Chapter 16

People have a negative view of conflict, because they don’t know how to deal with conflict and turn it into a positive learning experience. As page 217 states, “ conflicts turn sour because the conflicting parties do not take the time and effort to find a more mutually satisfying resolution” people tend to think conflict is yelling, screaming, and settling with others opinions or compromising your own opinions about something. Yes, I think as people learn about conflict they fear it less. I can say this firsthand, because I fear conflict less from taking this class. I now know how to turn conflict into a positive outcome for me and the other party. When you understand conflict your able to see it as a challenge to overcome a boundary. Chapter 16 talks about effective conflict, being seen as opportunities for personal and relationship growth in conflict situations. A lot of people don’t feel comfortable with it because they fear the unknown, of not knowing how to handle conflict. 

Learned throughout semester

 I learned a lot about myself in this course. I think that is why this class was one of my favorites, because I was able to apply the context and what not to my life.  I learned mostly about myself in this class. I learned that I tend to have a temper when arguing, I shut people out and I am not a good listener. This class made me analyze myself when in conflict. My favorite theory we learned in this class was the S-TLC approach. It is an easy, common sense approach but sometimes we over think the obvious. Now when I am in conflict, I take a breather before I respond and am a way better listener. I also analyzed the close relationships around me and how they handle and communicate when in conflict. More specifically, my poor boyfriend because I am around him the most. But, I think through all this analyzing I have hopefully made him a better communicator when in conflict situations.

Strengths/ Weakness of class

This was definitely one of my favorite online classes. I take online classes to fit in with my busy schedule, however I really dislike them because I like the face-to-face interaction I get in the classroom. What I did like about this class was the professor being easy to talk to, and down to earth. You were able to get a sense of her personality, which is hard with online classes. I also liked the discussions, and how we had to connect to our personal lives because it allowed us to all understand one another better. Meaning, we were able to get a deeper meaning about one another, not just seeing each other as a computer, but more as an emotional human being. I like that in this class we were able to open up a lot and connect to the book using real world examples. When you connect the text with your real lives, for me at least, I understand the content a lot better and I also remember it better.  I think the only weakness in this class, was having to post at three different times during the week and it being 12 hours apart.  I understand the point of it, but it was challenging at times to post three different times and keep track of those three times. I almost rather have two post, that were just longer in length. I would absolutely recommend this class to someone. This class is very beneficial. One of the reasons I am majoring in Communications is because you learn theories, content that you can apply to your everyday life verse like my geology class that I will never apply to my life. I think by taking this class you will learn a lot about yourself as well as how you can strengthen the relationships around you.  I also liked the blog setup better then D2L. At first I was apprehensive about it, because it was new but it is more organized then D2L and is easier to keep track of with all my classes. OVERALL, LOVED THIS CLASS =)