Disagreements

It has been a very interesting past few weeks at work. I work at a place where everyone tries to be the boss and win over the director by telling on everyone else. I work as a Pre-K teacher, and I do just that. I come in go to my room; do not come out until lunch time, not even to use the bathroom. A few weeks ago one of our part time workers went and tried to get her son into another center and the news got back to the director. The director got the separation papers together and then had a bright idea to promote this individual to a supervisor to make sure we are doing the right thing. The problem with that is, she has no education in the field, and only was working 10 hours a week so didn’t have much insight on how things was to handled. So we all have been having some disagreements with her, because she have been telling us the wrong information and then the director is coming to us wanting to know why we are doing something.  I feel like she should have given that position to someone who has some background in the field.

            On Friday my co-worker and I had a busy day. We were overseeing 46 kids with no help, very much over ratio. The new supervisor was sent into room to help for about 15 minutes. She came back in the room a little later and tried to write us up because we left the radio out. My co-worker started explaining to her that we just got into the room and it was left out from yesterday and she started smiling saying it was still our responsibility to put it up and she was writing us up. My response was do what you have to do but on that write up make sure that you include that you was also in the room this morning and missed it too. She was so mad, because I was right even if I was wrong for talking back.  

            I could have handled that so much better with different strategies. I think the fact that I am not a big fan of her is playing a role in how I respond to her. I could have tried the escapist strategy, which would have eliminated the direct conflict that occurred between us. I could have just said okay and waited to see if she brings the write-up, instead of letting know how I felt. I could have tried to compromise with her and see if she would listen. I could have also simply just smiled, that way it doesn’t offend anyone or let her know my true feelings.

Similarities and Differences in Communication

I am a very straight forward communicator that does not like to get interrupted. I was very surprised by the reaction that I got from how others evaluated me. A few similarities that was discovered were the fact that I have to get my point across in the conversation. The differences were the fact that I was told that I can cut someone off in a second, if the conversation is not going the way I want it too. I was so shocked because I didn’t think that I did that. My aunt gave me an example of when we were having a discussion with a family friend about President Obama. He was discussing the presidential debate and how Obama was not coving the basis, and I disagreed. She went on to explain that I was cutting him off and rolling the eyes at his responses. It was very interesting to hear about how I was reacting. I was also told that I don’t let people finish their sentences. Now I knew I could have a strong opinion, but I never knew just how bad I could be.

 The self-concept has incredible power to shape your communication with others (O’Hair and Wiemann, 2012). With that in mind, I gained some insight about my communication. Other people gain a lot of their impression of me through my self-concept. We develop a self-concept by thinking about your strengths and weakness, observing your behavior in a wide variety of situations, witnessing your own reactions to situations, and watching others reactions to you (O’Hair and Wiemann, 2012). I also gained that I have to be willing to listen to what other people say and not think that I am the opinion that matters. The third insight I will discuss is how critical we can be with ourselves. We assess our communication whether it is for our weakness or our strengths; some examples are self-actualization or self-denigration.

 

Reference

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Communication and Culture

Cultural diversity occurs everywhere like in our neighborhood, school, workplace, shopping center, and just about anywhere. Many things make up culture like race, religion, gender, age, and etc. I communicate with every culture, but at times I do find it difficult to communicate with people from another culture. Strangers, people different from us, stir up fear, discomfort, suspicion, and hostility (Beebe, Beebe, and Redmond, 2011). It can sometimes make me feel a little funny. I always thought that because I was from another culture living in the United States that it would be easy to understand all the cultures, but I was wrong. It is easier for me to communicate and understand cultures from the dominant culture and the islands because my family is from Trinidad. Over the years I realized that if I couldn’t understand someone I would smile and pretend that I knew exactly what they was talking about, even when I didn’t.

