Who am I as a Communicator

This week assignment was very interesting and intriguing. My evaluators includes my sister and friend. All of the three assessments produced the same results. However, the communication anxiety inventory scores were slightly different. My communication anxiety score fell into the moderate category, and my sister and friend scores fell into the mild category. This surprise me the most because I am pertified to speak in front of a large crowd. I perfer to speak in a smaller crowd. I have always been shy and quiet, but since I have grown up; I have made remarkable improvements to overcome this problem.

One insight I gained this week is that I am empathetic listener and concerned with emotions for others. The listening styles results also helped me to learn that I am people oriented, too. This can be very helpful while working in the early childhood field because families and children needs us to be good and caring listeners. The final insight I gained is that communication is important to everyone concerned.

Communication and Culture

Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from  different groups and cultures?

Yes, sometimes I find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures. With my family, communication brings me the most comfort because we have trust, respect, and understanding for each other. With my family, they listen and I can talk about my good and sad times in my life. This type of family environment helps me feel secure, love, and happy. On the other hand, I communicate differently with people that have a different religious belief because I was born and raised as a Baptist Christian. Sometimes, my beliefs as a Baptist Christian is different from others religions. When I meet people who religious beliefs are different, I listen to what they are talking about, but I do not believe what they are telling me about the reason I should change my religious beliefs.

The three strategies I could use to help me to communicate more effectively with the people or groups I have identified includes developing good listening skills, learning and respecting other people cultures, and understanding.

Communication Skills: Language, Nonverbal, Listening

The television show I chose to watch is Full House. Viewing the show with no sound, I could tell that the three men and two girls and a baby girl were a family who loved each other very much. I could tell one of the men were the girls father. When the girls entered the room, all three of them ran over and gave the man a kiss and a hug. Also, I could tell that all the men were friends because of their facial expressions they used when watching the football game. When the cousin came to visit, I could tell all of the girls were happy and excited to see him.  The girls ran to hug their cousin, but the oldest girl facial expression helped me to see that she was really happy and glad he came for a visit.

When I watched the show with the volume on did improve my assumptions. The three men were friends and the two girls and baby girl were living as a family who loved each other very much. One of the men were the girls father because they did express emotions for each other. The words and facial expressions, and body language proved they were happy and excited to be living together. In addition, when the cousin came for a visit the oldest daughter were the most happy he came to visit because he was her best friend while growing up.

What I learned from this blog assignment, we can make assumptions from facial expressions, words, and body language. As an effective communicator, we need to be aware of how we use and express our body language.

What is Communication

The one person that is a competent communicator is a politician, the President of the United States Barack Obama. He demonstrates the ability to express his feelings and the rights of others. Lately, the press and media have talked negatively about the way President Obama is handling  the economy. He stills addressing his speeches with dignity, confidence, and honesty, and he speaks with a calm and intelligent voice. These type of behaviors that make him an effective competent communicator.

Therefore, I would like to develop and model some of my own communication behaviors after him because I would like to portrait some of the confidence and dignity that will help me to be sure of myself. In addition, this will help others people to see my confidence which will help me to become an effective competent communicator.

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds

One hope that I have when thinking about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I am able to understand the families and children that I meet, and I am able to make them feel comfortable and welcome in the learning environment.

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice:

Coming into this class with limited knowledge about diversity; it has taught me that early childhood professionals need to be trained in diversity, equity, and social justice. Without training, our early childhood professionals will not be prepared or aware of all the different concepts that involve diversity. In addition, this training will teach our early childhood professionals to accept differences in today's society.

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues

I want to take the time out to thank my colleagues for your support. I learned a lot from interacting and reading your discussions and blogs. Your comments and feedback were helpful, and I am looking forward to working again with all of you. The journey continues!

Take Care!


 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

My family’s country of origin is Puerto Rico.  The only thing I am familiar with is the name.  Doing this assignment, I learned that the people of Puerto Rico represent a cultural and racial mix. This cultural and racial mix includes Spaniards, Africans, Cubans, French, and Germans. Although English is taught from kindergarten through high school, Spanish is the dominant language. Only 20-percent of Puerto Ricans speak English fluently. Religion in Puerto Rico is predominantly Roman Catholic.  The sports played in Puerto Rico are baseball, basketball, and soccer.

Five ways in which I would prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family are:

1.      I would use the internet to do research the culture, religion, food, holidays, and the most popular language used.

2.      I find out information on the child which includes educational and family background.

3.      I would use an interpreter to help me establish good communication between the parents.

4.      I would create a learning environment in which all the children different cultures and pictures are presented and this will help the parents feel comfortable and feel welcome at all times.

5.      Hopefully, this will accommodate all the needs of the families and children that I will encounter on a daily basis.

A brief statement describing in what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both the family and me:

I hope these preparations will help establish a healthy relationship between the family and me in which the family will feel comfortable and at home while adjusting to life in another country. In addition, this will bring understanding between all cultures which will bring respect and acceptance throughout the learning environment. This will help me to be more responsive to the needs of individuals and their families as they plan and make choices based on their cultural background.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

As an African American female I have experienced and witnessed many instances of bias, prejudice, and oppression. Living in a small rural town in Georgia does not help. I remember an incident of bias and prejudice in the summer which involved my nephew applying for a library assistant. Being an African American male he filled out the application filled the education part out where he put his college courses he took for business administration. He did not receive a call to come in for an interview. He learned that a white woman with no education or training got the job.

The ways the bias and prejudice diminish equity includes not calling my nephew in for an interview, hiring an uneducated white woman without training for the job, and discriminating against an African American male.

The way this incident would have to change into an opportunity for greater equity would be to call my nephew in for a job interview and provide a knowledge test for both the white woman and my nephew. The applicant that passed the knowledge test and interview should be hired for the library assistant job. This would show that the color of someone skin or gender did not have anything to do with which applicant got the job.