APPENDIX II: The Communication Course: A Ten-Year Perspective by Howard H. Dean

HENRY GURR'S NOTE: Below I repeat => The Following Five Significant Howard H. Dean Statements (From His Above Published Article) with my COMMENTS added:

… The valid communication courses, I think, are those in which the fusion of the four skills has led to a unified central objective; and this definitive aim is to see and comprehend the communicative process as a dynamic whole, to create an awareness of the interacting forces that condition it at each turn, so that the writer never loses sight of his reader, nor the speaker of his listener; and neither loses sight of the intricacies of the medium and the process which are bridging the gap between their minds. Obvious as this central objective may seem. it is nevertheless extremely difficult, in the daily routine of teaching, to keep it centered in the student's viewfinder, so that he begins to get a picture of the whole process-so that he begins to communicate purposively with people instead of writing English themes and giving English talks with no other objective than a grade.
… This central aim of a communication course leads naturally to a substantial and clearly defined body of subject matter which is the legitimate content of the course. Perhaps we, as well as our students, could think more clearly about both our aims and our subject matter if we weren't saddled with such vague and general terminology. I suppose nine- tenths of all our freshman courses are designated as freshman English in our students' minds, if not in our own and in the catalogs, simply because they are usually taught in English departments. Now, logically, a freshman English course would surely be a course on the freshman level in which the subject matter would be the English language itself [But, however valuable, this is not a communications course.]
…HENRY GURR COMMENT: Professor Dean has clearly thought a great amount about this topic. What he says, is clear and well stated, and I can mostly agree with his good & ideal goals. BUT HUGE in my mind is this => No where in his article does he tell us, in a classroom environment, how to achieve his state goals '.

… They [the students] simply do not know more objective ways of dealing with the problem of quality in thinking, and I don't believe that the communication course can ignore the challenge and still be consistent with its basic philosophy.
…HENRY GURR COMMENT: Here again, Professor Dean does not tell us, in a classroom environment, how to achieve his state goals.

… Frankly, I have little sympathy with the point of view, which I used to hear frequently in communication circles, that vigorous attention to standards of usage inhibits the development of ideas. I suspect, rather, that sloppy usage and sloppy thinking both stem from a careless, and sometimes contemptuous, attitude toward language and expression.
…HENRY GURR COMMENT: Here I must disagree: For any person, the most difficult, and creatively uncertain, part of any writing is => Getting the ideas down on paper or typed into a word processor, Students should be told do this first. Then, indeed “vigorous attention to standards”, can be gradually insisted upon, as the student if ready. There is, later. plenty of time to do this.

“. . .so that a student is always held responsible for the quality of his own ideas and for objective evaluation of the ideas he receives from others. ''
…HENRY GURR COMMENT: Yes indeed quality must be achieved! BUT HUGE in my mind, and for Robert Pirsig, is this => An essential for creativity and quality writing, is a recognition that => Every person has an innate ability to “see” quality. AND the student needs help to know this and start using it.
…I remember somewhere a Robert Pirsig quote => “The ability to see what is good and no other makes the student a good writer.”
…No where in Howard Dean’s article does Professor Dean recognize this, or tell us, in a classroom environment, how to achieve quality IN the student’s own ideas & goals.
…HENRY GURR”S FURTHER EXPLANATION FROM =>
“A Striking New KIND of Theory (Explanation) of How Our Mind Works: Click Here.
Robert Pirsig’s Book “Zen and The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance” (ZMM), Because Pirsig Fully Discusses, How We Automatically Know What is Best AND What Is Good. “You just see it !!” '''
… AND IN, His Discussion Of “Quality”, Mr. Pirsig Says => “Your Mind Will Naturally And Freely Move Toward A Good Solution.”
… This APPENDIX X, presents more about how => Robert Pirsig’s “Quality” In Action, AND how the abilities & actions Mr. Pirsig calls “Quality” , describes (necessarily & inescapably), the abilities that come from the inherent Problem Solving properties of our Human Mind, at each moment of time. Wherein, We Automatically Know WHAT IS BEST.
… From all this we can see => Mr. Pirsig’s Book is close to => “A Theory of How Our Mind Works” , AND has Conclusions That Nicely Support =>

“I would like, instead, to be concerned with the question ‘What is best,’”

From: College Composition and Communication, Vol. 10, No. 2 (May, 1959), pp. 80-85. Published by: National Council of Teachers of English

Page Designed and Edited by Dennis Gary from scanned doc July 2014.

We Are Saddened To Report That Robert Dennis Gary Passed Away In Jan 9, 2020, Likely From Covid19. You May Read About His Life => A Robert Dennis Gary Memorial Tribute Page & Autobiography : ALSO PLEASE SEND EMAIL To HenryG__USCA.edu With Your Memories Of Dennis. Click Here.

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