Communicating Differently

Since becoming an educator, I take pride in the way I communicate with others. I often find myself thinking of what I am saying before I say it and even correcting myself when I say something that I think may not make sense to the person I am speaking to. My family is made up of different abilities, political beliefs, and races. I believe the only situation that I communicate differently is when concerning different abilities. I would explain something a little more or speak a little slower if needed. A good example of this is with my grandmother. She grew up in a completely different generation than I did, so when talking about technology or something that she is not familiar with, I have to explain things usually numerous times and in simple terms.  A recent example of this is when she asked me something that she could get my nine year old son and his cousin that is the same age, I mentioned that an Itunes gift card would be something that I thought they both could use to get music for their Ipods. She said, " a what card for their I- what." She had no idea what Itunes or Ipods were.

Within my neighborhood, there are many races, religions, political views, abilities, and other differences. When having neighborhood gatherings, I find myself communicating with others differently than I would communicate with close friends or family. I am more careful about what I say because I am not sure how other people feel or think about certain situations. When around people that I am comfortable with, I communicate more openly and more expressive with my feelings. At these gatherings, I find myself being more of a listener and taking in what other people are saying. Listening to others helps me to learn more about them.

There are some strategies that could help me communicate more effectively in these situations. First, I could learn more about the backgrounds of the people I plan to communicate with. Understanding their culture can help me feel more comfortable when communicating with them. When communicating with people of different abilities, it may be helpful to have other tools/props when explaining something to them. It would have helped my grandmother to take her to the store and show her what kind of gift card was correct or show her what an I pod looks like. Last, it would be helpful to find something that I have in common with my neighbors, so that we can begin our conversation with something that we feel comfortable talking about. This would establish a commonality between us and help us to communicate effectively.

Communication on Television

I chose to watch the talk show "The View" on ABC. If you know anything about this show the hosts talk about all the hot news topics at the beginning of the show and many times the discussions get pretty heated. So, I decided to watch this show without sound to watch for nonverbal behaviors. I noticed that Joy and Elizabeth seemed to use their hands to talk more than the others. Sherri tends to make facial expressions when talking about something she is passionate or upset about. I saw her roll her eyes and have looks of disgust at one point in the show. Whoopi seems to sit with a more relaxed posture than the others. Barbara being the oldest and most experienced host seems to have most mature upright posture. At one point in the show, Elizabeth seems to be talking loudly as she gets a little red on the face and neck. Before the show takes commerial breaks, I notice that they leave for break all smiling and happy.

After watching the show with sound, I noticed that Joy talks with her hands a good bit trying to be funny and add humor to the show, where as Elizabeth uses her hands and talks louder when talking about a topic that she knowledgeable about such as politics. Sherri gets upset when talking about a racial issue in public schools. She doesn't like a comment made by Whoopi about not understanding why African Americans are so upset about it. She rolls her eyes as if to disagree without saying anymore. Barbara Walters is a well-known news anchor who seems to just deliver the facts with very little emotion or opinion.

I assumed that they were all talking about topics that they were knowledgeable about or things that they were interested in after watching them. However, many times they were just mentioning items that are in the news or entertainment topics. I do think that assumptions would be easier if I watched the show regularly. I have seen the show a few times before, but it has been awhile. I was familiar with the format of the show which helped me understand it a little more; however, not hearing what they were saying made it hard to determine the meaning of the nonverbal communication.

Communication

The person that I think demonstrates competent communication is my aunt Marchai. She is a very successful business woman who has traveled the world for different companies throughout her life. She has a wonderful presence about her and brightens every room that she enters. When she speaks to you, she speaks with such sophistication yet makes you feel like what you have to say is valued and important. She is well spoken, a great listener, makes eye contact when talking to you, and shares her knowledge in a respectful way. She is well known for her services within her career and motivates the people around her.

I would love to model my communication behaviors after my aunt. I would love to have the confidence that she has when she speaks to people.  Because she is so confident, people look to her for advice, ideas, and comments on any given topic. This confidence, along with her body language, eye contact, knowledge, and bubbly personality makes her an amazing communicator, and someone I would like to model my communication skills from.

