You will find all our course information here. Feel free to take a look around.
Who Are You and What Do You Want?
Personal mission statements are a way to begin answering those questions. Personal mission statements help us tell others about who we are, help clarify goals and help us chart a course of action (at least for now!).
Do You Know These Corporate Mission Statements?
Corporations use mission statements all the time. Mission statements are one way businesses can separate themselves as unique.
Here are some mission statements for some very familiar businesses:
To refresh the world…
To inspire moments of optimism and happiness…
To create value and make a difference
Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people’s desires and needs.
When our customers feel this sense of belonging, our stores become a haven, a break from the worries outside, a place where you can meet with friends. It’s about enjoyment at the speed of life–sometimes slow and savored, sometimes faster. Always full of humanity.
How Do I Write My Own Mission Statement?
What does it mean to write a personal mission statement? According to Ronald S. Hanson in The Five Step Plan For Creating Personal Mission Statements:
“Writing a personal mission statement offers the opportunity to establish what’s important and perhaps make a decision to stick to it before we even start a career.
Steven Covey (in First Things First) refers to developing a mission statement as “connecting with your own unique purpose and the profound satisfaction that comes from fulfilling it.”
We can ask ourselves: What is my unique purpose? What kind of person do I want to be?
When I am old, what do I want people to say about me? How will I achieve my goals?
Personal mission statements are less about the things we want to do, and more about the kind of person we want to be.
Think Different. Be Different.
Sometimes when we write personal mission statements we veer too close to cliche. Cliches are those statements that people repeat over and over, causing them to lose their real meaning.
Plus, cliches are boring and unimaginative. Here are some common cliches:
I want to be happy.
I want to make a difference.
I want to be a leader.
I love people.
I value family and friends.
I want to live life to the fullest.
How do we avoid cliches? By being very specific. By thinking hard about what is really different about ourselves. And by writing with flair.
Data in Context – Avoiding Fallacies
This “TED Talk” by David McCandless is primarily about how infographics help us understand data. But the point that he is also making will serve us well as we research and propose solutions to potentially complex problems – and that point is that data (evidence, research) is often meaningless unless placed into a larger context.
Fallacies of argument can happen when we propose solutions based on missinterpreted or insufficient evidence. Think of the evidence, support and/or reasons you will be using for your own proposals. Are they the most honest assessments you can find? Are they placed in the proper context? Will they be the most convincing arguments you can use for that particular audience?
Politicians Say The Darndest Things
Congresswoman Michelle Bachman has said some crazy things. Things like:
“But we also know that the very founders that wrote those documents worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States.” (Several of the Founding Fathers owned slaves. Slavery didn’t become a major political issue in the US under about a 100 years later.)
“And what a bizarre time we’re in, when a judge will say to little children that you can’t say the pledge of allegiance, but you must learn that homosexuality is normal and you should try it.” (Enforced homosexuality.)
But when Michelle Bachman made an incriminating statement about the cost of a presidential trip to India last year, Anderson Cooper decided to check her facts.
Say What??
According to a New York Times article, Anderson Cooper asked Michelle Bachman where exactly the Republicans would cut the budget, during a televised interview. Instead of a direct answer, Ms. Bachman responded by stating that President Obama’s state visit to India was a massive waste of taxpayers’ dollars – a visit which, she said, was going to cost taxpayers $200,000 million a day (for a total of $2 billion).
It didn’t take long for the rumor to run the gamut of conservative talk shows: The massive number popped up on Rush Limbaugh’s and Micheal Savage’s radio shows. By the time it was aired on Glenn Beck’s show, the trip had become a “vacation” which was accompanied by one tenth of the US Navy.
Just the facts, ma’am…
Anderson Cooper decided to check the facts. He found that the figure originated with an unnamed Indian official quoted in an Indian newspaper. The news source quoted no factual evidence, or supporting evidence any kind to support the claim.
The White House Press Secretary, who, for security reasons, is normally forbidden to discuss presidential trips, made an exception this time. He said the cost of this trip was very similar to state trips taken by Presidents Clinton and Bush, which Cooper discovered were around $5 million a day.
The notion that the President needed to employ one tenth of the US Navy was, the press secretary said, “comical.”
Why is this important?
Thomas L. Friedman summed the episode up this way:
“When widely followed public figures feel free to say anything, without any fact-checking, we have a problem. It becomes impossible for a democracy to think intelligently about big issues — deficit reduction, health care, taxes, energy/climate — let alone act on them.
Facts, opinions and fabrications just blend together. But the carnival barkers that so dominate our public debate today are not going away — and neither is the Internet.
All you can hope is that more people will do what Cooper did — so when the next crazy lie races around the world, people’s first instinct will be to doubt it, not repeat it.”
What do you think?
Have you ever been tempted to fudge or exaggerate a fact in order to persuade someone? Do you think the media does enough to check the facts that are aired their shows? It it the media’s responsibility?
Final Video Instructions
You are almost there!
You have researched and collaborated and interviewed and edited (and edited, and edited) and now you are ready to turn in your final History of a Controversy video project!
Because of the unique nature of this assigment, there are a few extra steps you must take. Here they are:
- Complete your video. Very carefully, check the Video Grading Rubric.doc, then add any last professional touches and flourishes. Make sure your project is one you are proud of!
- Upload your video to your own Youtube account. You may already have one. If not, creating an account is super easy.
- File for a Creative Commons license. Choose your own license. Also super easy.
- Post a link to your video in the Angel drop box.
- Also paste the embed code for your Creative Commons license into the Angel drop box. I will create a webpage with all our videos on it. With your CC embed code, I will be able to post your license icon with your video.
On Wednesday, we will enjoy a special Video Presentation Day when we will watch all our videos in class! Be prepared to give a short introduction before and answer any questions after your video. Popcorn included! Feel free to bring snacks to share!
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