Eric Stone

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2010-03-14T14:41:00.001-07:00

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Thought for the Day...

2009-10-06T10:58:00.000-07:00

Sometime ago - well fourteen years ago I wrote:

Being flexible when life doesn't operate in accordance with one's plan or design allows for FREEDOM to see that things are exactly as they should be NOW because the universe is as it should be...

Nothing WRONG here!

Something to think about...as always comment if you like...

-ES

The End of Summer - Time for School...

2009-09-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

If we remain wedded to the way education is currently provided we cannot imagine other ways. We need some imagination, some fantasy, some new ways of thinking - some magic in fact.
-Hedley Beare

...and that is why charter schools are a good thing. Welcome to the 2009-2010 school year!

Let It Snow! Happy Holiday Season to all...

2008-12-19T13:19:00.000-08:00

Due to the inclement weather this past week, all assignments (outstanding included) are due upon our return January 5th...

If you would like to email your chapter 9 or anything else that may have been submitted this past week - please do so...

Otherwise, I will be accepting those assignments on Monday January 5th...

As a result of the delays, grades will not be calculated until the end of the week. We will then communicate said grades to the college. Don't worry - I have made contact with the college and CCC is ready for us to submit our grades when we are ready.

Thank you to those who have been communicating with me via email...if I have not answered your questions, please feel free to drop me an email.

Have an enjoyable Winter Break and we will see you in 2009! -ews

Changes to the PSY-101 Schedule...

2008-12-08T11:04:00.000-08:00

As per our conversation in class last week - the following schedule changes are in effect...

Chapter 8: Coping Skills due today 12/8

Final Project due this Friday 12/12 - No late assignments accepted!

Chapter 9: Life Changes due next Monday 12/15

Last Day of Class - next Wednesday 12/17 - Chapter 10: Positive Living Discussion only!

Update, Update, Update for PSY-101...

2008-11-20T16:38:00.000-08:00

Here is the breakdown with regards to our schedule and the remaining chapters in the text:

November 24 (M) - December 01 (M) - December 03 (W) - Chapter 8
Begin reading for chapter 8 discussion and activities for those dates...

December 05 (F) - 08 (M) - 10 (W) - Chapter 9
Be ready to discuss chapter 9 on these three days

December 12 (F) - 15 (M) - 17 (W) - Chapter 10!
Last day of class is set for Wednesday December 17th - final assignment due that day...

Other chapter assignments, final project and due dates are as follows:

Chapter 7 Reaction Responses are due Monday November 24th
Chapter 8 Reaction and Responses are due Friday December 5th
Chapter 9 Reaction and Responses are due Friday December 12th
Chapter 10 Reaction and Responses are due Wednesday December 17th - last day to turn anything in...

Final Autobiographical Papers or Behavior Change Projects are due Friday December 12th - ABSOLUTELY NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS ACCEPTED - SORRY....

This Friday is the end of our Chapter 7 Human Sexuality conversations...with the assignment due Monday November 24th.

Ch 6 Due Monday 11/10/2009....L3s Below:

2008-11-07T14:28:00.000-08:00

1) Where did your values and beliefs around marriage in the 21st century originate?

2) How does the Dance of Intimacy relate to those in your life, or your life relationships?

3) Do you know anyone who has been married for fifty (or more) years? What do you think is necessary in order to have a relationship like that?

Next week is the beginning of Chapter 7 on Human Sexuality...

We will first look at some of the aspects of the chapter and then have a couple of class discussions and activities dealing with more specifically with education, etc.

Have a great weekend...and don't forget that Monday night is Parent Teacher Conferences from 5:00 - 8:00...ews

PS - Please respond to the following sometime prior to Monday:

A good marriage is not so much finding the right person as being the right person - Scott Rowley

Thought for Food - What do you think?

2008-10-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

Is happiness or satisfaction sustained or temporary?

Does the type of event or incidence determine the length of time that one experiences happiness?

What does this have to do with our conversations around emotions?

Remember the five core emotions and the end goal regarding emotions is to get back to which emotion?

