Time Well Spent - Farewell

I must say it has been quite a journey completing my masters in Early Childhood Education.  When I started this program I did not have much faith in on-line education.  I can say that I have learned a lot and am a now a fan of on-line education.

I have learned a great deal from my journey.  I have learned about myself that I am disciplined and committed to my profession in the early childhood field.  I have worked hard and have been diligent in my approach to learning. I have learned so much from the articles and papers that I have read throughout the program.   I have also learned that keeping abreast of the issues and trends in this field is very important.  There is so much research being done that reading keeps you aware of what is happening in the field.  I have also learned how fragile young children are and that my commitment to teach them is a very important job.    I realize that my input in their lives is invaluable and makes a difference for them in the future.   Lastly I learned that my colleagues/classmates are an invaluable tool to my learning.  I gained a great deal of insight from reading your discussion and blog posts.

I would like to become part of an initiative that is focused on helping families living in poverty.  I can see myself working to eradicate poverty from the lives of young children.   

I would like to say good bye to each of you and that you are successful in what you do next in life.  It has been a pleasure knowing each of you.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

DEC, The Division for Early Childhood is one of seventeen divisions of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).  They are the largest international organizations dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and or the gifted.   Their mission states they promote policies and advances evidence-based practices that support families and enhance the optimal development of young children who have or are at risk for developmental delays and disabilities.  The DEC publishes journals such as the Journal of Early Intervention and Young Exceptional Children which is focused on issues related to young children.  They host a conference where professionals from around the world take part in presentations and strategies as well as discussions that will change the way professionals think about early childhood.  This website did not offer employment opportunities.  They are located at http://www.dec-sped.org/

The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) mission statement is to promote and support the optimal education, development and well-being of children worldwide and to promote the professional growth of educators and others who are committed to the needs of children in a changing society (ACEI, n.d.).  This organization has consultative status with the United Nations.  This website did not offer any employment opportunities.  They are located at http://www.acei.org/

UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.  This organization states that they work to create the conditions for dialogue among civilization, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values.  Their mission is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information(UNESCO, n.d.).  UNESCO focuses on two global priorities Africa and gender equality.  One of UNESCO’s objectives is to attain quality education for all and lifelong learning.  UNESCO is looking for qualified people in the following areas Payroll Specialist, Treasury Analyst,  Systems and Web Development Assistant.  I would not be interested in these positions.  UNESCO’s website is http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco/

Reference:

The Division of Early Childhood (DEC) (n.d.) Retrieved from www.dec-sped.org

Association for Childhood Education International (n.d.) Retrieved from www.acei.org

United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2011). Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco/

 

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community

The first organization that I found was NAEYC the National Association for the Education of Young Children.  This organization was founded in 1926 and their work is in behalf of young children ages birth to eight years old.  There are 80,000 members.  NAEYC sets standards of excellence for programs and teachers in early childhood education.  This site offered one position that I might be interested in Accreditation coordinator.  This position is in Washington, DC.  The responsibilities include working with program administrators and decision makers through the process of accreditation.  BA in Early Childhood Education/Child Development, 3-5 years experience in the field of early childhood education and a sound understanding of its practices is required.  Experience with high quality programming and NAEYC accreditation is a plus.  Excellent oral and written communication, analytical, MS Office and database skills are required. 

The next organization I found was the Council for Professional Recognition.  The mission of this organization is to promote improved performance and recognition of professionals in the early childhood education of children aged birth to 5 years old.  The council administers the Child Development Associate (CDA) national credentialing program.  This organization did not have any job listings.

The last organization that I found is the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE).  Their purpose states to promote the professional growth of members, to discuss educational issues specific to membership and to advocate for improvement in early childhood teacher education.  NAECTE’s job link has a posting for one job and that was a position for a teacher in Baltimore Maryland.  I am not interested.

 

Reference:

NAECTE http://www.naecte.org

NAEYC  http://www.naeyc.org

Council for Professional Recognition http://www.cdacouncil.org

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

There is an organization called Bright from the Start which is a state agency.  They are responsible for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia’s children and their families.  They oversee a wide range of programs focused primarily on children ages birth to school age and their families.  They administer the nationally recognized Georgia Pre-K program.  They license and monitor all center-based and home based child care facilities. They oversee the federal child and adult care food program and the summer food service program.  They provide technical assistance, training and support to families and child care providers who care for children with special needs.  When I checked for employment opportunities they had no positions open.  This is an organization that I would like to be employed with because they monitor child care facilities and provide policies and procedures to child care organizations.   There website is http://decal.ga.gov/Default.aspx

Smart Start, the Early Childhood Division of the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, was created in May 1999 to address the pressing needs of Georgia's youngest children and their families. With innovative state and local programs and outreach initiatives, Smart Start has developed and maintains strong commitments and partnerships with state agencies, child care providers, parents, training and technical assistance organizations, and government and business leaders to improve the quality of early care and education for all children ages birth through five. Through its programs and initiatives, Smart Start works to increase school readiness, with the aim of having every child ready to succeed in school by the time they enter kindergarten.  There website is http://www.smartstartga.org/default.aspx.  This site did not have an employment section.

The Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) is the part of DHS that investigates child abuse; finds foster homes for abused and neglected children; helps low income, out-of-work parents get back on their feet; assists with childcare costs for low income parents who are working or in job training; and provides numerous support services and innovative programs to help troubled families.   There website is http://dfcs.dhs.georgia.gov/.  This website posted some job positions many of them were not directly associated with early childhood education, I did find one position that services young children and it is Immunization Field Service Manager.  This position is responsible for the day-to-day supervision of 18 immunization program consultants located throughout the state of Georgia.  This position serves as a consultant on immunization and vaccines for children (VFC) issues to the health districts and county health offices, VFC Providers and the general public.  Qualifications for this position require experience in managing staff in public health or human services, experience in the area interagency collaboration and partnership building and experience in planning and goal management based on data and statistical information. 

The Georgia Head Start Association, Inc. (GHSA) is a statewide non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance the capability of local Head Start programs to deliver quality services to children and their families. GHSA represents the 30 Head Start and Early Head Start agencies in the state of Georgia that provide these services to over 24,000 low-income preschool children birth through five-years-old and their families.   The website is http://www.georgiaheadstart.org/about/organization.php.  This site posted a position for an Executive Officer of Head Start.  This position is a high level position with the candidate having experience in general management as well as public relations, professional development, advocacy and fund raising. 

Reflecting on Learning

When I decided to advance my education and pursue a Master’s in Early Childhood Education the only thing I had in mind was to become a teacher that is memorable.  One of those teachers children come back to see after many years of leaving you.  I want to make a difference in the lives and hearts of the children and families that I serve.  I want to be a valuable resource to them.  I want to make learning something that is second nature to my students and help develop the skills they will need for future successes.  I believe that anti-bias education is such an incredible tool for children’s social emotional development that I would like to become proficient in establishing it in my classroom.

I would like to thank all of my colleagues in this course for their opinions, encouragement and questions.  I have learned a great deal from each of you and have enjoyed this course partly because of each of you.  I wish you well in all of your future endeavors.

Impact on Early Emotional Development

I choose West and Central Africa.  I choose Africa because I would like to visit this country one day and was interested to find out more about this area of the world.  The children in West and Central Africa are faced with a lot of challenges such as disease.  Many children die of malaria diarrheoal diseases and vaccine preventable diseases such as the measles.  Malnutrition is widespread in the region.  In the Sahel countries half of the child mortality is related to under-nutrition in children.  1.1 million children under 5 will suffer acute malnutrition and 3 million will suffer moderate acute malnutrition.  Poverty and traditional beliefs keep 40% of children out of school and girls in particular are penalized the most.  If children do attend school they are faced with sexual and other forms of violence in school.  Many of the children in this region are exploited in other ways as well child trafficking, child labor, children in armed conflicts, children victims of harmful traditional practices.  There are many children who are orphaned by AIDS.  In West and Central Africa today there are close to 5 million children who have been left without the caring and protection of one or both of their parents. 

The children in West and Central Africa are faced with many challenges that threaten their well-being.  The problem of malnutrition is causing deaths of many children in this region.  As for the children that survive malnutrition their physical development is delayed and jeopardized.  Malnutrition affects these young children’s brain development which can cause developmental delays.  Many of the children who have lost parents to the AIDS virus will suffer emotional problems due to a lack of emotional support that a parent or parents offer young children. 

It is very hard to read about the afflictions and challenges young children around the world are experiencing.  I am glad that I am teaching in America since we are not faced with such widespread hunger and exploitation.  I am glad that I live in America, but feel an obligation toward the young children in other countries that are not experiencing a healthy childhood.  While reading about West and Central Africa I kept thinking what can I do to make a difference in some of these young children’s lives.  Can I volunteer to go to Africa to teach or maybe I can participate in mission work.  I feel that all Early Childhood Professionals should take an active part in trying to make the lives of these children better.

Reference: UNICEF (2011). http://www.unicef.org

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

My reaction to the topic Sexualization of early childhood was shock.  I was shocked at the incidents that occurred with young children.  I am aware of the sexualized culture or society we live in.  The media uses sex to sell their products with no care of who views their commercials and magazines.  Children growing up today are bombarded from a very early age with graphic messages about sex and sexiness in the media and popular culture (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009).  I have witnessed some incidents that involved children, but I blamed the parents for their children’s behavior.  I have learned that it is not necessarily the parents fault, but the commercials and media are to blame. 

During dramatic play a little 2 1/2 year old girl named Taylor put on a princess dress and said I sexy.  She did not say she was pretty or beautiful, but said she was sexy as she put her hand on her hips and walked around the classroom.  There was another incident that involved two little girls both 2 years old; they both stuck their tongues out and began to tongue kiss while moving their heads around as two adults might do.  At the center I used to teach there was a little girl named Jaylin at nap time she would hump the mat before falling asleep.

The messages that children are witnessing in the media in my opinion are harmful to their perspectives of relationships.  After watching much of what the media provides today someone might think that a relationship is only sexual and might cause children to feel that they must be sexually attractive to be in a relationship.  They do not see caring and warmth and respect in relationships on TV, in movies and in commercials.  This could be devastating to their development and self- image.  As an early childhood professional what I would do to respond to young children’s negative behavior would be to communicate with them.  I would find out where they learned the inappropriate behavior and discuss it with them.  I would try to explain what they saw and share with them alternative behaviors.

What I learned from this topic is how damaging the media and popular culture can be to young children’s self-image.  I also learned that much of what children absorb about sexuality does come from the media whether it be commercials or magazines and not their parents.  I mistakenly thought that the inappropriate behavior some children exhibit was because their parents were inappropriate in front of them, but that does not seem to be the case.

Reference:

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books.

Evaluating impacts on professional practices

Being a recipient of stereotyping and biases can have a devastating toll on an individual.  When I was in college I experienced racism.  I attended a college that was predominately white.  One day I went into the bathroom that I shared with five other women they were all white.  In the bathroom was a large tube of toothpaste sitting on the counter with an even larger toothbrush on the toothpaste was a person in black face and it said combats halitosis.  I was socked I had this sick feeling in my stomach.  I could not believe anyone could be so mean.  The five women I shared the bathroom with always smiled and spoke to me I could not believe one of them had such racist feelings toward me.  That experience coupled with some other similar events caused me to leave that college.

Consequences that children and families with whom I work with might experience due to my experiencing isms in my own life might be a lack of engagement by me.  If I am interfacing with individuals that are white I might become standoffish due to the negative treatment I am experiencing in my own life.  I might view certain groups of people as perpetrators of harm to me and people like me.  I might become evasive toward men because I am experiencing sexism in my life. 

Thankfully I am not experiencing any isms in my life at this time and am able to service the families and children with an open mind and open heart.  I truly want to become an anti-bias teacher because I can see the positive affects this type of teaching will bring to individuals, communities and society as a whole.

Observing Communication

The observation I made was of a teacher and a two-year old boy.  The teacher was trying to get the two year old to help the other children clean up so that everyone can go down stairs to the gym and ride bicycles.  The young boy wanted to continue to play so the teacher removed the toy from his hand and physically got down to his level and looked him in the eye and said “it is time to clean up”.  She began to sing the clean-up song.  The two year old also began to sing the song “Clean-up Clean-up everybody everywhere” and bent down and began to pick up the toys and put them on the shelf.  The teacher clapped her hand and said look at Jacob he is cleaning up and Jacob smiled.  When he was finished he went and sat near the door waiting to go down to the gym with his class.

The teacher was very appropriate with Jacob she got down to Jacob’s level and used simple words and sentences as she redirected him to clean up.  Mooney (2005), for example suggests getting down to children’s level, using simple words and short sentences and remembering the importance of body language and tone of voice (Rainer Dangel & Durden, 2010).  The teacher was firm with Jacob, but what I liked about the interaction was she offered Jacob a reminder of what happens next when she began singing the clean-up song.  This was very effective because Jacob joined in singing and finally began to clean-up.  Sharp (2005) recommends activities such as songs, poetry and role play to help children access the language of school (Rainer Dangel & Durden, 2010).

Reference:

Rainer Dangel, J., & Durden, T. R. (2010). The nature of teacher talk during small group activities. YC: Young Children, 65(1), 74-81.

