Who Am I as a Communicator?

The activity was interesting. After rating myself I was anxious to see how the others would rate me. My sisters scores were very similar to mine. They rated me 62 on the verbally aggressive scale 34 on communication anxiety and category 1 in listener styles profile. I rated my self as 61, 35 and category 1 in the same areas. However, my colleague's scores were a bit different. This made me realise that my communication with my family was more opened than with my colleagues at work. I take more time to be cautious about the way I communicate with colleagues, so they don't know me the way I and my family do.

I was surprised that my colleagues rated me well which makes me feel like I do a good job communicating with them. But in reality, I know that there are areas, such as my tone, that I still need to work on. 

I realise that much acting can occur in the communication process, because we are unable to read each other's thoughts. The negative aspect of this is that we may never truly get to know the individual. I see the positive aspect of this form of  acting being, we get to show respect despite how how we upset we are. We also get to change our form of language used as we communicate with different groups of people with whom we associate. This allows me to be professional and also use my 'high language' when I am in the professional setting but allows me to 'code switch' when I am in my personal space..

I have also learned that our words have moulding power as promoted through the 'Self-fulfilling Prophecy Theory' and we need to be cognizant of this when we communicate, especially with our children. I tend not to think about how my comments may affect others before saying it, especially with persons to whom I am familiar. The study this week has caused me to reflect and I plan to be more cautious and tactfully communicate what I need to say so as not to offend others especially my family and dear friends.

                Different Ways of Communicating

• Do you find yourself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures? If yes, in what ways do you communicate differently?

Yes, I find that whenever I am in the presence of members of the dominant culture ( wealthy. powerful and influential people) I strive to ensure that my speech is perfectly structured. I do this because I think that they are perfect and I do not want to appear lesser than them in anyway.I also find that when I communicate with my peers and younger groups of people I am my speech is more casual, because I have found that younger people respond better to casual rather than formal speech especially in informal settings. I have come to realise that we are great actors in life and so we adjust to suit the occasion and the circumstance.The way we communicate is also affected by the way we perceive things to be. 

Since I have started this course, I have learned that the different language we use in different relationships is often affected by unique communication climates. O'Hair and Wiemann (2012) talk about language reflecting context. In other words we use language that suits the people we are around, where we are, our cultural context and our experiences with language. We find the most suitable language to meet the demands of a given relationship, situation, or cultural environment. 

Non-Verbal Communication




The show I chose to watch is a comedy series, My wife and kids.

With the sound off
  
 What do you think the characters' relationships are based on the ways in which they are communicating?

I assumed that the characters- The children and their father are very affectionate towards each other. Every time they are about to leave or enter the room, they hug and kiss their dad. I also assumed that the father was a romantic since he kept ordering his wife bouquets upon bouquets of flowers and she smiled and hug him every time one was delivered.

 What are they feeling and expressing based on the non-verbal behavior you are observing?

Everyone of the characters seemed happy to be in the company of each other. They were very affectionate towards each other.

With the sound turned on.

What assumptions did you make about the characters and plot based on the ways in which you interpreted the communication you observed?

I assumed that the characters were big on expressing affection. However, I realized that the father was bribing the children with money to have them express affection towards him every time they left the room and his wife was not very pleased with all the flowers and extra attention her husband was paying her.

Would your assumptions have been more correct if you had been watching a show you know well?

Yes I believe that my assumptions would have been more correct if I was familiar with the characters. I have found that it becomes easier to read the non-verbal communication of others when they are very familiar to me.

EDUC-6165-8 Blog

                            EDUC-6165-8  Blog       

                     Competent Communication

Mrs McBean, my professor on the Bachelor degree program is the most competent communicator I have met. She is eloquent, never raises her tone even when she is being stern, listens attentively without interrupting whenever a matter is brought to her and what I admired most is her ability to always present a calm image and communicate effectively even when things were not what they should be and also her honesty. She keeps her communication positive no matter what it is. She makes her students feel worthy because she is fair. I always refer to her as my model teacher. 
I have always admired her ability to communicate so effectively and hope to achieve that level some day. 

   My Professional Hopes and Goals

Hi Colleagues,
Thanks once again for all the contributions you made throughout this course. They were a source of support for me. I wish you all the best in your upcoming course and look forward to your continued collegial support.This course was very insightful. The concepts of diversity  that I have learned have been concreted in my mind.

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that every family that comes through our doors will feel comfortable because of the removed barriers and the respect that will be shown to them despite their race, nationality, sexual orientation preference, religion, gender, and excreta. I also hope that as we continue to stand for social justice we would eventually eradicate all forms of social injustices meted out to those who are from diverse backgrounds and do not confirm to the normative culture.

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to equip all teacher educators with the tools needed address issues of oppression and discrimination. I believe if they are skilled enough then they will be able to equip each early childhood teacher with the tools needed to stand up against injustices. Can you imagine working at a centre where all are equipped and on board with the notion of equity for all? What a force they will be. 

Blog: Welcoming Families From Around the World

Blog: Welcoming Families From Around the World

For this assignment, imagine the following scenario:

You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

In order to complete this assignment, first choose a country you know nothing about as this family’s country of origin.


POST        The name of “your” family’s country of origin
                  At least five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this                           family.
                 A brief statement describing in what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both you                    and the family.

The name of the family's country of origin is Brazil. Brazil is one of our closest neighbours in South America and Brazilian families have been migrating to our country in large numbers. If a Brazilian comes to my child care centre I would have to prepare myself to welcome that child and his family. Firstly, I would seek to learn key words and greetings in Portuguese the language of Brazil. This will enable me to connect to the child and family on their arrival. Secondly, I would meet with the family through an organized home visit. During the home visit I would seek to learn about the family culture, expectations and also about the child. I have included this visit in my preparations because I understand that surface culture would not provide the information that is needed for me to understand the true dynamics of the specific family I need to go deeper. Thirdly, once I understand the culture of the family I would ensure that the resources include images that reflects their culture. Fourthly, I would seek to prepare the teachers and the children to welcome this child by talking about the culture of the people of Brazil.  I would also talk to them about how to treat someone who looks and speaks differently than they do. This will ensure that the stress of transitioning to a new environment is lessened. 
I trust that the these preparations will provide a sense of cultural continuity. I also hope that it would help to establish and foster respectful relationships with the child and his family. Most importantly, that the child transitions smoothly into his new environment. 

  Prejudice: My Personal Experience

·         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? Keep in mind that one can encounter such incidents in real contexts, including online environments, as well as in fictional ones, such as movies, books, television shows, and the like.

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

·     What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

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

       One incident of prejudice that keeps recurring in most of the African made movies are stereotypes of black women. These movies are mostly made in Nigeria. I like looking at them because I find the plot and themes very interesting. They are also similar to the Caribbean culture and easy to relate to. However, in many of these movies women are portrayed  as dishonest cheats, gold diggers, lazy, and other demeaning characters. I believe that specific biases portrayed in these movies diminish equity by placing the woman at a lesser status than men. The men in my community who look at these movies describe women as untrustworthy, cheats, no good and excreta when the sit around to chat about women. It also sends a wrong message to other young black women that they need to prostitute, rob or deceive men to survive or achieve things in life. Every time I see women portraying these characters I am appalled and embarrassed. I think the actresses need to demand that the writers produce scripts that are positive about the roles of women and how much they can achieve through hard work and by asserting their independence.