Feedback Strategies

While reading 'Five Reasons to Stop Saying Good Job!' I noticed that the article offered some really great points. Whenever you say 'bless you' when someone sneezes, are you doing it to hear a thank you or just because you wanted to say it? I think a lot of people say it because they are unconsciously looking for positive feedback. I agree that children would be more self-confident in their answers and more willing to step out of their comfort zone if they were given more precise feedback and less of it. The past two jobs I have had required a one-on-one meeting with a manager at various time intervals. During these meetings you would discuss your attendance and performance at work. It was so much easier for the managers to give positive feedback instead of discussing the aspects that could use some improvement. I think if management would share ways of improving the employees would be open to hearing negative feedback and it would create a more comfortable connection with the managers because they know they will be honest with them.

Articles:  Why Do So Many Managers Avoid Giving Praise?
 Five Reasons to Stop Saying Good Job
Image Information: Accepting Feedback, Web Source: The Speech Room News

Topic Research: The Others in Wonderland

For my semester project I want to write my version of Alice in Wonderland by telling the stories from the other character's point of view. One story I would love to include is the tea party scene. This is my favorite scene from Alice in Wonderland and it will be fun to tell what the Mad Hatter was thinking/feeling during the party. The second story I will work on is based on the Queen of Hearts perspective. She could have a reason for being so hateful towards others. The reason for her affiliation with hearts was never brought up. I would also like to tell back stories of characters. Telling a story about the flowers, before or after Alice arrived, would be fun. To prep for my project I want to read the Looking Glass or see if I can find different cultural versions of Alice in Wonderland for inspiration for my stories.

Web Source: Alice Looking Glass unit, source
Image Information: The Queen of Heart's Rose Garden, Web Source: Max Pixel

Week 3 Story: Cursed Friends

Author's Notes: I started my story with the author's second paragraph. The story consists of Narcissus being born very desirable and introduces Echo as only being able to reply with the end of what someone says to her. Juno cursed her with this because she helped nymphs escape from her. She saw Narcissus walking through the forest and was very interested in him, but he denied her and she spent the rest of her days hiding in the forest. I held onto the characteristics of Narcissus and Echo in my story, but I exaggerated them. My introduction is similar to the original story, but my plot and ending take a different path.




One humid summer night, a beautiful boy was born. A nymph told the boy's mother in order to live a long, happy life he needed to be humble by age twenty or that is when his life will change completely. This cursed boy's name was Narcissus.

While growing up he did not pay attention to other people fawning over him. He was kind to his family, but very conceited and almost arrogant. A girl named Echo lived next to him for seventeen years before Narcissus even spoke to her. Echo was also a bit conceited and very charming with her words. She could convince anyone to pay her a favor. The same nymph that cursed Narcissus was tricked into an unfair trade by Echo. As payback, Echo could only speak when spoken to and was only allowed to use three words per response. This situation could be reversed if she could create a true friendship with her condition. 

Echo attempted to speak with all of her old companions, but without the ability to carry an in-depth conversation she lost her charm. After a long day of trying to form connections, she gave up and went home. She saw Narcissus just upon arriving at her house.

"How are you?" asked Echo. "I have had a long day, but I can handle a little stress. I can handle anything." replied Narcissus. "Funny and Brave" said Echo as she thought of a plan to break the Nymph's curse. She knew Narcissus enjoyed talking about himself and having others listen to him talk about himself. Since she was no longer able to talk much anyways, maybe she could form a friendship with Narcissus.

As the next two years passed, Echo would go over and ask Narcissus how his day was and let him talk about himself for hours. She learned so much about him, but he knew nothing of her.

"Tomorrow is my twentieth birthday, I hope you come. There will be so many gifts and people are coming from everywhere to celebrate me." stated Narcissus. "Of course." replied Echo with an an eye roll. It is a shame that neither of them were aware of the other's curse because they could have helped stop the consequences of both.

The birthday party consisted of everyone dancing, singing and eating from a buffet of food. Narcissus sat in a huge chair, one fit for a king, overlooking his guests. He was sitting right by the gifts making sure everyone brought one. A woman comes in empty-handed and begins talking to other guests. Narcissus scowls at her for not bringing a present, and when she notices she approached him with a smirk.

"I see you are the complete opposite of humble. I know you talk about yourself far more than you speak of others." said the nymph.

Echo enters the party and sees Narcissus. She gives him his gift immediately and says "open". He unwraps the present to reveal a turtle, his favorite animal. He thanked her and returned to the nymph. "I'm sorry, but I think you should go. You are offending me at my own birthday party!" exclaimed Narcissus.

"I offered you twenty years to find humbleness. You are conceited and incapable of loving anyone else." the nymph replied to Narcissus. She turns to Echo and says, "You may have thought you found a true friendship with him, but a connection comes from both people. If he can tell me your favorite animal, I will break your curse. If he can't, you will receive the same punishment as him for wasting years with listening to his stories."

Echo looks at Narcissus with hope in her eyes. No words come from his mouth and he cannot look at her. The nymph laughs while lifting their curses, only to set a new one. Narcissus and Echo were to live the rest of their lives as turtles. The change would start at midnight, so after the party they both went into the forest to find a safe place by a river. They decided to help each other to make the transition easier. Finally, they showed signs of a true friendship, but it was too late to reverse any curse. 

Bibliography: 'Echo' from Ovid's Metamorphoses by John William Waterhouse. Web Source. 
Image Information: Two Turtles on a Fallen Tree, Web Source: Max Pixel

Reading Notes: Ovid's Metamorphoses, Part B

I really enjoyed the wording of the final sentence in the introduction section. The author used excellent word play to keep the reader engaged. I like the way the characters are introduced in a short, in-depth way. My favorite paragraph in the first reading is when Echo sees Narcissus and realizes she has feelings for him. The ending to this tale was amazing. The story is broken into Echo's story and Narcissus's story. It is interesting to see both sides of what is happening. Narcissus's love for himself is really emphasized in the second part of the story. The beautiful metaphors used throughout the reading gives the story personality. Mars and Venus was my favorite story, and probably the one I will base my own story on for this week. Trapping two adulterers makes for a comical revenge.

Bibliography: Tony Kline. Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Image Information: A Colorful Butterfly after Metamorphoses. Web Source: Pxhere

Reading Notes: Ovid's Metamorphoses Part A

The beginning of the story starts strong and includes a horrifying scene of the world going under water. This leaves the reader with questions and the desire to continue on. The third person style point of view is really helpful in describing the scene of survivors after the world first went underwater. The author does not make the sea seem like the protagonist, even though that is what's causing the problems in the story.
The focus shifts from the damages caused by water to Deucalion and his wife needing help and feeling alone. I enjoyed the second to last paragraph's dialogue. The author is describing objects found in nature turning into humans. The sentence structure and writing style used in this paragraph really helped bring this story to a great ending.

Bibliography: Tony Kline. Ovid's Metamorphoses: Deucalion and Pyrrha
Image Information: Island with a Scary Structure Underneath the Water. Web Source: pxhere 

Feedback Thoughts

I really liked Nawaz's point about looking for positive feedback. I have never thought to ask what someone liked if they were giving mostly or all negative feedback. She made the statement people are quick to change something about their presentation or speech if their viewer says it was bad, but we do not really appreciate the positives. If there was something the listener/watcher enjoyed, then you should work on emphasizing that next time. Guy Winch said that the reason we feel so hurt when we are rejected is evolutionary and his explanation was very interesting! The other suggestion I really agreed with was that you should not take rejection personal or look for something that you did wrong. I danced in high school and my first year of college and I received loads of feedback through that experience. I always listened to my coaches criticism very comfortably because I knew that they just wanted the team to perform the best we were capable of. Hearing feedback from teammates was not always easy though. I would sometimes get embarrassed if a teammate 'called me out' because I felt like I made a mistake and everyone noticed. I've grown since then and now I take feedback as a way of someone trying to help me improve instead of someone just trying to tell me what I did wrong.

Web Sources: Why Rejection Hurts So Much and What to Do About It
Silence the Critical Voices in Your Head

Image Information: Photos of the Different Forms of Social Media and Thought Bubbles Representing Feedback, Web Source: Max Pixel

Topic Brainstorm

I think it would be interesting to write my project over ghost stories. I could do the three or four worst haunting experiences in America, or I could choose one haunted house and do multiple reporters from different families. I have probably watched over one-hundred scary movies, so I think I have some experience with this genre of entertainment. I would like to learn the history of Oklahoma's ghost stories. Reading a scary book or watching a scary movie keeps you on the edge of your seat, and I would enjoy trying to provide that attraction in my storybook!
Web Source: Ghost Stories 

The British/Celtic unit stories grabbed my attention. I want to see the differences in their versions of the stories I am familiar with such as: "Alice in Wonderland" or "King Arthur". If I were to retell the stories, I would do it from a different character's point of view. I saw Alice Through the Looking Glass in this unit, and I have always wanted to read this sequel. I also viewed a few titles that I have not heard of. Comparing the styles of familiar stories, British and Celtic stories is what interests me the most about this unit.
Web Source: Through the Looking Glass

My favorite Goddess has always been Aphrodite. Greek Gods and Goddesses have always piqued my interest, even in elementary school. I am familiar with a few other Goddesses, but I would love to research more for my storybook project. Retelling stories involving more than one Goddess would be fun because I could play their power into their personality however I would like. I want to research specifics about these characters: how they came to be, who is in their family and where did the stories originate?
Web Source: Goddesses

I wrote a little about Alice in Wonderland in a previous post, and mentioned that I watched the show all the time when I was a kid. I would love to take the characters I am so familiar with and tell mini stories of each one. Everyone knows how Alice ended up in Wonderland, but what about the others? While brainstorming and researching for this ideas, I would like to learn more about the author of the book. They must have had so much creativity to come up with the idea! If I do choose this option, I would keep the setting and characters the same and just change the point of view.
Web Source: Alice in Wonderland

Image Information: Aphrodite Standing in Seashell with Others Watching in Wonder. Web Source: Flickr