Creating Affirming Environment

The childcare setting that I envision will have an area where families and children are welcomed.  There will be a table and chairs so parents can sit and talk with me and other staff.  In this area I will depict family pictures of all the families in my class.  The purpose of the pictures is so children see themselves and their families are welcome and worth depicting in the center.  The look and sounds of the room reflect the family cultures and daily lives of those children (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  I will have an area where the children enjoy circle time and on the walls of this area I will display pictures of other ethnic and cultural groups that were not displayed in the family pictures.  Then once you feel confident that all currently enrolled children and families are visible in all parts of your learning environment, the next step is to look at which other people; groups and families from the larger society are missing and then bring in more diversity (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  In the music area I will provide the children with instruments from different countries such as Africa, South America, US, etc.   I will also have a diverse selection of music that reflects the children’s culture in my program and society.  The dramatic play area will include a diversity of foods from different cultures as well as dress-up clothing from different cultures.  Also in the dramatic play area I will provide children dolls that are diverse which will include persona dolls so children can play out different scenarios that they have experienced with these diverse dolls.  Many anti-bias educators use storytelling with persona dolls to introduce stories related to the children’s lives, as well as to broaden their awareness of various aspects of diversity (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  The art area will include skin tone crayons, markers and paint so children can create pictures that reflect people realistically.  The reading area or library will include an assortment of books reflecting different cultures, and ways of life so children can become critical thinkers of their community and even the world.

My goal in terms of the environment of my early childhood classroom is to provide each family and child with visibility so that they know that they are respected and valued.  I also want to expose the children to the world as it is diverse and complex and help them make sense of what they see and experience. 

Reference:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

What I have Learned

The one hope I have while working with children and families who come from a diverse background is to be able to relate to them and to bridge any gaps in communication. I would like each and every person to feel comfortable in my classroom and with me.

One goal I would set for myself in relation to the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity and social justice is to teach children to love themselves and to respect other people that might be different than them.  I would like to teach children to detect stereotypes and biases and how to deal with such issues when confronted with them.

I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their participation is this course because I have been able to experience different viewpoints and have learned from each of you.  I wish you well in your future endeavors and hope that many of you are taking the same class that starts June 25^th.

Week 7 Blog

Poem

Children’s Childhood is a time of innocence while they play and discover.

There are so many things that interfere with this wonderful time of growth that hinder and destroy children’s fragile beings.

Stereotypes and biases are absorbed from adults that don’t know any better that destroys the healthy development of our young citizens.

Children find themselves in circumstances that are devastating to their very survival.

What can we do to make a change so that children grow to be fair and just toward one another?

What can we do to change the traumatic situations that children face in the world today?

What can we do to change the circumstances of learning for children?

We as adults can search inside and remember our childhoods and find what injustices we experienced and witnessed and try and cleanse ourselves free of them.

We as a society can make the change to remove the difficulties that are faced by our children today.  

Then we will be in a better place to interact and teach the youth of today.

 We can teach the young to stand up against racism, sexism and all the” isms” that exist today making our world a better place.

If everyone would take a stand for social justice today we can restore to the children their innocence for tomorrow.

I will start with ME today.

Start Seeing Diversity Blog: We Don't Say Those Words in Class

One day I was in Walmart in the check-out line there was a mother and her two children in front of me.  The two children were laughing and pointing at the woman that was in front of their mother.  She was obese and was wearing a pair of shorts.  Their mother noticed them laughing and pointing and said to them to be quiet and stop it and shot them a very stern look.  The children stopped. 

I am quite sure the children realized that they should not laugh at people in public due to the way their mother responded to them.  I don’t know if she later sat down and had a conversation with them about the woman.  If I were their mother I would have talked to them about other people’s feelings and that giggling and pointing at someone could cause them to feel sad or it might make them cry.

If I were these children’s teacher I would have discussed with them about people having different body types and that each of us is different from each other. I would also have the children look in books and magazines and have them find people that are skinny, tall, short, big, etc.  I would have them identify their own body type and the body types of their family so that they are familiar with what body types mean.   I would have discussed treating everyone with respect because everyone deserves to be treated this way.  I would have discussed how the other person might have felt when they realized they were being laughed at.

Week 3 - Gender, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation

My response to those who believe that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families?  This subject is very new to me I have never encountered a same-sex family and have some reservations about how I would interact with such a family.  I would say since such families do exist children should be made aware of them as a family type.  I do believe that all families should be respected and valued in an early childhood setting.  If children feel their family is excluded this interferes with their success in a program.  I feel that same-sex families should be displayed through books and pictures so that young children accept them as a reality of society.

 Any other related situation, thoughts, concerns, questions, and/or areas of discomfort you would like to share related to children, gender and sexual orientation?

As an Early Head Start teacher I try to minimize any type of inequity in my classroom.  I encourage children to experience different roles in their dramatic play such as boy caring for a doll or a girl building with blocks.  I realize how important it is that children feel equal and not stigmatized by stereotypes.  But I do feel some discomfort with presenting same-sex relationships to young children.  As I stated above I do feel as though children should be aware of same-sex families, but I wonder if I am condoning this type of life style for children to adopt in their own lives.  I am Christian and homosexuality has always been a life style that was not condoned for me.  I accept homosexuals in the workplace, but am uncomfortable with the lifestyle.  I guess this is an area of bias for me and need to consider working on to better be able to service children in an equitable way.

