I would like to thank all of you who have participated in our blog assignments. I have found them to be uplifting, insightful, and inspiring. The collaborative learning process that we have been going through has taught me many valuable lessons. I have gained a great deal of knowledge from reading my colleagues blog posts, comments, and discussions throughout this semester. Thank you for your input and sharing your professional knowledge with me. It’s been a pleasure learning with you!

"Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another." - Marva Collins

Week Six Blog Assignment

For this week’s blog assignment I have been given several questions to answer. Below are those questions combined with my answers.

Are high-performing groups hardest to leave?

I am not sure how to answer this question. I think it would be difficult to leave a high-performing group. Accomplishing things give you a feeling of pleasure and importance.  Leaving a group like that would be hard because you would also be leaving behind that feeling of accomplishment.

Groups with the clearest established norms?

I think that groups that already have established norms in place would be easier to leave. They already have a “normal” way of adjourning and therefore, it is easy to leave. It is likely that you would feel closure leaving a group like this because you have already gone through the steps.  

Which of the groups that you participated in was hardest to leave? Why?

I would say that the playgroup that I attend is the hardest to leave. I feel this way because my son really enjoys being there and does not like to leave. He always gets upset when it’s time to go. He’s only one so I can’t really explain that we’ll be back next week.

What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced?

In a group setting, the closing rituals that I have experienced are pretty similar. The leader usually goes over the results of the meeting. Next they go over the things that should be accomplished before the next meeting. She/he then asks if anyone has any comments or concerns.  Finally they say something along the lines of “ok, see you guys next time”.

How do you imagine that you will adjourn from the group of colleagues you have formed while working on your master's degree in this program?

Getting a degree online is very different from getting a degree on campus. Because of this I will probably write some farewells on my colleague’s blog sites. I will thank them for their insights and how they have helped my grow professionally and personally through their stories and comments.

Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?

Projects as well as conversations need closure for people to feel good or complete about them. Adjourning is a necessary phase of all meetings so that the team members know what is expected of them. 

In the past few weeks I have learned a lot about my personal communication styles. I have also learned how to be a more effective communicator. This week the focus was on conflict resolution. I explored several useful websites that were full of great tips and strategies on how best to resolve conflict. Some strategies I have learned in helping to resolve conflicts are:

o   Be aware of the whole picture

o   Try to understand the other person’s perspective

o   Think before you speak

o   Try to find more than one way to solve the issue

o   Take time to respond

o   Utilize empathetic listening

Here are two of the websites that I found to be the most helpful:

The Center for Nonviolent Communication:

https://www.cnvc.org

The Third Side website:

http://www.thirdside.org/

Do any of you have any suggestions or insights you gained this week pertaining to conflict resolution?

This week I had to take some personal communication style surveys. They evaluated how I perceive myself as a communicator. I also had to choose two people to take the surveys with my in mind. I then had to compare their answers with my answers.

My Results:

The results were interesting. I learned that I am a good listener and people-oriented. I also learned that I need to work on my confidence level when it comes to public speaking.

Their Results:

The two people I chose were my best friend and my husband. I have known my best friend for almost 20 years, and I’ve known my husband for about 8 years. The results from their surveys were surprising and comforting. My husband’s answers were almost identical to my answers, a testimony to how well he knows me. My friend’s answers were pretty different from mine. She perceives me to be much more confident than I really am. It was nice to know that she has such a high opinion of me. It was also nice to know that my husband knows me so well and on such a personal level.

The surveys made me focus on my communication skills. The surveys helped in developing my personal and professional communication skills. 

Week Three

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

Yes, I do communicate differently depending on who the listening audience is.      

           `              

If yes, in what ways do you communicate differently?

I find that when I am communicating with friends and family I use low language, which is more casual. When I am in a more professional setting (parent meetings, speaking with co-workers, etc.) I use high language which is more formal.

Based on what you have learned this week, share at least three strategies you could use to help you communicate more effectively with the people or groups you have identified.

Remember the Platinum Rule: “Do to others as they themselves would like to be treated” (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011, p. 114).

Try to learn key words or phrases and become familiar with gestures of respect/disrespect in various cultures.

When communicating with parents who speak a different language than you do, get a translator if possible. This will help diminish misunderstandings and will ensure that you will be able to clearly communicate with the parents. I found it helpful when using a translator to speak to the parents and face them instead of the translator. I think this shows the parents that you respect them.

References:

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Interpreting Non-Verbal Communication

This is the show I chose to watch.

For this assignment I watched “Dating Rules from My Future Self.” I first watched the show with the sound turned off, and then re-watched it with the sound on.

Sound Off: 

I was able to assume a great deal about what was going on just based on the non-verbal cues of the actors. I could tell when a female character probably liked a male character. I could tell when the main character in the show was upset or excited about something based on her body language and facial expressions. At times it was hard to tell what is was that was either exciting or upsetting her, others it was very clear.

Sound On:

I was able to truly understand what was going on 100% of the time because I could hear what they were saying and knew what facial expressions and body language went along with certain happenings. I could hear the jokes and phone conversations that were difficult to decipher with body language and facial expressions alone.