 Over the past three weeks I learned that I could communicate with people from another culture through nonverbal communication like facial expression or sign language.  Facial expression can tell a lot about where the conversation is headed and how well I understand, so I have to be very mindful of that. I will also ask more questions, so that I have a better understanding on what the individual is saying. It would help to clarify meaning and interpretation of messages (Beebe, Beebe, and Redmond, 2011). The third strategy that I could do is “small talk” to help build a relationship. When a relationship is formed it helps everyone involved in the conversation feel better and it can lessen the tension that could arise.

 Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Television show with/without sound

 

The show that I watched was the Jamie Foxx show with my husband. He always watches this show and I decided it would be the perfect show to use for this blog assignment. With the sound off it was very interesting to only watch the expression of the actors. At first glance I thought that the main character’s which was Jamie and Fancy was in a relationship. The reason I got that conclusion was because they was hugging and touching a lot. The other characters was all looking at them and saying things to them. At one point in the show she started rolling her eyes and walking off on him so I assumed that they must of got into a argument of some sort. When I cut the music on, my husband was eager to catch up on what he missed with the sound off, because he loves that show. I was pretty much right when it came to the whole set up of the show. Fancy and Jamie had hooked up but he didn’t make it clear that he was the girlfriend. She got mad about it, that’s when I saw her doing all the hand motions and walking off on him. In the end they made up. I think it wouldn’t of mattered if I was watching a show that I know well, because nonverbal communication can tell a lot about what it going on.

competent communication

I work as a Pre-K teacher at a small Christian school that goes up to the 6^th grade.  The 5^th grade teacher is the head teacher of the center and has been for the past five years. She is the most effective communicator with parents and teachers that I know. If any teacher has a problem and approaches her with it she is mutual on all sides and keeps everything private. She keeps drama out of her life. I remember one time I was so mad because my check was short and she was able to calm me down with a few words and a smile. She makes the parents feel like they could come to her for anything. I wish I could communicate with the other teachers the way she does. For example if we are mad at something it shows, if she is mad about anything she smiles and nods her head in acceptance. I can’t do that if I don’t agree with something my nonverbal communication behavior shows very negatively.  

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse background is their need not be judged. I have many reasons and examples of how often people from a diverse background get judged before anyone gets to know them. It can affect the child in many ways, like mess with their self-esteem and their communication skills. As a child moving from the islands at a young age I can remember my first day riding a bus and a little girl said don’t talk to her because you would not understand her. Now I have never seen or talked to this girl before, but because she heard my mother speak, she assumed I had a strong accent like her. As adults we do the same thing, a lot of times, not realizing it. We should be quick to love and slow to love.  

 

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to the issue of diversity, equity, and social justice is to become active in different cultures around the world. A regular child care facility is only concerned with what happens in that particular center, and nowhere else. For example, a chat line could be incorporated when different teachers, directors, and parents can communicate via internet about different aspects of the early childhood field. It can serve to be a learning experience.

 

I would like to take this time to thank all my colleagues and professor for taking time out to comment and add to all blog. I have learned so much over the last 8 weeks that this was the best class I have attended at Walden. So much new information was gained and I was able to grow as a person from it. Thank you again for this great journey and I hope everyone reaches their goal in life, whatever direction it may be.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

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.

·         Costa Rica is the family’s origin.

 

       Five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family:

·         I will first look up the country and learn as much as I could from the internet.

·         I would also go to the library and find a book that could be passed around to the different teachers in the center so that they are aware of their culture.

·         Any traditional snacks that may be eaten a lot in Costa Rica, I will purchase and hand it out on the child’s first day of school.

·         Since the language is different, Spanish, I would learn the basic words like hello, nice to meet you, your child is in good hands, have a nice day, etc.

·         I would take a look at their education system like the statistics, overall layout, ranks, etc.

All of the preparations will benefit not only me, but also the family. I will do so much research like searching the internet, scamming through books about the customs and lifestyles of their culture, and looking into their education system I will be prepared mentally as well as physically for the student. I could only imagine how it would feel as a parent to bring your child to a center that speaks a different language and is the dominant culture. I would practice saying some statements in their native language so that it would put them at ease a little bit. My mother always said that food is the way to anyone’s heart. The snack would just let the family and the child know that we can incorporate any culture into the school.