Communication Skills and Styles

The show that I watched without sound is “The Marriage Chronicle”on BET. This show was about marriage couples going through the changes in a relationship, but the most significant thing was their non verbal communication. The married couples in the movie stop communicating or sending unclear messages to their spouse. One spouse was expressing what they feel to their spouse, but the receiving spouse was not listening. With the sound off the married couples demonstrated communication through body language and facial expressions. The couple’s relationships were based on trust and love, but somewhere down the line as they grew, they separated by not communicating and being honest and open with each other. Their facial expressions were more of sad in some scenes, angry in others and just confused. Once I turned the sound on, I was amazed that I had interpreted the information correct. The male companion did not listen to what his wife was expressing, so he really did not know that she was opening up and telling him how she really feels. The male companion was influenced by perception of the male role, and to ignore what his wife was speaking about. When the couple went to marriage counseling, the male companion was surprised at how other people perceived what his wife was telling him (BET, 2012). 

 I learned that when being open, honest and a good listener that this help build a better understanding of communication. A key part of communicating is listening, being clear and understanding to other person (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2009). This all breaks down to respecting each other, what each other has to say and their responses. If you are not an effective, understanding communicator or listener then you will not perceive the information being given correctly.  I know that  my perceptions would have been different if this show was previously viewed,  because I would be familiar with and understand exactly was is being stated and the audience the message is intended for.

 

Reference

BET. (2012). The marriage chronicle. Black Entertainment Television.

O’ Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication: An introduction. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Real Communication

The person that I believe that demonstrates competent communication is the President of the United States Barack Obama. The reason that I feel and state this is because when he speaks it is clear concise, and get the attention of audiences. President Barack Obama communicates in ethical way, that shows respect and dignity to all people from all nations even outside of the United States. I would want to model this person's behavior and communication skills because it is positive and it sends a message to society in a respectful manner that creates a respectful relationship and common ground to a solution. I have learned from this person's communication techniques in a way that I can translate to children and families in a unique way. When we communicate in a effective, ethical and respectful manner, we can get more attention and build a better relationship between our peers, children and families (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2009)

Reference
O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication an introduction. Boston MA: Bedford's St. Martin’s.

Professional Hopes and Goals

The one hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is to be able to meet the needs of each child and family. The one goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to demonstrate the knowledge of diversity, stand up for justice and provide the respect and dignity to each and every child and family the same. I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their views, comments and support during my journey to success.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

In order for me to prepare myself for working with a diverse group is to make sure that I have no hidden biases, that I respect and welcome all children and families and that I am competent area of being compassionate, nurturing and empathetic as well as having the resources and education to understand difference (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). My family’s country of origin is the United States. The five ways in which I would prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards a family that is emigrating from Asia, is to learn more about the families cultural background, their language, beliefs, values and family structure. Having the knowledge of a family’s background from another country is very important because you will be able to help the family adjust and feel comfortable, demonstrate respect, respond and be more attentive to their needs (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  

 

Reference

 Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. Wahsington, DC: NAEYC.

        

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I witnessed prejudice, intentional microggression and bias on the local news, when an openly gay guy was beat up in public because of his sexual orientation. The guy was coming out of a store and four guys jumped him. It was in the early afternoon and people were outside witnessing the violent attack (WSBTV.com, 2012). This incident diminished equity by separating and treating individuals or a group of people that have different sexual orientation unfairly. This incident was injustice and a demonstration of prejudice. This incident made me feel sad because no one should have to be a target of any form of prejudice or discrimination because they are not considered as normal in society. The first thing that came to my mind is that, the victim could have been my family member or child. The law in the state of Georgia is to protect people from this type of behavior; this type of behavior is considered as hate crime and a felony (Bagby, 2012). I believe that the state laws and more rights need to be implemented to help protect people of the LGBT community. Even with society views of what is normal, LGBT are human too and deserve the same respect and justice as anyone else.  

Bagby, D. (2012, May 30). LGBT inclusive hate crimes bill introduced on last day of Ga. legislative session. Retrieved from http://www.thegavoice.com/news/georgia-news/4392-lgbt-inclusive-gate-crimes-bill-introduced-on-last-day-of-ga-legislative-session 

WSBTV.com. (2012). Grand Jury indicts 4th man in videotaped beating of gay man. Retrieved from http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/grand-jury-indicts-4th-man-videotaped-beating-gay-/nLKN9/

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

A microaggression that I detected this week is when I had an appointment at the dr. office. The microaggression was racial. I went up to the window to sign in and one of the assistance mumbled “they are never on time.” I do not think that she knew I heard the statement. This was unintentional to me because the assistant did not directly say it to me, even though I knew she was speaking of me because I was running late for the third time. When I felt like the target, I was upset but since we were in a professional environment and she did not make the statement directly towards me, I let it go. It made me feel bad and a target of being stereotyped due to worldviews and personal views from other groups that are different. The assistant was white and never demonstrates any good customer service skills. The assistant never speaks when I speak to her; she spreads her nose up at me when I do speak. My observation experiences this week affected my perception of the effects of stereotypes on people, made me more aware of microaggressions through personal views. I do not believe that all groups of people are the same and not every individual stereotypes certain groups. The reason that I state this is because I work in a diverse atmosphere and groups of people such as white do not disrespect or make me feel any different.  In fact the groups of people that I work with that are different from me, actually make me feel better about myself than my own culture.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

  
The first person that I spoke to was my best friend who is African American. Her definition of culture is where a group of people come from and share the same characteristics, family history and food. Her definition of diversity is a mixed group of cultures. The second person that I spoke to was my neighbor who is of mixed races defines culture as what a group of people practice, race and value. Her definition of diversity was a group of people from different backgrounds that live among each other. The last person that I spoke with was a co-worker who is Caucasian defines culture as a connection with a group of people in which they share the same beliefs, values, and traditions. My coworker defines diversity as a group of different races, cultures, genders, religions interact together in some way.   

The aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in all of the answers from the three people that I made contact with. All of the responses given can be considered as a definition of culture. Examples of culture is when a group of people such as my own (African American) share some or all of the characteristics, behaviors, lifestyles, beliefs, values and religion. Another example is the culture of Hispanics. Hispanics share the same gender roles, values, music, religious, holidays, eating habits and family structure that make up their culture  (Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2012).  An example of diversity is that of my classes that I currently take at Walden University, my community and my workplace. Diversity is certain ideas, beliefs, social and economic class, race, genders, lifestyles,  and values that may be similar and different between groups of people (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008).  Other people’s definition of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics by showing me how each person from a different group view culture and diversity. My thinking was also influenced how the definition can be different or similar depending on personal views and experiences from another group.

Reference

Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau. (2012). Hispanic and Latino Culture and Heritage. Retrieved from http://www.itsatrip.org/albuquerque/culture-heritage/hispanic-latino.aspx

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2008). Diversity in Early Care and Education (5th ed., pp. 8–13). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill