Who Am I as a Communicator?

During my communication evaluation this week, the one thing that surprised me the most was the evaluation done by my classmate. All of her evaluations communication, verbal, and listening was lower than my sister and I.

This week I gained insights about communication that I never really thought about. I now know that as I interact with others, I can get impressions from them that reveal how they evaluate me as a communicator (O Hair & Wiemann, 2012).

In the future, I will try to improve my communication skills because I know this will be a great step in my professional and personal life.

Communicating Across Cultures

                                      

As I think about the cultural diversity I see in my colleagues at school, and in my neighborhood, I do find myself communicating differently with people from different groups.

In my online classes I find myself communicating with different nationalities of people. We all share different stories about our families and culture.

In the neighborhood I live in there is a diverse mixture of cultures, Caucasians, Hispanics, and African Americans. Most of the families have young children that play together. The older adults seen to communicate well. I have learned the simple expressions and greetings in other languages.

Media Communication

The TV show I watched was I Love Lucy, the episode of the chocolate factory.

With the sound turned off, I think the characters' relationships based on the ways in which they are communicating is strong and friendly.

 Based on the nonverbal behavior I observed which was facial expression, the characters was feeling and expressing uneasiness, doubtfulness, slowness and ashamed.

With the sound turned on, the assumptions I made about the characters and plot based on the ways in which I interpreted the communication I observed was true. The characters appeared to be slow and not knowing what they were doing. I think my assumptions would have been just as accurate if I had been watching a show that I was familiar with.

From this experience I have learned that one’s assumptions about nonverbal communication is just as accurate as it would be about verbal communication. 

Demonstrating Competent Communication

Oprah Winfrey is an excellent communicator. Since she was a little girl reciting Bible passages in church, she has been comfortable in front of an audience. On television, she is able to talk to millions of people and have each person feel as if she is talking directly to him or her. Winfrey is also intelligent and well read, with a strong business sense. She is sincere, determined, and inspirational. Winfrey has a charismatic style of leadership that enables her to connect with people. She is spontaneous and expressive, and has a fearless ability to self-disclose. Because she has “been in the struggle” and survived, she is seen as a role model. Winfrey has overcome many obstacles in her life and encourages others to overcome their struggles, as well. Her message is a message of hope. 
Yes I would want to model some of my own communication behaviors after Oprah Winfrey because he is such an excellence communicator.

Reference

http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/40977_2.pdf)

Professional Hopes and Goals

                                                           

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that everyone working with children and families from diverse backgrounds will learn to respect diversity.

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice, is that myself and others in the early childhood field get educated in other languages, and classes related to diversity, equity, and social justice, so that we can better assist children and families from diverse backgrounds.

Well classmates, we have come the end of another exciting journey. I want to thank all of you for your support, and concern these pass eight weeks because you have really helped to shape my career. GOOD LUCK to all of you.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The name of my family’s country of origin is:

New Mexico

Five ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family is by:

Calling a meeting with the child parents to find out things about the child and parents such as, do the child speak Spanish or English, any disabilities, anything special I should know?

Set up the classroom in Spanish and English with toys, books, games, ABC’s, food etc.

Let the other children know that there will be a new student entering the class.

When the child arrive have his or her cubby, seat, name already assigned.

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

I think by having things already in place when the child arrives will make the child and the family feel more welcome to the classroom.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

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.

The memory I have of an incident when I experienced bias, prejudice, and/oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression.

Every time I would visit the neighborhood hardware store I felt like I was being watched. On each visit one of the owners would ask a worker to help me after several responses of telling them no help was needed.  Not only are these in my opinion a form of racism, its sexism as well.

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

The specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in this incident diminish equity by reducing my self-esteem. This incident lead me to believe that the people (Caucasians) that owns this store is racist. They think biracial people steals. But one cannot just look at a person and judge them.

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

The owner of this store will have to change his views towards people that are different from him. After all this is a public place, one that don’t suppose to discriminate against anyone because of race. I believe if this store owner would put away his bias attitude and accept people that come into his store for who they are, he would make more sells.

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

This incident caused feelings of powerless, sadness, and fear to me.