Mind you, I hadn't even gotten a sip of my coffee (must have coffee in morning or I'd be a goblin, mind you, not nice like those ones in "Lords of the Ring" movies) when I thought I recognized someone. So after he got his coffee, (nice to know I'm not the only one in wee hours of morning, needing coffee to wake up) I waved to get his attention and asked, "Are you Gary Brooks"? Yup, it is him! After we chatted for a bit, I have to say that he's such a wonderful guy to talk with! In his part, I have to say that he is an excellent advocate when it comes to speaking up. If he isn't afraid to speak up, neither should anyone else! I agree with him that the students ought to stand up and speak up for themselves (and others) if they have issues with professors' opinions or views as well as issues in general (like gay-religious contervsary for one example.) I realize that it is very much an issue that is common in the Deaf community when one thinks about it. There are passive individuals and assertive individuals but passive people are common when you think about it(if you ADMIT it) Blame it on being raised mostly dependent on others and not having enough self-esteem and confidence in oneself. I still remember last night when there was a meeting and two students wouldn't speak up for themselves that they needed to sit closer to see (visual problems). I spoke up, "they need to sit closer" and encouraged other students to move back, so those students could sit front. I hope the students can learn if -I- can speak up, so can they! And so can anyone in the Deaf community. No one should be AFRAID to stand up and say "wait a minute. What's wrong with this picture? Let's talk about it!"
I am honest to acknowledge that I am somewhat hesistant to speak up because I hadn't yet learned how to intepret whether it is constructive criticism or something to take personally, basically. After talking with him, I am starting to have some thinking about how I approach issues and how I bring issues up for the public to discuss (or argue) about. Perhaps I should look into taking public speeching or acting, to confront my anxiety about speaking up in public (and on the blog as well) A good time to think about, especially with me being in graduate school here! Wonderful, thought-invoking talk, Gary!
2 comments:
It's always been a thrill when I meet fellow bloggers and vloggers, so I know how you felt meeting Gary. It's fun to get to know the person behind the screen. They are usually just as cool in person as they are online.
~ LaRonda
One comment was removed since NOT related to the issue. Any further comments from that person will be removed, since it wasn't even second time. Shame on you, for once, shame on me twice, lesson learned.
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