When we look in the mirror -whom or what looks back?

NO ONE FAMOUS - just asking questions. Reminder that you have two assignments due tomorrow (Wednesday 10-29) - Chapter 5 and the Authentic Happiness activities...

Nothing is wrong when nothing is said - sit with the feelings for it is OK to be angry and be iwth the anger. A full expression of the realm of feelings expands one's ability to express each feeling that occurs for each of us....September 1995

Dealing with Emotions Bonus Time....PYS-101 Update

2008-10-27T10:50:00.001-07:00

Here are your Level III Reaction and Response Opportunities...

1) When have you felt guilty? Was it legitimate guilt or unrealistic? Whom do you owe an apology?

2) Where, and in what specific situations, do you think you most need to use your EQ? What gets you hooked? What pushes your buttons? What are your plans for beginning to practice new skills so you don't "get got"?

3) What are some of your irrational beliefs, and how to those lead to thought distortions? How do thought distortions and defense mechanisms overlap?

Please remember that your chapter 5 assignment is due this coming Wednesday - due in part that we have no class this Friday....

One of my favorites -

Life is like an onion. You peel it back one layer at a time, and sometimes you cry. -Carl Sandburg

Level III Questions for Family Influences....

2008-10-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

1) Were there problems with drugs and/or alcohol in the family? How did that affect you?

2) What style of parenting do you think your parents used? What style would you like to use and what would it take to do that?

3) What do you believe about spanking? Do you believe it is necessary? Do you think it is effective?

Heading into the next chapter - on dealing with emotions...

Humor is such a strong weapon, such a strong answer. -Agnes Varda

You know what you may choose to do...ews

Update for PSY-101 this week...

2008-10-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

Reminder that Chapter 4 - the alternate assignment is due on Wednesday -10/22.

If interested in the L3 questions - tune in tomorrow to the blog for the prompts...

Please begin reading the next chapter - we will begin the conversation on Dealing with Emotions on Wednesday...

This Friday - I will be out at a counseling related workshop - but class will take place as scheduled.

The young man who has not wept is a savage, and the old man who will not laugh is a fool. -George Santayana

Just a little something to get us on our way for the next chapter...as usual, feel free to respond...ews

PS - As in the case of "blue american" - feel free to create an identity that enables one to respond to posts while maintaining one's anonymity!

A Mid-Week Thought for the Day....PSY-101

2008-10-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

The question is laid out

For each of us to ask:

Whether to hold on

Or to drop the mask.

- Martha Boesing

In looking at our families, our real families, is there any relevance to Boesing's quote or question posed....see you Friday. -ews

Family Food for Thought - this week in PSY-101...

2008-10-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts. ~Author Unknown

Family: A social unit where the father is concerned with parking space, the children with outer space, and the mother with closet space. ~Evan Esar

A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold. ~Ogden Nash

Family quarrels are bitter things. They don't go by any rules. They're not like aches or wounds; they're more like splits in the skin that won't heal because there's not enough material. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald

Nobody has ever before asked the nuclear family to live all by itself in a box the way we do. With no relatives, no support, we've put it in an impossible situation. ~Margaret Mead

The great advantage of living in a large family is that early lesson of life's essential unfairness. ~Nancy Mitford

The family - that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite escape, nor, in our inmost hearts, ever quite wish to. ~Dodie Smith

Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family. ~Anthony Brandt

I don't have to look up my family tree, because I know that I'm the sap. ~Fred Allen

and...

Friends are God's apology for relations. ~Hugh Kingsmill

Re-read the aforementioned quotes on family - identify the one or more that describe your family...be ready to share as we delve further into families on Friday.

Post if you would like to...If you do not want to post a response, please be ready to share in class.

PSY-101 Update for next week...Chapter 4!

2008-10-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

Beginning reading about Family Influences in Chapter 4.

For Monday (10/13) - Please have read up through Birth Order. We will begin looking at families by reading about family history, structures, and demographics (race, culture, etc.). This will be followed by our family of origin and a discussion around birth order.

