Who am I as a communicator?

Was I surprised by the results of the quizzes?? I was really surprised on the verbal aggression quiz. My sister and husband took the quizzes for me and scored in the low range stating that I respected others views and didn't attack the person's intelligence or ideas. When I took that quiz on aggression I scored in the significant range. It stated that with little provocation that I may cross the line of argumentativeness and attack a person's position of statements and verbal aggressions that can be hurtful to the listener. I guess I was shocked at this result because I tend to avoid all conflict as much as possible and then I hold a lot of my opinions inside even when I get upset I try to "bottle" it all up inside, however, I guess that could be why I got the score of significant. The other surprise was that all three quizzes put me in the first category of listening. I wasn't too surprised by this for I feel that I tend to be a good listener and devote my attention to the person speaking. I feel that listening and communicating effectively are two traits that are really important within the professional world especially when it comes to dealing with children and their families. If a family feels that they can talk to us then we can form a bond with them and be able to talk with them and assist them when needed.

Communicating Culturally

When I thought about this blog I didn't think that I communicated differently with people of different cultures. The more I think about it and analyze the question, I see where I do communicate with those differently than myself in different ways. Growing up in the south it seems that everyone is the same but North and South Louisiana are as different as night and day from our accents down to our culture. I find myself having to play close attention to what south Louisianians say because their accents are thicker than mine. If I don't understand what is being said I have to ask in simple terms what is being said. I have also had to get familiar with the culture of south Louisiana more.  I have lived in North Louisiana for a few years but never had much to do with south Louisiana until I started working with some of my co-workers who are south Louisianians. I learned from the readings this week "don't expect just because you know a person's culture that you can predict his or her behaviors." (Gonzalez, 2). I have learned that each person is different and the differences within our cultures makes us unique.

The three strategies that can help me communicate effectively:

1. Realize that each person is different. I believe that this is important because it will help make for a better understanding of each other. The differences that we each portray is what makes us unique.
2. Have an open mind. This is important because many times people from different cultures may or may  not share the same ideas or believes that we share and therefore by having an open mind we can see where they are coming from and hopefully they can see our views.
3. A great listener. When we listen and pick up on the verbal as well the nonverbal cues then we can become effective communicators with all people.

reference:
Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). 50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Verbal and Nonverbal communication

For this blog I decided to watch the show George Lopez. As I watched the show the daughter and son came in and out,  the grandmother seemed like the one that the George and his wife got disgusted with. Grandmother was sitting at the kitchen table and George and his wife were in the standing in the kitchen. They seemed to be discussing family issues or maybe what was for dinner that night. By George's body language is why I assumed that the grandmother may be a problem. It seemed that the wife was just nodding and going along with what George may have been saying.

As I turned the sound on and watched the episode I learned that my assumptions of the nonverbal cues were not completely correct. George and his wife were discussing with the grandmother, who is George's mother about discipling the son. Apparently the son had done something that the grandmother didn't like so she disciplined him a little too hard. George and the wife were outraged. They continued to discuss the problem at hand and grandmother seemed to have an answer for each thing said.

Nonverbal cues are at times often misinterupted and effects the messaged trying to be communicated. In this episode grandmother seemed to feel that she was being attacked and thus tuned out what was trying to be said. Nonverbal and verbal cues tell a lot about a person and what they are trying to say.

Effective Communication

When I think of communication I think of how we use different techniques to express ourselves. Communication can be verbally, non verbal, signs, or written. When I thought of a person that was an effective communicator that I would like to be like, I thought of a lady that I work with, Mrs. Pat. She is a very warm person that is easy to talk to. She in non judging, always has a listening ear, a word of encouragement and helpful hand when needed. When I talk with her I feel that she is truly listening because she is making eye contact, nodding, and giving in put where needed. She is a someone that I strive to be like because many times I tend to get  lost in my own thoughts when some people talk to me that I loose thought on what that person has told me. Mrs. Pat listens and has a heart for people. As I work toward my career in Early Childhood I hope to be as half of the the communicator that Mrs. Pat is so that I can make my families and children feel as she has made me feel.

The final good bye of 6164

This course on diversity has been a real eye opening course for me. I never realized that I was so close minded on so many things when it comes to diversity and people that are different than myself. One hope that I have when working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that I will be open minded to their cultural and have the knowledge necessary to relate to them. A goal that I would like to set is to be as knowledgeable as possible when dealing with diverse backgrounds and to not assume that a person is this way or that way because of their backgrounds.


It has been a great 8 weeks. I have learned a lot from each of my colleagues and professor. I never thought much on what diversity entailed until this course. I thank each of you for your great insights and wish each of you the best as we continue to run this race that has been set before us. Best wishes and I hope to work with each of you in the future!

A family from another Country...

The country that I have chosen is Korea. The child that will be joining the early childhood setting is a three year old little girl. I know nothing of Korea so I will have to research the culture in order to prepare myself for this new little student.

The five ways that I will prepare myself for this new student:

1) The main thing is to prepare myself by studying and trying to learn all I can about Korea and the culture there.
2) I will prepare my classroom so that it is welcoming and has pictures of different cultures including Korea so that the child will feel more comfortable.
3) I will create a questionaire to ask the family so that I am sure to not offend the family or child by unknowing microaggressions.
4) I will prepare my other students by explaing different cultures to them so they will be able to adapt to the changes.
5) I will make the family feel welcome by explaining to them the program and giving them a time to help me understand their culture so that it will be an easy transition for the child as well as the family.

I hope that these preperations will help me to be open minded and welcoming to the new student. I think that by preparing and researching the country and culture before hand will give me some lead way in knowing what to expect.

The Personal side of bia, prejudice, and Operession

One of the first experiences that I remember with prejudice and oppression was a few years ago. I was in church with my family. My cousin was there with her husband who is from Guatemala. This elderly woman said in a loud voice, "Who is that  black man sitting back there." My cousin and her husband were not sure how to respond to the elderly lady. Another lady in the church tried to explain to this lady that my cousin's husband was Guatemalan. The lady had no clue about other cultures that were different from whites and blacks. Her lack of understanding of other cultures really made the situation awkward. My cousin's husband did not feel oppressed by the comment but the rest of the people felt oppressed since in today's world we would think that people were more accepting of diverse cultures and relationships.