. One of them was a mother of 2 and always complained how she was underpaid and always had a bad attitude toward customers. At first, I didn’t like her at all because she was always so grumpy and won’t take other people’s advice and thinks she was always right unless it was the manager correcting her. Now as I think back, I can tell why she reacted this way toward her underpaid job. For me, working at Starbucks was a good way to gain experience and earn some allowance money to buy the stuff that I want. For the mother, it was her permanent stable income that she needs to live off of and feed her two children. Comparing between her, and me I had nothing to lose but she had all the pressure on her. The purpose of working there was very different when being compared; she was feeding a family and I was there to gain experience.
I've met many different types of people when working at Starbucks. I’ve met an assistant manager who was nice to everyone but in the end we caught her stealing money from our store deposit because she was doing drugs. I’ve also have another co-worker who would be a bit harsh on you at times but she was doing it for the store and there were always good reason behind it.
Oh man, managers. I can certainly empathize with a lot of the stories here. The head manager at the place I’m working at right now (a neighbourhood pub) is a textbook horrible manager. He hides in his office during the entire lunch rush, and when you go to find him because a patron needs assistance or something, you are met with irritation and sometimes out and out anger. Things as simple as “[Manager’s name], the Keno machine has jammed…” are treated as the messenger’s fault. It makes work generally much more stressful than it needs to be and, if there was not such a large bank of great fellow employees, I certainly would have quit long ago.
When contrasted with some of the floor managers who work on the nights when the head guy doesn’t, its clear that it is not just bitter grapes on the part of employees. People are happier, the managers are out on the floor helping out, there is a general feel that everyone is working as a team and as a result everyone works harder.
I’m sure it’s probably pretty easy to get caught in a cycle of bitterness as a manager, though. Because nobody can ever call you on your silly, unconstructive anger (as you are the head manager), it perpetuates itself. You get pissed off because such and such an underling has deigned to bother you, they react by sheepishly backing off, you continue to use what to you seems to be an effective managerial tactic. In reality, you are just teaching people to treat you as an incredible asshole to be avoided at all costs, rather than a manager to be respected.
A very useful perspective for me, as I plan to teach. I guess this is the opposite side of the “don’t be too friendly” with students coin. If you don’t walk that fine line, you risk becoming an ogre or losing respect as an authority figure.
On another note, thinking a little about “Winky” after class, I realized that in a way I can really empathize with Winky’s brother. The poor guy is just so stressed out that he can’t see what is stressing him out. It’s like being so mad that all you can think about is the things that someone is doing that bother you, which makes you even more mad and blinds you to any possibility for conflict resolution.
Angie wrote:
I enjoyed discussing Winky with my group last week because I think we all shared similar experiences with people we have relationships with. One member of my group has a special needs sibling and she really opened my eyes by sharing her experiences with me. It was easier for me to try and understand and put myself in Winky’s and Neil’s shoes. Just like in the story she helped me realize how life is more complicated than it seems at first. Our group came up with the lesson that while everyone may have good intentions they may come off or be perceived differently by others. It is apparent in the story and in real life that it is important to put yourself in other’s shoes so you can communicate and relate to them more effectively. I think I can apply this lesson to my own life by opening up lines of communication with others and being more open to their perspectives. I think I would be able to have a healthier relationship with them because we would truly get to know each other better. At first I thought everything Tom Rodgers said was just a scam; however, I have to agree that Neil may have been “hurting her by not telling her the truth.” (77) Perhaps that is one of the reasons Winky is so oblivious to the world outside herself because Neil has shielded her from the truth about the roommates, the church, and himself. I think the silence and lack of communication is harmful to relationships and the development of others. I think it is important to communicate well so healthy boundaries can be established in relationships with friends, family, and others. I’m sure everyone has had a relationship where they felt it was all give on their part and all take on the other end. I have found myself in this situation for over two years with one of my best friends and I would like to have a better relationship with her. Our group discussion has helped me realize that I may need to take a different approach and put myself in her shoes first to try to understand her situation better. Then I may be able to find a better way to communicate with her to tell her how I feel instead of keeping it to myself, which isn’t very healthy. I think it would be very important to listen to what she has to say because in the story Neil and Winky weren’t talking or listening to each other. I would also like to find better ways to talk to my family especially my mother because sometimes I get frustrated with her because it feels like she doesn’t recognize that I am a grown up. I realize that she just has my best interests at heart and cares about me. I look back at the relationship she had with my Grandmother and I hope that we can have the same friendship they shared as I get older. Life is too short to blame others or to sacrifice others for your own selfish purposes like the “Incas” (78) who were massacred by the Spanish for their gold. Looking back on our discussion and on Winky I know anything is possible because relationships are complicated and they take time and effort to build, grow, and maintain. I feel the complications challenge us and shake life up. I think the things we work the hardest at are worth all the trouble and mean the most to us because they are worth fighting for. Or in this case they are worth communicating for.
The topic of homeless is a very touching one for me considering I have never seen any thing like it until I moved here about two years ago. I do not completely understand how someone could live on the streets especially this time of the year; the coldness for one would just kill me. I wish there were an answer to fix all of this but it seems like it has been a problem for a while and no matter what we do there is still going to be something wrong. I am basing all of this on my own opinion it isn’t like I had my parents around telling me what to do when I see a homeless person. To be honest I don’t know what they would do if either of them saw one either.
Before I give a homeless person money I like to talk to them and sometimes ask them what happened to them to end up like this and what they are going to spend their money on rather then just tossing a dollar at them while I walk by. They are still human beings despite the fact that they have nothing; yes some are crazy but not all. They must have some kind of brain to be able to survive on the streets of Vancouver. But I can only imagine the type of life they must have had to end up where they are.
I missed this class, but decided to write my blog today based on many of your own blog’s which talked about the work experience and mostly with manager/employee relations. I worked for a small telco for about 7 years. My manager for the first five years was an amazing guy who really encouraged me to try new things within the company, gave me time off when I was dealing with a very difficult personal situation and, when I decided to go back to school, was the first one to say congrats even though he was potentially losing one of his best employees. With Manager 1, as we’ll call him, I moved up through the ranks of customer service into a division I knew nothing about and into a job that called for a university degree, when I didn’t even have a high school diploma, because he had faith in my abilities and encouraged me at every step he could which in turn made me work hard to prove that he wasn’t wrong.
Manager number 2… was a completely different story. I watched her systematically tear the entire department Manager 1 built up slowly over years, pitting each of us against the other, and firing off one competent person after another, starting rumors, spreading gossip and putting down peoples dreams and aspirations. She was a nightmare. The last few months of my job were almost unbearable. Manager 2 hadn’t spoken to me in months and I knew she was playing her game with me. Starting rumors, taking important jobs away from me and giving them to people in her good books. I barely wanted to go to work, let alone put any effort into my job. I think the key to a good manager or managerial team is the ability to inspire your team. Unfortunately there are many managers out there without the training to do so, maybe they are more task than relationally inspired and end up in a job that while it seems common sense that you need to be able to manage people, can’t and everyone suffers in the long run. If you want people to follow you, and expect them to participate with their whole hearts you also have to treat them with respect and give your all. After 7 years I got laid off of my job during corporate downsizing. Nothing better has ever happened to me. I got the opportunity to come back to school without having to choose to give up my healthy salary to follow my dreams. And I don’t have to deal with Manager 2 anymore. It is just unfortunate that I still hold onto that anger and hurt caused by a bad manager.
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