Final Observation

Date observed:	11-16-07
Date entered here:	11-16-07
Context (choose one):	individual
Activity:	thinking on the semester
Observation:	While thinking back on the semester in this class, I experience a feeling of content. Coming into this semester I was all ready confident in my skills as an arguer. At the end of the semester, I feel that I improved upon these skills and learned the true meaning of them. As improvement took place with current skills, I learned of new techniques and how to properly use new and old techniques in arguing. The skill that I believe improved the most was my ability to fully and critically analyze another's position and argument. Using the skills that I all ready knew of and the ones that are new to me, I will continue to argue effectively and maturely.
Teacher’s comments:

Observation #8

Date observed:	11-8-07
Date entered here:	11-9-07
Context (choose one):	whole class & field
Activity:	discussion of infidelity
Observation:	In class it was widely observed that mostly everyone thought the opposite sex cheated more than their own. This is a controversial issue that has always been in existence. But, what I noticed, when pointed out, was that this belief of the opposite sex being the guilty one stemmed from individuals' own relationships. I previously learned in a psychology class that our beliefs are formed around how easily we can recall certain memories about a topic. For instance, when I asked Brandy, "which sex cheats more?" She immediately responded with, "men!" This was most likely due to the fact that all she could recall was the instances in which she or someone close to her was cheated on. This was the general belief in the classroom and in the conversations I had with other individuals until the idea of how easy it is for a female to cheat was brought up in the discussion. After very little denial, the belief that it is easier for a woman to cheat was unanimous! After coming to this realization, some individuals actually changed their opinions to, it is in fact, woman that cheat more. They then followed this statement with, women are just better at being able to conceal their acts of infidelity; which is why it appears that men cheat more because they get caught more! As sad as it is to say, this statement may very well be true. My new question is, why is it that men get caught more than women, or why are women better at concealing their sexual indiscretions?
Teacher’s comments:

Observation #7

Date observed:	11-1-07
Date entered here:	11-2-07
Context (choose one):	small group
Activity:	discussing mediation topic, relationships
Observation:	As my group was discussing the topic of relationships, we were also scanning through the text book in search of anything that peaked our interest or that just stood out to us. I saw the statement, "college males say physical attractiveness is the main criterion in deciding to have sexual intercourse, while women consider social and economic status when deciding to have sex with a man." After reading this I was disturbed and strongly disagreed with the statement. I immediately consulted the other groups members and engaged in discussion over the statement. I had always believed this to be true in the case of women in search of a relationship partner. But when it came down simply to just sex, I thought their criterion was the same as males for the most part. After engaging in discussion with the females in my group, I learned that their criterion was similar to males in terms of physical attraction, but they also took into account social status, not so much economic status as the text said. It made me think, do men also take into account social status? As class ended, I found this question still in my mind after I had went back to my room and I began to wonder some more. I came to the conclusion that men do take into account social status, indirectly. Women's social status is based primarily on their physical attraction. Think about it, most of those at the top of the social hierarchy are physically attractive. So a women's social status and physical attractiveness are cohesive. Therefore, men and women's criterion for sex is all most one in the same, if not the same. In a more self-analytic approach, I believe my emotions on the situation evolved from the widely used stereotype that men are shallow and women are more deep and intellectual. The statement from the book just seemed to concur with the stereotype and I disagree with both. So by me proving that the book was wrong, it was me unconsciously disproving the stereotype, defending my gender, and establishing equality in beliefs about the two sexes.
Teacher’s comments: