Increased Awareness Practice Exercises

Review the lesson for Increased Awareness Study Guide.

Increased Awareness Practice Exercises

Practice Exercise

What can you infer from the following scenario?

Christie comes into class and sits in her regular seat in the front row. The teacher walks in, writes his name on the chalkboard, picks up the attendance book, and calls out the students' names to see who is present. Then he points to Christie and says, "If anyone has any assigned homework from last night, please give it to this girl now."

Answer

From the facts, you can infer that the teacher is a substitute teacher. Why? He wrote his name, probably because the students didn't know who he was. If he were the regular teacher, he'd probably have known Christie's name and not called her "this girl." And he's unsure if students had homework from the day before, probably assigned by their regular teacher.

Practice Exercise

Some of Leo's classmates complain to him that the teacher, Ms. Alixon, unfairly graded their papers. (Leo thinks that maybe his grade was a little too low as well.) Several students remark that Ms. Alixon is known for grading low. The classmates ask Leo to represent them and report the seemingly unfair grading to the school administration. Leo agrees and the administrators set up a meeting, with Ms. Alixon in attendance. She explains that the real problem is that some students didn't follow her instructions; she told them to put their papers on her desk, but they put them in her mailbox instead, so she received them a day late. School policy dictates that late papers automatically receive one letter grade lower than those turned in on time. What could, and should, Leo and his classmates have done before going to the administrators to avoid this embarrassing situation?

Answer

It is almost always better to go first to the person closest to the problem before going over their head to complain or attempt to get results. In this case, that means asking your teacher about the grades. Your mistake was to assume that the version of the problem you heard about your classmates was accurate. You should have gotten more information (spoken with your teacher) before approaching the administration.

Practice Exercise

Rank the following situations by how much concentration (awareness) they require. (5 = most, 1 = least)

1. watching TV
2. brushing your teeth
3. giving an oral report in class or at a club meeting
4. reading a bill from the phone company
5. walking home alone late at night

Answers

You may rank these differently, depending on your personal situations, but here's one possible ranking.

5.e. Depending on where you live, walking at night may need all your attention so that you're always aware of people and sounds around you and are prepared in the event of a situation that might become dangerous, such as a mugging.

4.c. When giving an oral report, you need to concentrate on the words you're saying and the speed in which you're saying them, and may need to refer to your notes. You also need to be aware of audience reaction so if people applaud, you pause, and if they look bored, you can cut your remarks short!

3.d. When reading a bill, you need to concentrate on the charges to make sure you're not being charged for something you didn't buy/use, but you are still aware of people and sounds around you.

2.a. When watching TV, you give most of your attention to the show, and changing channels if you prefer something else, but you may talk to others or stop to answer the phone.

1.b. When brushing your teeth, you may be "on automatic." It's something you do every day and doesn't require concentration.