Assumptions in Communication

     I watched an s how called Dance Moms. This is what I observed with the sound turned down. The following are my notes. Moms and their daughters are at a dance competition. It’s the last practice before a big dance competition. The relationship is between parents versus children. There was a scene where one of the moms was yelling at another mom, their mouths were moving real fast. The one parent got up and walked out of the room. The same parent can be seen crying, the other parents seemed to be consoling her. The relationship seems good between parents and children, however, there seem to be animosity between one of the parents and the dance instructor.

Some feelings I expressed in the show are: Love, Frustration, anger sarcasm, hugging and smiles, there were  clapping of  hands /moving of  lips.

I then turned the volume up and watched the show again, and the following are my notes of what I heard. I did not make any assumptions about the characters and plot. I was right on point. I used my eyes more so than if I was initially watching it with sound. I had to have patience, because I had to carefully watch their facial expressions and body language. I also tried to read their lips.

It does not matter if I have seen the show before or not, if I am using my nonverbal skills I should be able to tell others about the actors/actresses and the show and be as close as I can on what the plot maybe in the show.

I feel that all my communication skills are important however, there are times I have to depend on my nonverbal skills to understand a child or adult. The difference between the two is having patience .We sometimes are in a hurry and just do not want to take the time to hear what is being said. There are also times when we may have a language barrier and have no choice but to depend on these skills.

Competent Communicator

 When it comes to competent communication, I can only say that my sister fits the description. She is such an awesome communicator. She will get on the phone and talk to just about anyone about anything .She knows that there are times when the situation deems necessary to speak to a supervisor or manager, usually she gets to this point after trying to deal with the employee that has answered the phone. Because of my accent and people having a hard time understanding me, I usually ask her to talk for me. When talking to a supervisor /manager, she keeps her cool and lets the person know that if  it were not for her patronage, they would not have a job. I have seen firsthand how her way of communicating gets her the service she is entitled to. I admire her technique and wish I was as competent in communicating as she is.

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds (any format and any length) The one hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I keep all my biases outside of the classroom. I would embrace their culture, make them feel accepted and most definitely respect any traditions they may have.

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice (any format and any length) The one goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to diversity, equity and social justice is that we as early childhood professionals continue advocating for children and their families. I would also like everyone to treat all children and their families equal and fair.

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues As I reflect back on the past eight weeks of this course, I want to thank my instructor and my fellow colleagues for the opportunity to not only learn but to grow professionally. The weekly discussions and blogs offered us the opportunity to share various childhood stories and experiences. It is very heartwarming to leave this course knowing that our love of children will allow us to accept their diverse cultures. I would like to leave you all with this last thought. The same way we all had someone “stand up for us” at one time in our childhood, or on our job. Let’s go forth and do the same for children and their families. Best of luck to everyone as we all continue on our academic journey.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The name of “your” family’s country of origin – I chose the country of Trinidad/Tobago as my family’s country of origin.

At least five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family .I work at a high quality child care center. There is not much to do as I get ready to meet the new child and her parents from Trinidad/Tobago. My classroom is already set up to meet the needs of any child, regardless of who they are, where they are from, or what handicap they may have.my preparation will be to 1) ask some of her new classmates to work with her ( Bokey) and show her around the classroom .2)Bokey and her parents will meet the front office staff, the kitchen staff ,the custodial staff. This will let the parents know who the rest of the staff is. We will return to the classroom and 3) the parents will get a chance to see the playground area, where the children will be playing during outdoor play time. 4)The important thing is to let the parents feel comfortable  and welcome.5) I have to establish a relationship that is pleasant and warm. I want the parents to see that I have respect for them .their language, culture and way of living.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           A brief statement describing in what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both you and the family The goal is for my co-workers and I to continue to foster healthy growth and development by offering the social ,emotional, cognitive and physical (gross and fine)skills to Bokey.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

     I recall my dad telling me about a movie called Imitation of Life. It was about a struggling young actress with a six-year-old daughter sets up housekeeping with a homeless black widow and her light-skinned eight-year-old daughter who rejects her mother by trying to pass for white. It starts Lana Turner, John Gavin, and Sandra Dee. I believe it was set in the 50’s when times were very hard for blacks. The daughter continues to deny her mother through her adulthood. She experienced prejudice when her boyfriend who was white realizes that she’s black and wants nothing more to do with her.  When she gets news that her mother is very ill and is near death, she returns home ,only it was too late. She is obviously devastated over the death; she drapes her body over her mom’s coffin as it lies on a horse drawn carriage in the street .Crying she is calling out to her mom, apologizing. Only it was too late.