Conclusion:

I was surprised at how much information I was able to gather by just watching the show (without sound). I could assume a lot of what was going on, most of my assumptions were proven correct when I re-watched the show with the sound on. I also decided that although this exercise was fun, I prefer to watch TV with the sound on. I enjoy hearing the jokes and know exactly what is going on!

For your blog this week, think of someone who demonstrates competent communication within a particular context. What behaviors does this person exhibit that make him or her effective? Would you want to model some of your own communication behaviors after this person? Why or why not?

The one person who always comes to mind when thinking of effective communication is my husband Jon. He is always great about listening to what you have to say and then communicating his thoughts on the matter. I have always had a hard time articulating my true feelings and saying what’s on my mind. During our first years together Jon helped me with my communication skills. If I wasn’t being clear or giving enough information about how I felt about something he would ask me more detailed questions. He would also call me out when I was holding back and not being open about something. I am now able to be more open and direct in my communication. I am still working on my communication skills, but I know that they are so much better than they used to be.

For my last blog assignment for the course Perspectives on Diversity and Equity, I was assigned to answer the following questions:

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

With the knowledge that I have acquired about diversity and equity in mind, I hope that I will be able to be a non-bias and accepting early childhood educator to all of my students and their parents.

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

A goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field is to heighten awareness of teachers of their personal biases. I would like to continue to research ways to improve my understanding of diversity and the early childhood education field.  I hope to find a way to be a part of heightening global awareness of the importance of acceptance of all people.

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues:

I would like to thank my colleagues for a great semester. I have learned so much from your comments and discussions. I have enjoyed reading your blog posts during this course. I have appreciated your insights into the field of early childhood education.

I would like to close this final post with the following quote:

"Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another." -- Marva Collins

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.

The name of “your” family’s country of origin:

The last name of the family I chose is Felbiger and the country they are from is Austria.

At least five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family:

1.      I will research the Felbiger’s country and their cultural customs and practices.

2.      I will contact the Felbigers and request that we have a meeting so that I can get to know them on a personal level and learn more about their culture and customs.

3.      I will ask how to correctly pronounce their first and last names and practice them until I can say them comfortably.

4.      I will make sure to include some cultural items and depictions in my classroom of Austrian people and their culture.

5.      I will learn some key terms in German (the language spoken in Austria) and share them with the class.

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

These preparations will help me become a more knowledgeable and rounded educator. It is important for educators to have knowledge of a wide variety of cultures. I hope that these preparations will help the Felbigers to feel welcomed and comfortable in my classroom. I hope that they will see that I am making an effort in including their culture and language in my classroom. 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

 

This week was given an assignment to discuss a time when myself or someone I knew experienced bias, prejudice, or oppression. I remember a time when I was volunteering in a pre-k classroom. During the year we received a new student. He was of Asian descent, and the only one from his cultural background in the class. Most of the students had never seen an Asian person before and they found his facial features amusing. They would pull the corner of their eyes back and attempt to mimic his accent. He had a hard time fitting in, but with encouragement from the teacher he was finally accepted as part of the class.

This incident was conflicting for me. I was a part-time volunteer and didn’t feel that I was in a position to reprimand the children. I felt that the teacher should have addressed this issue much sooner than she did. There wasn’t a feeling of equality in the classroom; it was the class against the new kid. I did my best to try to help him, but again, I felt limited because of my position. It made me feel frustrated and discouraged. How could the teacher let her student treat this child they way that they were. Why didn’t she do something about it?

Finally I got the courage to speak to her about it. She pretended she hadn’t noticed that it bothered him and said that all children experience a period of transition when they enter a new school. I felt this was just an excuse on her part because she didn’t want to put in the extra effort it would take to do the right thing.

By the end of the year the little boy had several friends. It appeared that he fit in, but there were still several students who didn’t treat him like they treated everyone else. I requested a transfer to a different room because I felt that I wasn’t learning the teaching and management skills that I knew were necessary to becoming a quality educator. Looking back, I wonder if I made the right choice. Perhaps I should have stayed in that classroom. I could have become an advocate for students who weren’t being treated fairly. I probably could have made a positive change in those students lives.

Acceptance

Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant? –Henry David Thoreau

This week I will be discussing micro-aggressions. A micro-aggression can be intentional or unintentional, but are usually unintentional. In my case, they were unintentional. Unintentional micro-aggressions can still cause emotional damage. I can remember a time when I was guilty of committing micro-aggressions. It was when I first started working at a school. Several of the students had names that I couldn’t pronounce correctly. I’m ashamed to say, at the time I didn’t think anything of it. I didn’t even sit down with those students or their parents to try and get the pronunciation right. Looking back I now realize this was very wrong of me. I was sending those students the message that I didn’t care enough about them to learn how to say their name correctly. I don’t know why I was so naive about this. If I could go back, I would work with the students to get my pronunciation of their names correct.

This week we have been learning about and the effects of various prejudices, stereotypes, and discrimination's. I learned that I was unaware of all of the stress that people have to go through. I learned that I need to be more aware and accepting of people who are different from me. Moving forward, I believe that my professional self will benefit greatly from this information. My students will also benefit because I will be more aware of their needs and feelings.