Cultural Diversity & Communication

There are several groups of people that I communicate with on a regular basis.  At work, I communicate with groups of parents, students, and coworkers.  In the evenings and on weekends I communicate with family and church family.  Several other groups that I communicate with every so often are friends from Spain, college friends, and a group of moms from my area.

I find that I communicate in a "normal" way with my coworkers, family, and church family.  By normal I mean that we are all from the same area/culture and communicate in the same way.  Our values tend to line up with each other and we share many of the same views and opinions.  When communicating with parents of my students I find myself listening more and talking less which is a great thing that I have been able to get to that point.  I think that I need to transfer that skill to all people that I communicate with!  Of course I communicate with my prek students in a different way.  My language is not complex, I use a lot of questions to get them to think on their own, I talk much more than I do in a normal conversation, and facial expressions & gestures are much more pronounced!  I think that I need to learn to listen a little more to my students, yet find a balance between listening and communicating verbally with them.  I want them to feel important and know that I value what they have to say/think but at the same time they need to be reminded daily of who is in charge.  The last group that I communicate a bit differently with is my friends from Spain.  I find myself using what would probably be considered Spanglish, lots of hand gestures, and speaking much faster and with more expression.  Their communication style rubs off on me immediately and I'm reminded of what it was like to live with them for several summers just outside of Madrid. 

Communication Skills Observed on TV

Since I do not own a television, for this assignment I found an older show to watch on Netflix via a friend's account.  (I don't really try to cut myself off from the outside world... We just don't find that television is a necessity!!!)  Anyway, I found the show Gossip Girl which I heard was full of drama.  Sounded perfect for this assignment.

As I watched the show without sound I found myself paying attention to a lot of body movements and facial expressions.  There were several times a big argument between various people broke out and I could tell by actions who was winning and losing the argument.  I could almost even determine  how loud the people were talking/yelling based on how they looked within the argument.  This was kind of neat as I realized just how much I could pick up without hearing a thing.  Some other things I was able to pick up on were feelings of hurt, uncertainty, scared, excitement, and love/affection.

Watching the show with the sound turned on was almost overwhelming after seeing it without sound!  I hadn't really considered how much music really adds to a scene/show until watching this time.  I found that I made some incorrect assumptions but that most of them were correct.  One character in particular didn't have a variety of facial expressions and I took it that she was either a boring character, had something wrong with her, or was just a bad actor.  Turns out I think it was more of a bad acting thing...

Had I been watching a show that I know well I assume that I would be much more familiar with the characters, their history, and what has been happening in the show/series lately.  I would have had this background knowledge to go off of as I viewed the show in silence.  I also probably would not have picked up so much on communication skills and how important the nonverbals are had I known the show well.

Competence in Communication

A parent of one of my students this year had demonstrated excellent communication skills thus far.  There are many things to discuss with this family regarding their child as some social-emotional issues have surfaced.  We (teacher & parents) have been in contact with at least three other professionals regarding screenings and observations for this particular child.  Each time that the mother hears back from another professional she emails me immediately.  She always follows up the very next time she sees me (at pickup or dropoff each day) to be sure I got her email and to ask for my thoughts, comments, concerns, etc.  This parent has been very diligent in contacting various professionals even when they do not respond in a timely manner.  She understands the importance that good communication can play in her life, my life, and the life of her child.  There is nothing like a motivated mother!!!

Professional Hopes and Goals (final post for this course)

Already in our discussion board this week I made note that microaggression was a new term for me.  An understanding of this topic is probably the most important thing I am taking away from the course.  I find myself much more aware of microaggressions as they occur around me and even find myself pointing them out to certain people (many of which have no idea either!).  As I continue in the world of education it is my hope that I can teach the kiddos in my classroom more about differences.  The more I talk about them and address issues in the classroom, the less likely they are to fall into the trap of being so influenced by our society and the subliminal messages.  I hope that they carry with them an awareness of what it means to be a leader, that it's okay to be different, and a love and respect for everyone around them.




