Communication Evaluations

The individuals that I chose for this assignment was my co-worker and a close friend. Each person evaluated me based on what type of communicator they believe that I am. There were some similarities with each of them evaluating me as people-oriented. I believe that each evaluation was positive and I was able to be assessed on personal and professional level. The one thing that surprised me the most is that I thought that my close friend would evaluate me differently, but it proves that I do not give myself enough credit as a communicator. I enjoyed being able to utilize the assessments to determine ways that I can become a better communicator. I am aware that when I am having personal conversations that I am passionate about I tend to become more hostile. I would like to learn how to maintain my professionalism when having a formal and informal conversation. This assessment has allowed me to discover ways that I can work on myself as a communicator to establish better professional and personal relationships.

Communicating Effectively

I find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures at times. My experience has been rewarding because I have been able to become more educated about their family history, dishes that have been passed, and perspectives on religion. I communicate differently because this conversation always lead to open ended questions and is very informative. I am also able to share information about my culture and we are able to listen without being biased. I have learned many things while communicating with colleagues and families. The strategies that I can use while communicating with families is avoiding being judgmental, listening actively when communicating and always be open to understand and appreciate cultural differences.

Sweetie Pie

The show that I decided to watch is called Sweetie Pies that is on OWN. As I watched this show without the volume on it seemed that this show focused on some kind of family business. It appeared that the older lady in the show might have been the owner of the restaurant. This episode seemed to have scenes that were chaotic. They showed the cast members life at home and personal relationship. When I turned the volume on I realized that the show was about a woman that established her own soul food restaurant. Ms. Robbie's son also works at and manages her restaurant. Ms. Robbie and her son faced much difficulty as she tried to open up her third restaurant. Ms. Robbie and her son as well as his wife began to feud as Ms. Robbie's son Tim became hard to deal with. It seems that Tim did not do a great job of communicating. He would become upset and avoid speaking with his mother and wife. His lack of communication skills caused the closest relationships to be hindered. I believe that it is important for people to listen, respect others and be completely honest when communicating. It is also crucial to paraphrase and use your own words when verbalizing your understanding of the message (Nadig, L. A., 2010). For years, it seems that this family faced issues with communicating and they finally took the steps to attend counseling sessions which helped mend their relationships. It allowed me to view the downfall that could occur within relationships. I think it was very brave of this family to receive counseling for the issues that they had, or else it really could have jeopardized the business.

Nadig, L. A. (2010). Tips on effective listening. Retrieved from http://www.drnadig.com/listening.htm

Competent Communicator

When I think of a time that I witnessed a person who demonstrates competent communication, I think of the school principal at one of the CPS High School where I work at. The principal spoke at this year's commencement and I felt that he was able to move the crowd. He was aware of the children and their experience living in the inner city. He spoke about statistics and also gave pointers to the graduating class that will assist them with having a successful future. He spoke in a way that allowed each person to dissect the message. I would definitely want to model some of my communication behaviors after him because he was very knowledgeable and he was able to target each person despite their educational level. I want to target the whole group that I am converting  with without being nervous, or intimidated.

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that i have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is to impact their lives in a major way. I hope that the early childhood center that I establish will be welcoming to all families and accepting of their culture. I hope that I am able to provide support and resources for every family that will unite them together. Many biases form because of a lack of knowledge and willingness to learn. I am hoping that I will be able to educate families about diversity to elminate the separation in society because of variations in cultures. The goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is for all staff members to become educated about working with different families. It is important that all staff members play a role in eliminating biases and providing support to families when working in the early childhood field.

Throughout this entire course I have learned many things about diversity, equity and social justice. I have enjoyed discussing and learning about -isms which were challenging for me to discuss prior to this course. I have gained many new insights each week from my colleages and additional resources. I appreciate the comments on my blog and discussion and I hope that everyone will continue to pursue their dream in the early childhood field. Good luck to everyone in the future.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The family that will enroll their child into the childhood care center where I work is from Trinidad. I understand that this family is migrating from their country into a place that might be foreign to them. As an early childhood professional it is my duty to provide resources and referrals to this family to assist with getting them accustomed to being in America. The ways that I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards families by researching about this family’s country, food customs, gender roles, child-rearing practices and education. I would attempt to research these areas before meeting the family to determine ways that I can better establish relationships with them. This will assist me with engaging in conversation and incorporating lesson plans that will include the children that are from this country. Trinidadians practices vary by ethnicity, class, age, education of parents and caregivers. It is important for me to establish a relationship that will determine the commonalities and differences. I hope that these preparations will benefit the family and I because it will allow us to form a solid relationship that is built on respect, trust and lacks negative judgment/bias. Being culturally competent allows a person to engage in conversation and to build a partnership. I believe that I will be able to better serve this family because I will be more aware of their culture and experiences to provide better services to them.

http://www.everyculture.com/To-Z/Trinidad-and-Tobago.html       

The Personal Side of Oppression

The memory that I have of oppression is experiencing how my mother sacraficed to provide a better life for her children. She struggled not by choice, but because she was not priviliged at all. She worked several jobs to break the cycle of poverty that she experienced as she raised her children in a low income envrironment. She was able to overcome this oppression because of her will power and ability to avoid the self-hate that often follows oppression. I believe that in this situation equity was diminished because as a child she did not have the same experiences as others because she grew up in poverty. She did not have an equal opportunity for education and she was also a teen mother. This incident brought feelings of sadness to me, but it also made me realize that I would have to work hard to have a better life. I know that nothing will be handed to me and knowing this has allowed me to work hard to earn the things that I desire. Because of my mother's experience I believe that she has turned her past situation into something positive and has influenced her children and grandchildren  to work hard. She also pursued her education and maintained great work ethics throughout her life.