Some of the ways you noticed that homophobia and heterosexism permeate the world of young children including books, movies, toys, stores, culture of early childhood centers and schools?

In the early childhood environment we exhibit pictures of families that are traditional, mother, father and children.  My classroom is guilty of this.  Pictures of men and women in traditional roles such as men as policemen and women as nurses are displayed in classrooms.  Books and movies almost always depict men as heroes or super-heroes and woman as victims.  The only show I can think of that depicted a woman as a super-hero was a show from the 80’s, Wonder woman.  Children are still given a doll for girls and a car or truck for a boy by family members.  In department stores toys are displayed in separate sections for boy’s toys and a separate section for girl’s toys.

Reference:

 "Start Seeing Diversity: Gender" (Approximate length: 6 minutes)

"Start Seeing Diversity: Sexual Orientation" (Approximate length: 6 minutes)

A Farewell and Thank You

I just wanted to thank everyone in our communication course.  I have learned a great deal
from each one of you and hope that you have learned from me as well. Since
beginning this communication course I have applied some of the learned
principals and believe that my communication skill are improving.

I hope each one of you does well in your future endeavors and look forward
to meeting you in a future course.

Adjourning Stage

When I think of the phase adjourning, I think of closure.  I have worked on several teams in my career in business, some ended with the adjournment phase some did not.  The ones that ended with the adjournment phase tended to be more formal type of team situation.  These formal type team situations encompassed more established norms and rules and tended to last for a longer period of time than the other team situations.  We really got to know each other as we bonded through our projects.  I can think of a project that I worked on with a group of people while at Hewlett Packard.  This project lasted only a week, but it was a formal situation where we used project management theories to complete the project.  Each of the members was from different offices in the Northeast.  We meet in Maryland.  When the project was over there was a big dinner at the hotel where the leader handed out awards and everyone got to speak about their experience working on the team.  It was nice, but hard to part because we really got to know each other and worked well together on the project.  I meet a woman from the Virginia office that I befriended we kept in touch even after the project was over.  We would discuss work and what new things she was working on while I share with her what I was up to.  Over all it was a good experience, because our project was a success, I learned a lot and got to meet a great group of people.  In my opinion the better the project turns out the harder it is to say good by to the group.

I think the adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because this is when you have the opportunity to discuss the project, what went right and what needed work.  This is where you build on your skills.  It is a time to acknowledge team members for their contributions and talents.  I would hope that if my colleagues were to attend graduation we might get together for dinner to discuss our experiences working on our master's degree together.  If we don't meet at graduation, I guess we would send each other emails wishing each other well as we move on from Walden University.

Conflict Resolution

I can say that at this point in my life I don’t experience much conflict.  My husband and I might have a disagreement every so often, but nothing to really speak about.  In my work place I have not experienced much conflict.  In my capacity as teacher there is the occasional disagreement about how to handle a child or carry out an activity with the children, but I can’t think of any conflicts in the work place.

After this week’s resources I have learned a great deal about how to handle a conflict if one were to surface.  I think one of the strategies that I would use is the Win win approach, this is when you change from adversarial attack and defense to co-operation.  It is a powerful shift of attitude that alters the whole course of communication (Conflict Resolution Network, n.d.).  This approach helps everyone concerned to concentrate on the actual problem and facts in question without attacking or demeaning one another.  I would also enact an approach called Co-operative power, responding to resistance from others.  When faced with a statement that has potential to create conflict, ask open questions to refrain resistance.  Explore the difficulties and then re-direct discussion to focus on positive possibilities (Conflict Resolution Network, n.d.).  The most powerful strategy I learned about this week is the Cooperative Strategy this strategy benefits the relationship, serve mutual rather than individual goals, and strive to produce solutions that benefit both parties (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2009).

Reference:

O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Conflict Resolution Network. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.crnhq.org/pages.php?pID=12#skill_3

Who Am I as a Communicator

Upon completing the communication survey I found that the results seemed to line up with what I perceived as my communication style.  My husband one of the people I asked to survey my communication seemed to line up with what I perceived of myself.  In the area of communication anxiety inventor I scored a 48 and my husband scored me at 50 both scores fell under moderate anxiety, which indicates that I feel somewhat concerned about a number of communication contexts, but probably not all.  This mid-point level of communication anxiety is what we call situational.  This outcome was not a surprise to me because I know that I don’t like public speaking and try to avoid having to do any.  The second person that evaluated me was a colleague who scored me at 39, which is mild anxiety, which states that I feel a bit uneasy in some communication situations and somewhat more confident in other contexts.  Communication does not seem to be something that I worry a great deal about.  Her score the scores that my husband scored me at and I scored myself are not much different, they both captured the fact that I don’t like to public speak.

