Perceptions of me as a Communicator

 

For this project this week, I chose my dad and my husband to take assessments of how I am as a communicator. I feel these two would know more than anyone of how I communicate not only with them as individuals, but other individuals and groups. They both had similar scores from the communication and verbal aggressiveness evaluations. I suppose that my listening styles can improve because both my husband and father had different scores than I did. When I took the listening test I was put in Group1. My husband and father were both in Group 2 for the evaluation. This does make sense. It says that I am business like and like to the point communication. This could not be more right for me. That's why I find it interesting that I was put in the Group 1 where they states I am very trustworthy with people. I actually find it very hard to trust many people. I feel this is because of the experiences I have been through.  But as a business owner I have to be stern.  I respect others, but if they begin to attack on a situation or any circumstance, I am very protective of what I believe in and I am not afraid to show my emotions. I am surprised that my mother and husband have similar views on how they evaluated me. They both have saw me in different situations of how I communicate. Whether my mom comes to support the team I am coaching or my husband and I have a holiday party with fellow co workers and friends. They have both saw me communicate in ways where I have been uncomfortable or fully engaged situations. Throughout this week I have saw that my insights of how I communicate with others may be different to ones that I communicate with in my every day life. Even though they do not see me communicate in all circumstances, my Dad and husband have a good idea of who I am as a communicator. I feel that this has shown me that people do respond and evaluate the way I communicate, whether its in my professional field or personal life. The way I communicate and present the way I feel about things in life is very important to how people perceive me as a teacher, coach, businesswoman, daughter, wife, sister, and friend.

 

Communication in Cultural Diversity

Everyday in my life, I encounter some type of cultural diversity. Whether it is in my diner from my morning guys to my lunch crowd of workers that have 30 minutes to get there lunch in. Or if I am at the school seeing different families interacting before going into volleyball practice coaching 10 different unique female athletes. I feel that the interactions that I have every day, I find myself communicating differently according to the person I am interacting with. My conversations will be different if I am talking to a 65 year old coffee drinking, set in his ways Republican compared to a 14 year old teenage girl about how to serve a volleyball. The ways in which I would talk to men at a coffee table compared to my athletes are different. There is more instruction with my athletes, but while talking to the men drinking coffee, I would consider what they believe in and their backgrounds I would not want to offend them by the things I say.

Especially having a diner in the country, I find that race plays a major role in the culture. We have many people that treat others of different race in our town with disrespect and I encounter this not only at my workplace, but everywhere I go. Three strategies that I could use to help me communicate more effectively is listening to what they believe and ask questions to show that I am interested in learning about their culture and beliefs. Next I would use the Platinum Rule to treat them as they want to be treated. Especially with my athletes, if I as a coach treat them as they want to be treated, they should be giving me the same respect as I would want to be treated. Lastly, I would use my communication skills to show to them that I am interested in their culture. Use good body language and eye contact and be concerned about their cultural diversity.

Communication on TV- The Office

 

 

 

 

 

The television show I chose to watch was The Office. I have watched it before, but only about a handful of times. While watching the show with no sound,  I was able to see the way they communicate with one another without knowing what they were saying. Their facial expressions on this show were expressive. There were many characters and they were all smiling, giving good eye contact, and talking back and forth a lot. There was one guy on there that seemed to use his eyebrows to show communication using his eyebrows, going up and down with them. Then there was one of the workers and a young blonde hair boy about the age of 10. They seemed when I was watching it with no sound that they were laughing with one another and getting along good. At the end the worker gave the kid a negative look. This shows that with non verbal communication that the message that they are trying to get a crossed may not be expressed the correct way.

 

Now watching the show with sound, I had the message they were trying to get a crossed completely wrong. The young boy and the office worker were actually not getting along. The boy said "You know something? Your ugly." This show is a funny show, where a lot of smart comments are said. It is tough telling without sound that they were fighting because the office worker just laughed at the boy. And so did everyone in the office. I feel if I was watching a show that I usually watch, I would have a better idea of the communication that verbally and nonverbal. The way they show body language, use facial expressions, and show eye contact may cause the audience to feel that they know what they are trying to communicate. Its amazing to watch them with sound and then without because you get two different stories and scenarios of what is getting portrayed. This show has clearly shown that communication is not always straight forward.

