Cultural Diversity

Growing up in a world where we find ourselves communicating with multiple different people, at some point we are going to come across someone that is different than we are. Even though we would like to say we communicate with everyone the same I can personally say this is not the case. I realize that I communicate with males and those of a different race different than I do with those who are of the same race and women. After my last course and from what I have learned in this course I am able to pay attention to the differences.

When it comes to communicating with males I find myself  communicating in a manner where I will always be taken seriously. Kind of hard to express but I have been told my tone and demeanor is a lot different from communicating with a female and and a male. I have always been taught to stand your ground and do not let gender push you away from anything. With that in mind I make sure I always give off the impression I can handle my own. 

From personal experience I have learned the same way I would talk to certain friends who happen to be the same race as I am, I can not talk to my friends who are not the same race the same way. The way some of my friends communicate has been expressed to me that it is kind of offensive. Even though I know I am not intentionally trying to offend anyone there is just some things that should not be said. 

From personal experience and from what I have learned this week the top three strategies I would use to communicate more effectively would be to listening silently, ask questions at the end to clarify understanding, and try to take a piece of what was shared and apply it to your professional and or personal life. 

Modern Family

For this weeks assignment I decided to use the show Modern Family. The episode I watched was Suddenly, Last Summer. I decided on this show because of the reviews and commercials I had seen about the show and it seemed to express multiple levels of communication.

 Show on mute:

Watching the show on mute I was able to determine which couples were together and their families. 

During the show they have moments when they sit down and talk to the camera as couples which helped me determine them clearly. 

I would say this couple is married, I saw a wedding ring on both of their fingers. The husband is very hard to read he doesn't really show and defining emotion. The wife always seems to be happy she is always smiling and seems to have a lot of excitement in everything that goes on. 

I did not see a wedding band on this couples hand so I would say they were common law married depending on if marriage is legal in their state. This couple seem very happy as individuals. Their facial expressions are clear and you can clearly tell between their non verbal communication how they are feeling at the moment. 

This couple appeared married observing the wedding rings on their hands and also the children that were in the scenes with them. The expression on the wife's face seems frustrated and then she changes to showing some expressions of happiness. The husband always seemed to be in a good mood. He always seemed to have a smirk or smile on his face. 

Show with sound:

The assumptions I made about the couples in this show were correct. Also what I observed through non verbal communication was correct once I was about to hear what the characters were saying. 

I feel if I was watching a show that I knew well I would not have to assume the feelings that each character was having. For example if I would of been watch Law and Order I would be able to tell you exactly how each character was feeling based on their emotions because I know the characters. 

Even though this show was fairly easy to read the emotions on some of characters faces I could understand how it would be difficult to do in a show where they did not show a lot of non verbal communication. 

Communicating and Collaborating in the Early Childhood Field

Effective Communication 

There are multiple different sections in the field of education. When working so closely with children and their families it is very important to make sure to have effective communication skills. From this week alone I have learned in further detail how much communication can have a determining factor on those around us. 

The one person I choose that I feel demonstrates competent communication is my Aunt Belinda. She has been a teacher for 20 years and growing. Working with children she has to have patients and strong understanding in order to be able to communicate effectively with the children and their families. I have observed first hand the way my aunt communicates with the all types of children in her care. I have observed her deal with disrupted children in her classroom and the way she communicated with the children. She made sure to give the direct eye contact by getting on their level and speaking with them and not at them. As I have studied before and she has explained to me children respond better when you show them you are listening and want to hear the issue rather than scold them for their wrong doings. My aunt is definitely someone I would like to model because her methods have helped her be the prosperous person she is today.