In the area of Verbal Aggressiveness again my husband and I scored in the same category.  He scored me at a 59 and I scored myself at a 58, which is moderate aggressiveness, which states that I maintain a good balance between respect and consideration for others’ viewpoints, and the ability to argue fairly by attacking the facts of a position rather than a person holding that position.  I was surprised that my husband scored me in this category, because I can sometimes be aggressive in our disagreements and do sometimes attack him when I disagree with him.  My colleague scored me at 35, which is no aggressiveness, which states you never engage in verbal aggressiveness or personal attacks, even when desiring to influence other to your point of view.  You are respectful to others, but you will back down rather than engage in persuasive conversation.  I was surprised and not surprised at this score.  I was surprised because I do tend to push my point of view when someone disagrees with me.  I don’t back down.  I was not surprised at this score because I make it a point to be respectful of others and I never would attack someone personally in the context of a work situation.

In the area of Listening styles again my husband and I scored the same my score was Group 1, People-oriented, which states you are empathetic and concerned with the emotions of others.  This listening style helps you to build relationships, but it can interfere with proper judgment because you tend to be very trusting of others.  While my colleague scored me in Group 2, Action-oriented, which states that I am business-like and I prefer clear, to the point communication that outlines a plan of action.  Your efficiency is respected but may intimidate more sensitive listeners.  Here is where I need to make a change because I feel that I need to be more empathetic in work place, because I need to be able to connect with families.  The score of Action-oriented listening comes from my previous career in Corporate America.  This type of listening style is not useful in my current line of work.

The insights I gained through this week’s assignments is that I need to become more empathetic in the work place because I need to consider the families that I am servicing.  I need to be able to build strong relationships with them and having an empathetic listening style would be helpful in achieving this goal.  The other insight that I discovered is that being aware of your own communication style helps you to improve communication with others because you become aware of areas that you need work in.

Reference:

Rubin, R. B., Palmgreen, P., & Sypher, H. E. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.

Rubin, R. B., Rubin, A. M., Graham, E. E., Perse, E. M., & Seibold, D. R. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures II: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge

Communicating

I do communicate differently when I am talking with people at work opposed to talking with my family or husband.  When I am at work I am more reserved and try to use appropriate language and English when talking to families and colleagues.  When I am communicating with family I am more relaxed, I might even use slang while talking with family and or husband.  These two situations are different and require me to adjust myself and my communication style.  Situational context determines the rules of behavior and the roles people must play under different conditions.  Competent communicators will always consider the appropriateness and effectiveness of nonverbal communication in a given context (O’Hair &Wiemann, 2009). 

When I communicate with groups of people that are from different culture than I am I become very sensitive to how these people respond to what I am saying.  I look very closely for non-verbal cues such as a nod that they understand what I am saying or might even agree with what I am saying.  There is a population of people at my church who are from Miramar they are refugees in this country.  I don’t have many occasions to speak to them, but when I do I pay close attention to their body language and facial expressions to determine if they understand what I am communicating to them.  I always try to speak slowly and I may use hand gestures to help in their understanding me.   

I think effective strategies to communicating with different groups of people would be to learn more about this group of people.  Learning what people’s points of view and perspectives is always helpful when you need to communicate with them.  Being an active listener is also helpful when communicating with others.  Another valuable approach would be other-oriented when communicating.  Taking an other-oriented approach to communication means considering the thoughts, feelings, background, perspectives, attitudes and values of your partners and adjusting your interaction with them accordingly (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 2011).  It is so important to consider the other person when trying to be an effective communicator.

Reference:

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

O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

The Big Bang Theory

I watched an episode of the Big Bang Theory a show I have never watched from beginning to end.  My husband watches this program.

The show opens with Sheldon and another man entering a barber shop.  They are greeted by a barber Sheldon says something to the barber and the barber says something back.  Sheldon seems upset and even irritated by what the barber said to him.  He begins talking to the man he walked in with.  The barber walks away.  Sheldon then walks over to the barber who is standing near his chair.  The barber waves Sheldon over to his chair.  Sheldon sits in the chair and the barber begins to talk, then Sheldon jumps up grabs his jacket and runs out of the shop.  I was not sure what the barber said to Sheldon, but whatever he said changed Sheldon’s mood.  It seemed as though he were angry at the barber.  Once I watched with the sound, Sheldon’s regular barber was not in he was terribly sick in the hospital.  Sheldon did not want the other barber to cut his hair because he did not have “hair cutting history” as he put it.  I had assumed correctly that the barber had said something to upset Sheldon, but from the body language alone I could not decipher what was being said; I thought he was angry with the barber.

