Discourse Community Research Paper

Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher and author, once stated, “The well-being of a community of people working together will be the greater, the less the individual claims for himself the proceeds of his work, the more of these proceeds he makes over to his fellow-workers, the more his own needs are satisfied, not out of his own work but out of the work done by others” (“Recording of Society”). This quote represents the true meaning of a discourse community. A discourse community is a group of social individuals that work together to reach a common goal, understand the same basic values and assumptions, and use a unique kind of communication to reach their set goal or purpose. A good example of a discourse community is the organization

The members in the FFA often meet during or after school within their school district, mostly for preparation for the competitions throughout the year. Members of the FFA are usually hard-working students who all have a passion for agriculture. The FFA offers its members endless opportunities to grow and thrive into an individual that is wise and knowledgeable, and also willing to be a helping hand to the environment around them. The motto of the FFA is, “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, and Living to Serve” (AgEd Library). The motto represents the hard work and willingness that a member endures to succeed. Usually an FFA member can be identified when they wear their official dress uniform or casual apparel that consists of the FFA colors or the emblem, for example, a t-shirt printed with the emblem across the back. The colors of the FFA are blue and corn yellow. These colors have a meaning of their own, with blue representing the blue field of our nation’s flag and yellow representing the corn that is ready for harvest in the autumn, also a symbol of success. The emblem also has great meaning representing the importance of the FFA. The emblem consists of six distinct symbols such as: an ear of corn, a rising sun, a plow, an eagle, an owl and the words “Agriculture Education” and “FFA.” To give some meaning to the symbols, the ear of corn represents the fundamental crop in the United States, which is grown everywhere. This is referring to the FFA as an organization that is united as one and works together as a team. The rising sun is symbolic of a new day that brings new opportunities. The plow represents the labor that students undergo as they make accomplishments. The eagle is the national symbol that represents the freedom our nation has to offer and the national scope of the organization (“AgEd Library”). The owl symbolizes the knowledge and