Goals and Hopes for Early Childhood

My one hope for children/families from diverse backgrounds would be that they feel valued in their early childhood setting and that they are allowed the opportunities to share the beauty of their culture and background with the other people.

My goal for the early childhood field on the topics of diversity, equity, and social justice would be to continue to educate people on what it means to live in a diverse world, help all people accept one another for their difference, and allow for more opportunities for to explore cultures other than their own.

A Big Thank You

To my colleagues,

Thank you so much for your comments, thoughts, and questions in regards to my blogs and discussion posts. I have enjoyed reading your discussions and blogs and learning from each of you. It has been interesting and informative to hear your own personal stories related to diversity, as I feel that I have gained a wealth of understanding and knowledge on this topic. I wish you all the very best in your future plans. Hopefully, our paths will cross again!

With much gratitude,

Tabitha Krueger

Welcoming Families from around the World

The country I chose is India.

First, I would do research on the country of India. I want to gain more knowledge of their traditions, language, and culture. I would do most research online and check the library for informative books.

Second, I would like to interview a family from India that now lives in the U.S. I would like to get a personal feel of the culture by talking with a family that can give me insight into the challenges they will face once they are in America.

Third, I would plan to meet with the family before the child enters the early childhood setting. I would like to get to know them as much as possible and make them feel comfortable with the EC program.

Fourth, when the child comes to the child care setting for the first time and throughout the transition period, I would make the child feel valued by incorporating her culture into the curriculum. I would talk with the child about her culture and allow the child to share pieces of her culture with the other children.

Last, I would continue to help the child transition to life in America by assisting her and her family with daily dilemmas and continue to respect her family culture learning about the things that are important to them.

Learning more about the Indian culture and speaking with a family that can share insights into future challenges will give me knowledge that will allow me to be valuable in the lives of the family. Making a great effort to learn the cultural traditions that  are important to this family will let them know that I respect their culture and value their transition into the American culture.

The Personal Side of Bias

I was trying to think of a good example where I was the victim in some type of bias which I am sure there are many. However, this week I experienced something that I am not very proud of. I showed gender microaggression one day this week, and I knew it the minute it came out of my mouth. I was picking my son up at preschool at our church in my hometown. There happened to be a lot going on at the church that morning, so I was hanging around talking with different people. As my son and I got on the elevator to head downstairs, an older lady entered carrying a sewing machine. She started talking about the sewing class she was taking. Well, I commented that I had bought a sewing machine last Christmas, but I have no idea how to sew. I told her that I would love to learn how and asked if there was room in the class she was taking. She told me to head back upstairs and talk with Chris/Kris. I responded that I would love to go up to talk with her. Well, this is where I assumed that the Chris/Kris was a female because we were talking about sewing. I made an assumption based on a stereotype and felt horrible. I could tell the lady was shocked that I assumed it was a woman, and she corrected me very quickly.

Needless to say, I felt so badly and knew the minute I said it that I did exactly what we have been talking about in this class. I was thankful that I now notice right away when I show prejudice or bias against someone else. This class has opened my eyes to the ways in which we show biases and don't even know it.

I diminished equity in this example by assuming that women are the only people who enjoy or know how to sew. In order to give this example greater opportunity for equity, I must do away with my own personal bias when it comes to gender assumptions. I must realize that all people have the same opportunities no matter what their gender. Like I said, I am not proud that I said that and was quite ashamed of myself. However, I immediately recognized what I had experienced and corrected my own thinking.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

This week I have become aware of microagressions in the form of insulting messages that can be intentional or unintentional. I have found myself considering the ways in which my words could be offensive to other people. My thoughts took me into my classroom with my students. Because I taught 5th graders (the oldest kids in an elementary school), our assistant principal would call down to my classroom every once in awhile and ask for assistance. He would ask for me to send a few students to help him load something or deliver things to classrooms. After studying microaggressions, I recall the fact that I stereotyped by gender and would send my bigger male students to do the job. Many times the girls would ask me why I never picked them to go, and now I realize that this was a type of unintentional microaggression.
My experiences this week have led me to understand that people often show prejudice/discrimination and stereotype against others without realizing it. I am now aware of the microaggression talked about in this week's resources, and I will use the knowledge gained this week throughout my life and career to be sensitive to others when it comes to gender, race, ability, or sexual preference.