REMINDER: There is NO CLASS on Wednesday (10/15) due to the PSAT being given in school to all sophomores and juniors.

Our discussion will continue on Friday (10/17) with an examination of the concepts of functional families, step-families, parenting, and dysfunctional families.

In preparation to our conversation about families, please give some thought (possible response) to the following:

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.
- Richard Bach

True? Controversial? Something to think about...ews

How the Law Works...

2008-10-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

An example of the Law of Attraction at work...six months ago, number one on the birthday list was a puppy. With no intention of giving in to the number one request...Otter Pop seemingly fell into our lives on Saturday night. Law of Attraction 1 - Stone 0!

Don't forget to email your results to me from the personality type survey from yesterday.

Reminder that Chapter 3 is due tomorrow - no late reflective responses please.

Level III for those who want them...

1) What are some of the ways in which your perceptions are influenced by attribution theory? Do you have a tendency to excuse your own behavior while holding others accountable?

2) When have you been guilty of the "fatal attribution error"? Where did you get the underlying belief that may have influenced you in the situation?

3) Where (in what situations) could you begin to practice developing the character that you would like to build in your relations with others?

Character is what you are; reputation is what others think you are. Reputation is from other people; character is in you. -Thomas Jefferson

See you on Wednesday...ews

For Monday in PSY-101...

2008-10-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

After the discussions today regarding integrity, the law of attraction, and the positive opposite theory, please select at least one of the subjects and write a (minimum) half page sharing a situation that applies to you and your life.

Integrity: Assuming you accept the definition that integrity is the alignment of our words with our actions and vice-versa, what is a time or situation where your alignment broke down, or, otherwise stated, where you went out of integrity with regard to your actions not representing your words, and how would you clean up your loss or break in personal integrity?

Law of Attraction: Think of a time that you said at the outset that the day or experience was going to be a certain way and then it was (positive or negative) - where did your energy go? How could you change the outcome (if negative) - what might you have said to yourself different?

Positive Opposite Theory: Think of a negative experience, what would be a way to put a positive spin on it - the outcomes appear negative, but the invitation is to look a little deeper for the less obvious positive outcome. Describe this to me, both the original experience and the newly found positive outcome.

Monday (10/06) will be a continuation of our assertiveness dialogue and a conversation on personality types - recall from the book the dolphin, the owl, the squirrel, and the bear.

Wednesday will wrap up the chapter, and will focus on our belief systems. Chapter III assignments are due Wednesday (10/08).

There is NO CLASS next FRIDAY -- 10/10/2008.

Anyone can blame; it takes a specialist to praise. -Konstantine Stanislavski

-ews

Big News for PSY-101...

2008-10-02T08:04:00.001-07:00

Your Chapter 3 Expanding Your Comfort Zones assignment is NOT DUE - I repeat not due this Friday....they will be due later next week. This chapter has too much information that I want us to discuss first before you complete your assignment.

Question for the coming class - what is integrity? Feel free to post your response to the question of what is the definition of INTEGRITY?

See you on Friday...ews

PSY-101 Update and L3 Questions for this week...

2008-10-01T20:05:00.001-07:00

Attitude

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habit.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Last spring, one of my students told me that this poem or philosophical quotation provided for an "ah-ha" moment or an epiphany for him. What do you think of the flow from our thoughts to our destiny...something interesting to look at. Remember that it is not always the surface information that can give us the "ah-ha" - look below the surface.

Which has more power - our reality or their perception?

Expanding Comfort Zones Level III Reactions & Response:

1) What are some of the ways in which your perceptions are influenced by attribution theory? Do you have a tendency to excuse your own behavior while holding others accountable?

2) When have you been guilty of the "fatal attribution error"? Where did you get the underlying belief that may have influenced you in the situation?

3) Where (in what situations) could you begin to practice developing the character that you would like to build in your reactions with others?

Friday's focus is on Assertiveness, Personality, Character, and Belief Systems...be ready for them all.

As always, post if you feel inclined to do so...ews

What do you make of Euripides' Quote?

