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. 

Professional Hopes and Dreams

My professional journey I can say started out kind of shaky, but I would not change the lessons I have learned along the way. One hope I have for working with children and families is that I can help influence the both of them into a positive direction in the futures. One goal I would have set for the early childhood field related to diversity, equity, and social justice is to pay closer attention to the underlining message we are sending to our children. During this course the study of this topic has really touched my heart and made me realize how important it really is especially with working with children. 

Working in this field requires a true love and passion to the education of children. I wish all of my colleagues the best of luck along their journey and remember it only takes one educator to show a child they believe and care about them for them to prosper. Best of wishes and Good Luck.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

1. Learn what their views are on education 
2. Think of ways to relate their views and what we have to offer here at our center
3. Study key facts about the country that was I can show the family I am interested in the new culture experience they will be bringing to our center. 
4. Learn what holidays or special celebrations that are key to their cultural and speak with teachers of the classrooms the children will be going into, and think of ways of adding these celebrations to our curriculum.
5. Be able to relate to the families special needs and be sure to find a way to accommodate them. 

From previous experience I have learned how important it is to know as much information about a new possible family coming into your center. Especially when coming from a different country the center has to keep in mind this is the first representation of how a new place. I would hope incorporating these five ideas that it will make the family feel at ease and comfortable with their children being in our care. 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

Sometimes the memories we would like to forget are the ones that last forever.

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? 

        A memory I have of someone being prejudice was when I was working at a preschool and I observed a 3 year old teacher speaking and treating one of her students differently. After a parent teacher conference the teacher learned about this child's home life and how his mother did not "fit into" the category of parents as her other children. This teacher decided she wasn't going to work as hard with this child because she felt as if it would be a waste of her time because the mother would not follow up with the learning strategies at home. 

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

         As an educator this teacher should not have allowed for her personal biases about the mother and their family life interfere with her responsibilities as an instructor. She allowed for her personal biases to diminish her equity of this particular student on a chance of receiving the same amount of support and encouragement as the other classmates. 

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

         This incident makes me think how many other students not only in preschool's but in public schools that teachers have the same mentality as this teacher did. It makes me sad to think about how many children out there who are not given a chance or automatically labeled because of their life outside or school. 

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

         In the preschool setting I have learned each teacher is as good as their director. In this situation I believe in order for this type of behavior to change the teacher would have to see more direction and a better example set from the director in order to change her mindset on treating her students the same. 

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Learning about microaggressions this week aloud for me to really pin point some situations that I have witnessed that were unsettling for me. In my last management position my director and I were in the process of looking for our summer hires for our summer program. She explained she knew of someone that she felt would be great for the position the only issue was that she was pregnant and did not feel she would be able to adequately perform her duties because of this situation. She then explained that she didn't exactly have a choice but to hire her because of the discrimination law. After having this staff member come in and sign her hiring paper work the director and her assistant as I had witnessed before proceeded to joke about the way this staff member talked, the things she said and mocked her actions. I would not have made a big deal about the situation except I now realize this was a racial microaggression that had occurred one to many times.This situation made me lose respect for my superior and her assistant from this day forward.  

   

Even though some may not see any harm in the things that they say or ways they mock others I realize it can be hurtful and send off the wrong message to those around them or even to that person and make that person change their perception of you as a person.