In another scene of the show Howie and a woman are communicating through a webcam so Howie appears on her laptop and they are communicating.  Howie looks disheveled his hair is sticking up he has dirt or something all over his face and he looks tired and is talking to this woman with a smile on his face.  I could not figure out why he was smiling while he spoke to this woman he looked as though he had been in an accident or something.  When I watched with the sound on Howie had spent the day in field training to become an Astronaut it was grueling training and he was smiling to show that he is a trooper and the training did not get to him.  This scene was confusing because Howie’s physical state conflicted with his non-verbal communication.

The next scene the woman Howie was talking to through the webcam arrives at his door.  She walks in with a suit case.  They embrace and begin talking.  I assumed this woman was his wife or girlfriend.  When I watched with the sound on I was correct in my assumption she is his girlfriend.

I think my assumptions were correct even though I did not know the characters or anything about the show.  The non-verbal communication helped me figure out relationships and state of mind.  The scene where Howie appeared disheveled would have been confusing to anyone watching; because his non-verbal communication did not match what he had just went through that day.

Reference:

Kristy Cecil, Mary Quigley, Kelly Anne Lee (Producers), Steven Silver (Director). (2012).  The Big Bang Theory (Series).

Competent Communicator

Communication is an important function that people take part in and being able to be effective communicator is a great achievement.  When I think of someone who is an effective communicator I think President Obama.  President Obama never seems nervous when he gives speeches.  His speeches are always easy to understand, he does not speak above your head.  He articulates his words well as he speaks he pauses appropriately.  In terms of his persona he gives off an air of confidence and intelligence.  He is always dressed appropriately.  He gives off an attitude that he really cares for the United States that why I always seem to feel confident about what he is communicating.   Another person I would describe as an effective communicator would be a Supervisor I had in my previous job.  She always gave me clear and precise instruction when she needed me to do something.  She always listened to her employees and would consider our suggestions after group meetings or one on one meeting.  She too gives you the feeling that she cares for her employees and the center, so I always felt comfortable with what she had to say.

I would love to acquire the skills of these two people in the area of communication.  They are both powerful and memorable communicators.  I think mastering the art of communication also involves listening and understanding the other person’s viewpoint. 

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope I have for children and families that I work with is that they are treated with the respect that they deserve and feel that they are part of an inclusive environment.   I hope that the professionals that work with them look first at their strengths and utilize them in their early childhood program.  One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity and social justice is that each professional participate in diversity training.  My program currently has a large amount of diverse candidates and we have not been trained on how to relate and partner with these families.  The expectation is that we partner with them, but we have not been given the proper training to do so.

I would like to thank everyone in the class for their blogs.  I have learned a great deal from reading your blogs each week and commenting.  I wish you well in all of your endeavors.

Welcoming Families from Around the World

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 fact about their country of origin.  The country is Africa.

1)      I would first find out about Africa’s language, which is Arabic, Swahili and Hausa.  I would find out which language my African family speaks and try and learn some greetings in that language such as hello, how are you, nice to meet you.

2)       I would try and locate artifacts or jewelry from this country.  African culture has always placed emphasis on personal appearance and jewelry has remained an important personal accessory.  I would display the jewelry or artifact in the classroom so the child has a sense of his/her culture.

3)      I would read up on the latest current events in that country so that I might have something to discuss with them upon meeting.  This will also show the family that I am interested in them.

4)      I would prepare a form with the help of a translator asking questions about the child and family to find out what goals and beliefs the family holds regarding their child.

5)      I would find out about the family’s customs and holidays so that we might incorporate into our class activities.

I think preparation to meet this family will help make everyone comfortable.  The family will get a sense of caring when I greet them in their own language and am able to discuss current events of their country with them.  Preparing a questionnaire sends a message to the family that we are interested in their child and want to make her learning experience productive and successful.

Reference:

Wikipedia (n.d.) Culture of Africa retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/culture_of_Africa

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

I can think of an incident when I was substitute teaching at a small center here in Georgia there was a young girl that was Hispanic in the one year old classroom.  She was the only Hispanic in the class of eight.  Her family spoke both Spanish and English but they mostly spoke to the child in Spanish.  The teachers were both English speaking.  The teachers identified her as not progressing because she did not talk like the other children.  The reason the young girl did not talk was because she was mainly used to being spoken to in Spanish and did not know any English.

In what ways did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

Because the teachers did not speak Spanish this child was being excluded in the classroom.  The material and resources in the classroom did not depict her culture nor support her Spanish language.

