Baguio Mission Trip (Campus Summit)

It was raining.. Super hard.. still the hearts of the yfc campus based mission team to baguio are bursting with excitement to just share the greatness of the Lord especially through the campus program of yfc. Baguio is one of the most promising campus province in the Philippines, during school days 70% of the population of the province are students, they are from the big 5 campuses namely, University of the Philippines Baguio (UP Baguio), University of Baguio (UB), University of the Cordilleras (UC), St. Louis University (SLU) and Benguet State University (BSU). The first stop was a recollection in the CFC Center in Manila, before 12md we arrived at the Bus Station thinking we can have a ticket for the 12am or 12:30am but no, there was no ticket available til 3am, in short we started to roll at 3am.. We drove with the storm, when we arrived our 1st stop over in Pangasinan where we felt what weather we are expecting to happen in Baguio. It was in the middle of the bus trekking when we smell the gasoline leak inside the bus, we were stranded.. and waited for 1:30 hour up until there a bus who is half empty that accommodated us 11,, then there it was a very very watery baguio.. super cold as in super.. we started the summit with attendees coming from La Union, Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte and Benguet.. It was a God-filled weekend.. As we all say it a very very REAL Mission trip.. hehehe after the 1st session there was a brown-out even until we were saying goodbye to the city at the bus station.. we never experienced electricity hehehe our batteries drained.. just praying to the Lord that all our relatives in Manila and other provinces will be confident that we are all safe..

Campus Leaders Summit Poster

Attentive and Critical Listening

Communication scholars estimate that listening takes up more waking hours than any other communication activity. Yet the typical person receives very little explicit listening instruction. In addition, people tend to think of listening as a passive rather than active behavior and, as a result, fail to recognize the amount of effort and skill it takes to be a good listener. The following information is designed to introduce you to two basic types of listening ? attentive and critical ? and to provide you with a clear sense of the skills you need in order to successfully respond to communication situations that require listening.

Listening Defined: the physical reality of hearing what another person says AND a suspenseful waiting that reflects psychological involvement with that person.

1. Attentive Listening

When people listen attentively, their goal is to understand and remember what they are hearing. In addition, attentive listeners have relational goals like giving a positive impression, advancing the relationship, or demonstrating care.

Communication scholars have identified three listening skill clusters and accompanying behaviors that are used by attentive listeners. As you read the information below try to determine which, if any, of these behaviors you already use in your listening interactions. Then determine which new ones you should incorporate into your communication skill repertoire. As with learning any new skill, acquiring new communication behaviors requires practice. Be sure to take advantage of the practice time you are given in class before trying these behaviors out in other situations.

A. Attending skills

1. A posture of involvement: inclining one’s body toward the speaker, facing the speaker squarely, maintaining an open body position, positioning yourself an appropriate distance from the speaker2. Appropriate body motion (occasionally nodding your head, using facial expressions to reflect emotions back to the speaker, adjusting your body position in non-distracting ways, etc.)

3. Eye contact (sustained, direct, reflective)

4. Nondistractive environment: doing as much as it takes to eliminate distracting noises, movement, etc.

B. Following Skills

1. Door openers: noncoercive invitations to talk that tend to take one of four forms:
a. description of another person’s body language, e.g. “You’re beaming, what’s up?”
b. an invitation to talk or continue talking, e.g. “Please go on”
c. silence, giving another person time to decide whether to talk
d. attending to demonstrate interest, e.g. performing the attending skills described in section A above2. Minimal encouragers: brief indicators to the other person that you’re with them, e.g. “mmhmm,” “Oh?” “I see,” “Right,” “I understand,” “Really?” “Go on,” “Sure,” etc.

3. Infrequent questions: open ended, asked one at a time; beware of the key listening error of asking too many questions

4. Attentive silence: most listeners talk too much, learn the value of using nonverbal attentive listening behaviors with verbal silence

C. Reflecting Skills

1. Paraphrasing: re-stating what you believe to be the essence of a speaker’s comments, e.g. “So you’re suggesting that we change the proposal?”2. Reflecting feelings, e.g. “It sounds like you are angry with your group members”

3. Reflecting meanings (tying feelings to content), e.g. “So you were angry with your group members for pushing the proposal topic through without your input?”

