COM 530: Finally Over

Winding up my sixth and final week of COM 530 at the University of Phoenix online, I am now puzzling over the somewhat horrid example of communications presented by the syllabus, which instructs the students that the individual assignment for the week is a "PR Communication Memo." However, further down in the text of the syllabus, it tells the student to "Write a press release [. . .] Then write an accompanying internal memo." Well, that sounds like two different assignments to me.

Don't even get me started on the confusingly random use of bullet points in the syllabus.

This may not be a faux pas that I can pin on the curriculum design team, however. UoP allows its facilitators to change all but the first week's assignment, and given that our facilitator for this course has asked a student on the forum this week, which I will quote here in all its ungrammatical glory, "Do you think that yourself possess all the personal qualities required to work in ethically-challenging environments," I suppose I shouldn't expect anything in the way of competent communications in this class.

The previous week was made highly entertaining by the students who insisted in arguing that those who speak in foreign languages in the immediate vicinity of said students are clearly talking about them. While I'm sure these students are fascinating people, I found it hard to believe that these foreigners had nothing better to talk about than these easily offended students. The level of paranoia it requires to sustain this illusion every time somebody speaks a foreign language in my immediate vicinity is far too high for me to sustain, so I have never been under the impression that I am the topic of conversation among the few foreigners I run into. I can only imagine how comical Europeans, who are far more accustomed to traveling to foreign countries, would find this attitude among Americans. I suppose the general impression among the rest of the world - that we Americans are entirely too self-absorbed - isn't so far off the mark.

Well. I should go.

Somebody out there is probably talking about me - and I intend to add the voice of authority to the conversation.