Sample Self-Assessment Essay: The purpose of this assignment is for you to demonstrate a practical application of communication concepts to your personal life. APA Cover Sheet = Page 1 Title Here = Page 2 I am an African-American father of two boys and a girl. The elder boy and girl have graduated from college and are married. I grieved over their departure, but I also celebrated their assumption of adult responsibilities. The younger boy is 11 years old and home-schooled by my wife of 30 years. Here’s more substance. My wife and I got married in our early twenties, and I guess that the Interactive Model of Communication has had a lot to do with holding the family together. There is no question that communication plays a central role in family dynamics. In 2011, I graduated from Prince George’s Community College with an Associate of Arts degree. Returning to college after a long absence was difficult, but the prospect of studying mass communication was quite exciting. I already had a job in the media, editing copy at The Gazette, a cluster of community-based newspapers in Prince George’s. Now that my two older children have left, I find myself doting after Asiel, the 11-year-old. I seem to remember a great deal about his early life, for example, his significant symbols – from the murmuring “aah … aah’s” of a two-month-old, to the “mama” of a six-month-old, and finally, thankfully, to “dada,” (that’s me!), in the seventh month. Next, he talked with clarity, and before we knew it, he was off to kindergarten before switching to home-school. The lad’s significant symbols are so complete that he is able to make good, persuasive arguments, such as why he is old enough (which he is not) to stay alone at home and watch TV while his mom and dad leave for the supermarket. In reality, a Consonant Relationship eventually develops. How? My wife and I get him to understand that going with us is a good choice, because in so doing he would benefit from safety and security, while still being able after supermarket to return to his favorite children’s channel. I confess the absolute joy I have participating in regular interpersonal communication with the young man. West and Turner write that “interpersonal communication is the primary means of Uncertainty Reduction.” The child/parent communication axis as described can be found in any normal family, including the middle-class, to which my family belongs. My wife is a day-care provider and I work in healthcare. We attend the same church and we both love gospel music. My elder son is a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, having completed his 1 master’s degree in divinity at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan. My daughter graduated with a major in Chemistry. My wife will graduate this year from college. It is this group that comes together for family meetings. For the most part ours have been impromptu and full of give-and-take and reciprocity. For instance, a meeting would decide on holiday gifts, stay-over visitors, our next trip to Florida, or even the grocery bill. Because of the tight-knit nature of our family, there are no qualms about self-disclosure. Family meetings cement trust in one another and keep at bay relational uncertainty arising from any issues before us. West and Turner (page 160) write that trust and face-to-face contact are “potent means for reducing relational uncertainty.” Family stability is helped by regular face-to-face discourse. At times for the husband and wife there is friction, and at other times there is social constructionism. The latter allows my wife and I to co-create a new reality. For example, the whole family met one evening to get answers to a simple question: How are we all going to be able to attend the World Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Atlanta, Georgia, bearing in mind the reality of the cost? The interpersonal interaction brought us to a consensus of shared costs as the best way to achieve this reality. A central tenet of our faith is the belief in one God. A concomitant tenet is the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, and for this reason a majority of Seventh-day Adventists are vegetarians. All of my family – the text calls us particular others – are vegetarians. Based on these religious views, here is my family’s Pentad: The act is worshiping, evangelizing, and teaching others about healthy lifestyles. The scene is a time in American history when church membership in many denominations is shrinking, and when there is an epidemic of obesity. We are agents of change to a better way of life. The Agency is health promotion and evangelism. The purpose – or goal – is to bring people closer to God, and to help them attain a good state of health and wellbeing. Our attitude is one of humbleness, not to force such changes upon anyone, but to bring about change by trying our very best to live an exemplary life. (786 words) APA-style Reference List = On Own Page 2
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