 

 

Competent Communicator

 

 

 

The person that I chose this week that I feel is a competent communicator is my father. He is a meat salesman for over 18 years now. He helps me at the diner that I have owned and ran now for 6 years. He has always had a way with working and talking with people. His communication is more than just how he talks to his customers. He is very respectful and clearly shows that he cares for them as a customer. He is successful in what he does because he cares for his job, the people he works with, and his loyal customers. This demonstrates that the way he behaves is effective. I would love to have half of the communication skills that my father has. His biggest communication quality that I would like to model is his loyalty of showing that what others feel and say matter. Showing that he cares about their needs is a model that should be advocated by everyone.

Professional Hopes and Goals

 

 

While taking this course, I have established support and trust through my colleagues and professor. Without my classmates, I would not further my knowledge as deep as I did. I have learned so much about them and what they have learned about diversity. There are so many perspectives on what diversity is. I feel this course has broadened my understanding of how complex every individual social identities are. One hope that I have when I think about working with children and their families who come from diverse backgrounds is taking it as a journey and be optimistic to growth and change. I feel that every child and family needs to have a voice to make things more easier in and out of the classroom. One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field to issues of diversity, equity and social justice is experience them together. I hope that myself and others can be honest with one another and need to show knowledge to help each other understand and accept each other. I would like to thank all my colleagues! You all have helped me in someway for this course! Good luck in your future studies and in the field of early childhood education! Study on!!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

This week for our blog we were asked to think about these two statistics...

• About 195 different countries exist in the world today.
• According to the U.S. census bureau, the United States’ population includes individuals and families from 150 different countries.

Then we are asked to think about this scenario...







"You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin."





The early childhood setting that I would choose is a child care center. In hopes one day that I will be running my own day care or center. The name of the families country of origin that I would choose is Asia. I do not know much at all about this country. If I had a child in my center that is emigrating from a country I would first do research online to find more about their culture and the origin of Asia. I would then look at opportunities to experience how to show a fair chance with this family to ensure they are receiving equity. I would look to more into their social identities and what their family believes in and incorporate into the classroom. I would also prepare myself into seeing the inclusion of  their culture and how they deal with diversity.  I would also need to look more into how children learn in Asia. How is the achievement gap? Are they reading and learning about mathematics at the same level we are in the States. The last way that I would find ways to be culturally responsive to this family is finding distinctive and defining characteristics about families in Asia. Do they have the same systems and issues that we encounter in our child care center? I feel that these ideas would help myself, children and their families. Being educated and prepared to address diversity in the child care center provides everyone to be at ease and comfortable. I feel that even with diversity in our center everyone will know each other's background and what they believe in. This will allow everyone to accept each other's differences. Therefore everyone will be benefited.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression? Keep in mind that one can encounter such incidents in real contexts, including online environments, as well as in fictional ones, such as movies, books, television shows, and the like.

 

 

A memory I had that I have experienced prejudice and/or oppression was with the only African American boy in my class. Even though most of us did not treat him differently, I can see now the microaggressions that this boy faced. He was the only African American until middle school. We all knew that he was different because of his color. I feel that he faced oppression because he had to deal with being different from the other children. He was inferior to all of us just by the way he looked. Every day in class, he was faced with biases from other people and this made it hard for him to feel accepted. 

 

 

 

In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

 

I feel that due to this incident and being the minority that this had diminished equity. The equity is lessened not only in the classroom, but in the community as well. If children keep picking and not showing growth into diversity of individuals, how is he going to adjust to the classroom setting. He will feel harmed due to the fact that he is a minority. Especially since the other children view him as being different.

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

Looking back to this incident, as a child I feel that my classmates and I were too young to see the oppression that he faced. I feel now that no single child should be treated differently just by the way he/she looks like or believes in.

What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

The teacher is the person that needs to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity. The teacher is the one who runs the classroom and needs to make sure that each child is getting treated the same. As long as he or she is open to discussing diversity and equity with all, young children and their families will open up to treating one another the same.