4. Summative reflection, e.g. “If I understand correctly, you want the proposal topic to be changed and you want some kind of guarantee that proposal topics must be passed by all group members, right?”

Some of the attentive listening behaviors described above may seem far more suited to an interpersonal communication situation than to a classroom lecture situation. The behaviors listed under A (attending skills) are the ones you are most likely to use in lecture classes. However, as indicated by the section of this Webpage devoted to Asking Questions, the skills under cluster C are useful for helping you ask good questions of clarification in class. In addition, the skills under clusters B and C are useful for helping you have good one-on-one exchanges with your professors, T.A.s, and classmates outside of class, for example, during office hours, lab sections, and group meetings. One important thing to remember about listening behaviors, however: they should never take attention away from the speaker. Like anything else, listening behaviors can be overdone and that undermines their usefulness.

2. Critical Listening

When people listen critically, their goal, in addition to understanding and remembering, is to evaluate (assess, interpret) what they are hearing. Whereas attentive listening emphasizes nonverbal skills along with some verbal skills, critical listening emphasizes critical thinking skills. Like Attentive listening, Critical listening is related to Asking Questions. Listening attentively enables you to ask good questions of clarification; listening critically provides the basis for good probing questions. Listed below are four critical thinking skills and two critical listening skills. Remember that practice is the key to successfully incorporating these skills into your communication repertoire.

A. Critical Thinking Skills

1. Questioning and challenging (from a position of goodwill and mutual goals)2. Recognizing differences (e.g. between facts and opinions)

3. Forming opinions and supporting claims (determining what you think and why)

4. Putting ideas into a broader context (avoiding tunnel vision and bias)

B. Critical Listening Skills

1. Review and Preview as you listen: this involves anticipating where the speaker is going next, how the argument will be developed and what issues have been and/or should be covered.2. Mapping as you listen: determining the thesis or purpose, identifying the main points, assessing the adequacy of the main points

credits: http://www.chass.ncsu.edu/ccstm/scmh/morelisten.html

Global Leaders Forum

Download the memo

The Chaplain and the Campus Minister

The Chaplain. Canon 564 defines the role of the chaplain: “A chaplain is a priest to whom is entrusted in a stable manner the pastoral care, at least in part, of some community or particular group of the Christian faithful, to be exercised in accord with universal and particular law.” Moreover, the chaplain is given all the faculties that are needed for the proper pastoral care of his flock (Cannon 566) and is “appointed for those who cannot avail themselves of the ordinary care of the pastor because of the condition of life such as migrants, exiles, refugees, nomads, sailors, etc. (Cannon 568).” Thus, chaplaincies are set-up for special people who does not reside in the territory but need personal care.

The Campus Minister. The Catholic Church defines for those working within the university the role of ministers including the Chaplain and the Campus Minister “Since a true education must strive for the integral formation of the human person, a formation which looks toward the person’s final end, and at the same time toward the common good of societies, children and young people are to be reared that they can develop harmoniously their physical, moral and intellectual talents, that they acquire a more perfect sense of responsibility and a correct use of freedom, and that they be educated for active participation in social life (Can 795).” And thus, the Church directs the diocesan bishop “to have serious pastoral concern for students by erecting a parish for them or by assigning a priest for this purpose on a stable basis; he is also to provide for Catholic university centers at universities, even non-Catholic ones, to give assistance, to young people (Can 813).” It is important to note that ‘young people’ here means all of them regardless of religion.

credits: Fr. Jboy Gonzales (http://upchaplaincy.wordpress.com)

Household

Household is the foundation of the Campus Program, the life and mission of yfc members or even leaders depends on the nourishment they are getting from their household. The strength of yfc campus based is being fueled through the sharing of the Jesus experiences of their top leaders just as if it is a contagious disease that spreads out easily. This is where every yfc offer to the Lord himself all-out, the happiest moments or even the darkest pasts, for the community to be accountable through prayer and support.