     I believe when the young struggling actress and her daughter befriend the homeless black widow and her daughter, true equity was diminished. They did not discriminate because of the homeless widow and her daughter’s race or any other aspect of their identity. After watching this movie, I felt sorry for the daughter, especially after she rejects her mom so many times. And when she finally decides to accept her , not only is it too late, but sadly, her mother cannot tell her  how proud she is of her because she has finally come around to accepting who she is and where she came from. On her mother’s death bed, she accepted the fact that she was black, because that was her mother. She was living a privilege life, passing as the norm. She wanted opportunities that as a black child she would not have been able to get at that time, during the 1950’s.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

      The example of microaggression I observed did not happen this week. It happened during the last two months of my senior year in high school. I had just started at the high school in Germany. The bell had rang to change class and I had a few minutes to spare, so I decided to sit down on one of the benches. I was sitting there a few minutes when a black girl came up to me and said “Girl, you know you’re not supposed to sit on this side, this is not our side, it’s theirs. “Well, I did not know the benches had separate sides. She also told me that “we did not go in the restroom when the white girls were in there “Needless to say, I was very shocked. When I got home, I immediately told my mom, who got right on the phone with the principal. The principal was not aware of what the students were doing and reassure my mom that the problem will be dealt with the following morning.  When this happened, I was very surprised. I have  never experienced anything like this, as a matter of fact, I was so naïve to think that that kind of behavior only existed when my grandmother was growing up. I did not like being associated with this type of behavior, because I was not raised to associate people by the color of their skin, but by how they treated me as a human being.

      This whole experience just let me know that discrimination, prejudice and stereotypes on people was very much alive and well and I did not blame the students, because they were just practicing a behavior they learned or observed their parents practicing.                                                                             

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Their definition of culture- My sister’s definition of culture was that it is something that is within you. It is something no one can take from you. She believes culture consist of the texture of one’s hair and the type of food they eat as well as their clothes. A classmate defines culture as behavior and values that a person has based on where they are from. A friend defines culture as the way a person acts, dress eat, worships based on where they were born.  

Their definition of diversity- My sister definition of diversity is simply put …our family. My classmate could not define diversity because she grew up in a predominately white community and attended a predominately white school and really did not have any exposure to diverse groups of people. My friend knows nothing about diversity outside of their Muslim religion and faith   

Which aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in the answers I received—and what are some examples?  I learned about surface culture and deep culture .Surface culture is what we see on the outside or what is on top such as: food, costumes, artifacts and festivals are all the material things people tend to hold close to them. My classmate and friend both talked about their deep culture. This is within each of them. One does not know anything except about how their race is, because that has been all they knew until they became an adult. My friend who is Muslim believes that Muslims should only associate with Muslims and no one outside their religion that is all they were taught as a child.    

Which aspects have been omitted—and what are some examples of such omission? No aspects have been omitted from my sister’s definition .However, as I talked to my classmate and friend; I found that the aspect that was omitted from both of their definitions was diversity. Some examples of such omission are the lack of exposure to various cultures as they explained. They were kept isolated from other cultures and therefore were only aware of their own cultures.

In what ways has thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics? As I talked to my sister, my classmate and my friend about culture and diversity I appreciated their definitions and experiences. It got me thinking about surface culture and deep culture. How my classmate and friend were deprived of diversity within their cultures I wished that they could experience culture and diversity the way I have. That was the reason I chose them, so I could get a sense of what it was like for them living without diversity in their lives. My sister definition was no surprise to me because we come from a very diverse family although my culture was adopted into the family; it is what makes us such a diverse group. I could not ask for a more loving and caring family .Every one of our cultures are accepted and respected.  

Reference:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).