2008-09-29T17:14:00.000-07:00

Joint undertakings stand a better chance when they benefit both sides.
Euripides (BC 480-BC 406) Greek tragic poet

Please be ready to discuss what Euripides was talking about when he said this...and as always, feel free to post a response.

For Wednesday - please continue reading in chapter 3. We will begin class by looking at response styles.

See you in class....ews

PSY-101 Chapter II: Level III Reaction & Response

2008-09-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

1) What people and events have you experienced as uppers in your life? Which ones have been downers? How have those experiences affected you?

2) How have you put those experiences in perspective, good and bad? What do you need to do to begin to put them in proper perspective so that the downers don't limit you?

3) In what situations - think of at least three - do you most need to remember what you learned in this chapter?

There are your L3 questions for this week...

On Friday, we will be doing a reading on masks and the costumes we wear? Enjoy!

Chapter II L1 and L2 or the alternative assignment option are due on Monday - 9/29.

Next week is Chapter 3: Expanding Comfort Zones - please begin reading for next Monday - at least up through Assertiveness (pp. 59-72).

A thought for the rest of the week:

Our deeds still travel with us from afar ,
And what we have been makes us what we are. - George Eliot

You know what to do.....ews

More food for each of us...

2008-09-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

If you find your inner conversation running along negative lines, you have the power to change the subject, to think along different lines. - Martha Smock

How does this relate to our self-talk, self-esteem, and/or self-concept and self-awareness?

Reflect and be ready to respond - and post a response if you feel so inclined...ews

PSY-101 Update for the week of 9-22: Self-Awareness

2008-09-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

Daily Thought:

Every time a man (or woman) unburdens his (or her) heart to a stranger he (or she) reaffirms the love that unites humanity. - Germaine Greer

Something else to think about...

On Wednesday (9/24) we will be looking at the Johari Window and do an exercise using the window as we look at our own lives.

Time permitting, we will look at the concept of attention - both the positive and the negative - discussing that the opposite of positive attention is not negative attention - but rather that it is getting NO attention at all.

Please review the sections in chapter two on the above concepts. Thanks and have a good day!
-ews

PSY-101 Update: Something to think about and respond to....

2008-09-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

Next week in PSY-101 - Chapter 2: Self-Awareness - please read this weekend and be ready to discuss beginning on Monday (9/22).

Someone once said (anonymously) that "we are only as sick as the secrets we keep." This quote struck me as thought provoking - be ready to look at what this might mean on Monday.

Feel free to comment and have a good weekend.

Communication Listening Exercise This Friday (9/19)

2008-09-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

Remember that we are doing our anthropological listening exercise this Friday (9/19) in class. Also - remember that your first assignment is due at the beginning of class. Chapter 1 - Levels 1 and 2 are due - while Level 3 is available for extra credit.

Your choice as to whether you are in the stands, on the bench, or in the field of play. I look forward to your responses.

See you in class tomorrow!

-ews

To expect life to be tailored to our specifications is to invite frustration.
-Anonymous

This coming Wednesday in Psychology...9/17

2008-09-12T14:05:00.000-07:00

Today is all about communication and shyness (if there is time to move into the area of our individual shyness).

We will be looking primarily at the idea of Anthropological Listening and doing a kind of exercise that explores the realm of our listening and presence when we communicate with one another.

Reminder - the first questions are due this coming Friday - 9/19. For those interested in being more in the game of play - here are your Level III questions - Level III looks at where and when it would be valuable to act on our new choices - where as Level I and Level II look at what you have learned and why and how you can use it, respectively:

1) How do you really feel about being a student? What are your expectations of what an education will do for you? What change do you most need to address in order to be more successful?

2) How are you at setting goals? Do you sabotage yourself in some way so that you don't attain them? What would it mean to you to have some kind of future plan? What goal can you set for today?

3) How do you motivate yourself to take action when it is needed? What is a time when you have been excited about learning? How do you get yourself "psyched up" in a new situation?

There they are for those that want them....I look forward to reading your responses.