Journaling

Best Practice Suggestions

There are some basic guidelines to follow when journal writing. Even though they may
seem obvious, clients who are in some level of distress in their lives will appreciate
having things spelled out clearly for them.

• Date each entry so you know when you wrote what – if you choose to reread your journal.
• Let go of all concerns about grammar, punctuation, spelling, or construction. However you do it is right.
• Before you begin take a few moments to take a deep breath, and then another, as you begin the process of letting go of external concerns and turning your attention inward.
• When you write (either by hand or on the computer) write naturally, as though talking to yourself as a friend.

• Keep your journal private, since concerns about others reading it will keep you from being completely honest with yourself. (You may even want to tear up or shred what you’ve written each time you write.)

• Enjoy the process, continuing to open up as you write, to the real truth within—or at least what you can tolerate seeing for now.

• Make a decision about how much time you want to spend writing, from five minutes to an hour—and then keep track. This is especially helpful to beginners and will help you get started, and then know when to stop.
• I’ve also adopted the “Flip-Out Rule” created by Pennebaker and taken here from his book, Write to Heal. “If you feel that your writing about a particular topic is too much for you to handle, then do not write about it. If you know that you aren’t ready to address a particularly painful topic, write about something else. When you are ready, then tackle it. If you feel that you will flip out by writing, don’t write.” This encourages clients to honor their own process, to pay close attention, to be responsible for some of their growth, and to create boundaries as they dig more deeply into their lives. Sharing must be optional—never required.
• Probably the most useful technique within journaling that I learned is the Five Minute Sprint, based on the work of Kathleen Adams. It is exactly what it sounds like, a 5 minute writing exercise (you can use other time frames, if necessary). There are good reasons for this, since having a ‘container’ of time makes writing more doable. Often people don’t begin to write because “they don’t have enough time”. This technique gives them boundaries on their time—and just about everyone can find five minutes.
• You can try this exercise with a client in a session, rather than leaving them on their own to try it at home. It takes just five minutes, and if they are encouraged to write about “what’s going on” they will be able to focus and gain some clarity that may be very helpful as they continue on through the session. As they leave – or just before, you may also ask them to write for five minutes to summarize the session. This puts them in control of what they brought up—and then helps them to realize what they have learned from working with you.
• Over the years, I have developed my own set of recommendations. It begins with SAFETY, the acronym for steps to follow:

S – Simply begin.
A – Ask questions.
F – Find your heart to face your truth.
E – Expand into new visions.
T – Take action.
Y – YES! Affirm yourself!

This “SAFETY” process is important for helping clients find their inner depth and
wisdom, and at the same time subtly references the important quality of safety for
them as well. Safety, as we know from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory, is
integral to moving toward actualization and wholeness.

My last suggestion is the “Series of Three” exercise that can help rapidely move
a client into more depth. To begin, pick out a theme that is relevant to the client’s
concerns, e.g. “communication with my spouse”. Have them write for five minutes
about that issue. Then, ask them to read through what they have written and
underline key words or phrases. They are then to pick one of those underlines,
the one that has the most “juice” or interest for them, as the title for the next Five
Minute Sprint. The same process is done one more time, thereby creating a
“series of three”. Your clients will discover that he/she can move more quickly
into more depth by this focused action.
Remember, even with these guidelines, there will be some clients who just refuse
to try writing and that’s okay. It doesn’t work for everyone.

1st Campus Leaders Summit

All the leaders coming together to sharpen and widen their perspective of bringing Jesus Christ in the Campuses.. The directions for the year will be set and the thrust of the Program also to answer the YFC 08′ Directions. The carrying verse is from Acts of the Apostles 1:8 (same as the WYD 08′ theme): But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Venue: Miriam College (Katipunan)

When: June 14, 2008

Registration Fee: P150.00 inclusive of lunch

What is Listening?