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

I felt sorry for the young girl because she was not being supported nor was she benefiting from the program because the center did not support diversity or the families that they serviced.

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

It is the teachers responsibility to provide an all-inclusive environment for the children and families that are being serviced.  The teachers should have taken the time to learn a little Spanish to help draw the child into the program.  Materials and resources should depict the young girls culture and background in the classroom.  Partnering with the family would have helped bring about solutions for this young girls progress in the program.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

The one microaggression that comes to mind is when I was at a Christmas party for my job and there were a few people dancing.  This woman named Robin walked over to me and one of my co-workers and said “You people can really dance”.  She then said “you have a lot of rhythm”.  My co-worker and I looked at each other, we are both African American then looked at Robin.  I don’t know how my co-worker felt but I felt slighted.  I felt that she was insinuating that African Americans can dance and that is about all that we did well.  The fact that she said you people made her statement even worst, because it made me feel as though African Americans are not part of the human race; we are separate and needed to be looked upon differently.  Robin was acting on a stereotype that is well known about African Americans.  This told me a lot about Robin, she was closed minded and prejudice and I did not trust her after this incident.

All week long I listened for microaggressions fortunately I did not hear any, but listening for them put on the defense.  Microaggressions are direct insults to a person, which leaves you feeling excluded, inferior and angry.  Microaggresions are the hidden feelings or stereotypes that people believe about marginalized groups of people.  These feelings are a reality to people that holds them, that is why people can easily insult a race of people unconsciously.  It is important that as educators we deal with these untrue feelings or beliefs about people of different culture or race.  We need to have the same expectations of our children despite their race, nationality, religion or economical status.   It is vital that we maintain a partnership with the families that we service biases cause us to make assumptions about families that are not realistic.  It is important that we deal with each family individually and not put them in the same category in our minds.  Prejudice is thinking that people of the same race or ethnicity are the same.  What I have learned is that stereotypes are false and people should be related to individually. 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Much of what we have studied was reflected in the answers I got from the three people that I interviewed.  Each person had a hard time at first defining culture and diversity, but their answers reflect what we have discussed in class.  The only added dimension was two people discussed history as being an aspect of culture.  When I think of history I think of America’s history regarding the pilgrims and Christopher Columbus and I would say that these aspects are a contributor to the culture in America.  I then began to think of my own history with my family coming from Guyana.  Guyana for a long time was a British colony.  I have a culture that incorporates ways of living from England.  I never thought of this before. I need to look more into the culture in England to find out more about my family.   One person that I interviewed described diversity as being able to go from the projects to the White house.  I found that to be very interesting comment.  I interviewed a couple from India and their definition of diversity was different kind of practices and cultures, different viewpoints and ideas.  I thought that was the best answer I got for the definition of diversity.

What was omitted was social identities.  No one I interviewed mentioned the different social groups that each of us belong to and how they shape and define each of us.

In listening to other peoples’ definition of culture and diversity it has made realize that culture and diversity is a hard thing to capture for most people.  Each person struggled to find the words to define culture and diversity.  They said that I know what it is but it is kind of difficult finding the right words to define it.  When I finished talking with everyone I did not feel as bad, because I have a difficult time expressing culture and even more difficult time identifying what is the dominant culture.  Each person that I talked with mentioned the foods that they eat and traditions that are followed; which in my opinion is a surface viewpoint of culture.  I have learned that a surface viewpoint can be detrimental in trying to relate to another person because we end up making assumptions that may not be true.

My Family Culture

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country.  The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees.  You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event.  You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own and that you might have to stay there permanently.  You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you.

The three items that I would take with me to another country would be a photo album, a monopoly game and a doll from my youth.  The photo album means a lot to me because it holds pictures from family functions, such as holidays, birthdays, wedding pictures and pictures of my brothers and I while we were growing up.  There are also pictures of when I visited Guyana and pictures of my parents before they migrated to America.   The monopoly game is important to my family because we spend hours playing; it is a tradition in my household.  When we have guests over to our house we always pull out the monopoly game.   The last item is a doll that was given to me when I was about five years old.  The doll was hand made in Guyana and was given to me for my fifth birthday.  I think it might be worth some money. 

If I were told that I could only keep one of these items I would be devastated.  These items hold memories and tradition and are very important to my family and me.  I don’t know which item of the three I would pick.  I possibly might be able to find the monopoly game, but the doll and the photo album can’t be replaced.  

I never thought these items were so important to me that giving any of them up would painful.  I see that every family has their traditions and artifacts that are important to them and cannot be replaced.  It is important to be sensitive to a family’s culture and traditions because this is what makes a person who they are.