We moved past this part of the class rather quickly after our small group discussions, and I just wanted to hear some other thoughts on what it means to "hear" and when is it hard to "hear." I think it is hard to "hear" someone when they cannot support their opinions. I'm aware and accepting of other points of view, but when people cannot back up what they say...I have a hard time listening to shear ignorance. I work with a lot of racist women. One of them can talk to me about it a mature way, and she can explain that she was raised that way and tries to see past it. Eventhough she still calls black people "coloreds," I can still see her really trying to deal with her past. Some of the other ladies, however, love to make comments just to piss me off, and I just have to walk away because there is no talking to them about that subject. So what do you guys think?

I think to hear someone you have to be interested in what they are trying to say. If you don't have and interest in what they are trying to tell you then I think it is hard to hear them. I also believe that it is hard to hear someone when they are speaking about a topic that you feel they have no knowledge of or that you feel you know a lot more about.

I feel that sometimes when you are actually hearing someone you have to want to hear them like Stacey said. Sometimes when someone says something to someone else, you expect to hear them say something back about what you said. Sometimes they do sometimes they dont and I feel when they don't respond to you and they just start a new topic its as though they were never listening, they were probably thinking about what they were going to say while you were talking.

wow...what a good post Summer. i really enjoyed my groups discussion and i'm glad we are getting to talk more about it here. i think that listening is a function of the body that most of us have, but only a fraction of hearing people know how to listen. i mentioned in class about my friends and family wanting to be my problem fixers. my boyfriend and I have gone round and round with this one. i just want him to listen and support me, not have a solution to every problem I have. we are working on it but it is definitely challenging. people grow up responding a specific way to others, and it is difficult to make changes in dealing with people. hearing others is a wonderful skill that should be focused on early in life.

Empathy... that's the word that comes to mind. To truly hear someone... first I think you have to understand where they're coming from. What they say may have nothing to do with any part of your life, but may be extremely important in theirs.

This is a great post and I am glad it was brought up. We had some great discussions in our group as well. I believe that people can listen all day long but actually hearing someone is totally different. To be heard means people are actively listening and can respond and give feedback on an issue. To an extent I think it means that people show interest in what is being discussed and they care, even if they dont agree with you they can talk about it maturely. I believe that it is hard to hear when you completly disagree with someone. If I am in a conversation with someone and their views and beliefs are totally different than mine, sometimes I find it hard to hear them. I know this isnt the way it should be but sometimes I think people just shut others out if it's not something they want to hear. I also agree with Summer in that it is very hard to hear someone when they cant suport themselves. If you dont know what you are talking about and you can't back it up, you shouldn't be talking in the first place!!