Which activity involves the most amount of listening? Students spend 20 percent of all school related hours just listening. If television watching and one-half of conversations are included, students spend approximately 50 percent of their waking hours just listening. For those hours spent in the classroom, the amount of listening time can be almost 100 percent. Look at your own activities, especially those related to college. Are most of your activities focused around listening, especially in the classroom?

If you ask a group of students to give a one word description of listening, some would say hearing; however, hearing is physical. Listening is following and understanding the sound—it is hearing with a purpose. Good listening is built on three basic skills: attitude, attention, and adjustment. These skills are known collectively as triple-A listening.

Listening is the absorption of the meanings of words and sentences by the brain. Listening leads to the understanding of facts and ideas. But listening takes attention, or sticking to the task at hand in spite of distractions. It requires concentration, which is the focusing of your thoughts upon one particular problem. A person who incorporates listening with concentration is actively listening. Active listening is a method of responding to another that encourages communication.

Listening is a very important skill, especially for tutors. Many tutors tend to talk too much during a tutorial session. This defeats the purpose of tutoring, which is to allow students to learn by discussion. Rather than turning the session into a mini-lecture, tutors must actively listen and encourage their students to become active learners. Giving a student your full attention is sometimes difficult because you start to run out of time, or you find yourself thinking about your next question; however, the time you spend actively listening to your student will result in a quality tutoring session.

Poor Listening Habits and Good Listening Habits

Poor Listening Habits	Poor Listeners…	Good Listeners…
Criticizing a speaker	criticize the speaker’s voice, clothes, or looks. Therefore, they decide that the speaker won`t say anything important.	realize that a lecture is not a popularity contest. Good listeners look for the ideas being presented, not for things to criticize.
Finding fault with the speaker	become so involved in disagreeing with something the speaker states that they stop listening to the remainder of the lecture	listen with the mind, not the emotions. Good listeners jot down something they disagree with to ask the speaker later, then go on listening.
Allowing yourself to be distracted	use little distractions — someone coughing, a pencil dropping, the door opening and closing — as an excuse to stop listening.	filter out distractions and concentrate on what the speaker is saying.
Faking attention	look at the speaker but don’t listen. They expect to get the material from the textbook later.	understand that speakers talk about what they think is most important. Good listeners know that a good lecture may not contain the same information as the textbook.
Forcing every lecture into one format	outline the lecture in detail. The listener is so concerned with organization that he misses the content.	adjust their style of note-taking to the speaker’s topic and method of organization.
Listening only for facts	only want the facts. They consider everything else to be only the speaker’s opinion.	want to see how the facts and examples support the speaker’s ideas and arguments. Good listeners know that facts are important, because they support ideas.
Listening to only the easy material	think it is too difficult to follow the speaker’s complicated ideas and logic.A poor listener wants entertainment, not education.	want to learn something new and try to understand the speaker’s point. A good listener is not afraid of difficult, technical, or complicated ideas.
Calling a subject boring	decide a lecture is going to be dull and “turn out” the speaker.	listen closely for information that can be important and useful, even when a lecture is dull.
Overreacting to “push button” emotional words	get upset at words which trigger certain emotions — words such as communist, income tax, Hitler or abortion. Emotion begins and listening ends.	hear these same words. When they do, they listen very carefully. A good listener tries to understand the speaker’s point of view.
Wasting thought speed	move along lazily with the speaker even though thinking is faster than speaking. A poor listener daydreams and falls behind.	use any extra time or pauses in the lecture to reflect on the speaker’s message. They think about what the speaker is saying, summarize the main points, and think about the next points.

Look at these sites for improving your listening skills:

• Critical Listening
• Listening and Lectures
• Listening and Note-taking

Remember it is important for you to encourage your students to practice good listening skills. One way to accomplish this task is by sharing with them this simple mnemonic device on how to learn to Listen. Active listening is a very demanding skill that requires practice and perseverance; however, active listening is also very rewarding.