My goal for the entire field of early childhood is this:

To be intentional about educating teachers in the areas of diversity, equity, and social justice. 

It is not a good thing that this is the first time I've heard about things such as microaggressions and many of the "-isms".  Educators need to learn how to identify these things and how to address issues before they are in the classroom - not after undergrad studies.  Not after teaching for a few years.  Not after half of their grad work.  Professional development opportunities need to exist before this point.  Prospective teachers need to be learning more about these things in their undergrad prep work.  Then they can greatly influence the lives of their students so that they know from a very young age how to handle differences in a constructive manner.



Thank you so much, colleagues, for your encouragement, support, challenges, and feedback as we worked together these past 8 weeks.  You all have helped me to grow tremendously.  I look forward to working with you more in the future!

Welcoming Families From Around The World

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.

"My" family's country of origin:  Spain

Childcare Setting:  Lower Elementary School Age Summer Classroom at a Daycare Center
 
 Ways I plan to be culturally responsive towards this family:

1.  Hold a Family Fun Day:  At some point during the summer I would organize and set up a day that could involve the entire family of this facility.  It would include a carnival-like atmosphere with games, crafts, food, face painting, and a spot for socialization.  I would ask for input from any parents/families as far as things they would like to see at the event and also add in of my own that would initiate conversation and interaction.  The point of this day is to get families involved in a fun time together.  Parents would have the opportunity to interact, help if they wanted to, and feel comfortable in the environment.

2.  Family Reports:  Each week I would pick a "Star of the Week".  This student would do a small presentation about their family or a few presentations throughout the week.  This could include anything they wanted but I would give suggestions such as: picture poster, favorite family game, foods, books, movies, etc.  We would get to know each family throughout the summer from the child's perspective.

3.  Family Interview/Conference:  Hopefully before this child started attending the program, or shortly thereafter, I would ask to meet with the family and/or parents/guardians.  I would ask questions about their background, religion, beliefs, general lifestyle, and encourage them to tell me as much about their family as they are comfortable doing so.  This would give some excellent background on the student and their family and give insight.

4.  Classroom Community Activities:  I would be very intentional about the language and activities I plan for our classroom.  I want to build a strong community of students.  I would use a lot of "we" and "our" as I talk about the room (rather than "my" or "I" as teacher).  We share ideas, the space, time, materials, food, games, and many other things.  The classroom is ours to take care of and share no matter your name, religion, background, or language.

5.  Snack:  During the family interview I would ask what some common snack items are in their country of origin.  I would let the family know that if they ever wanted to make anything (the child's favorite, etc) they may, or they can give me a recipe or give suggestions and I would get that snack sometimes.  I would do this with all families - students could take turns bringing in snacks that they like.
 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I can't recall a time that I experienced bias, prejudice, or oppression first hand... I can, however, think of more than a handful of times when I've see it online, in movies, books, and on TV.  

I remember one time when I was watching a movie on TV... it was a special feature... about the first African-American girl to attend a public school... Ruby Bridges was her name.  I just had to go look it up quick!  This was awhile ago, probably when I was still in middle or high school.  Anyway, I remember feeling just awful for the way that others were treating Ruby.  She was so young and innocent yet these adults were treating her like garbage.  I can remember tearing up at some points in the movie.  I didn't understand how anyone could be so cruel to another human being.  

Ruby had just as much of a right to attend that school as did any of the other children.  The way that people treated her had to make her feel as if she just wasn't worth it.  Things did change throughout the course of the movie.  I don't remember all the specifics, but do remember reading more recently that Ruby remained in that area of New Orleans and raised her own family there.  She stood up for what was right and made a huge difference for everyone.

Practiving Awareness of Microaggressions

I was at the mall earlier this week and decided to sit and do some "people watching".  It's always so interesting this time of year.  All kinds of people were walking around... some doing Christmas shopping and others seemed to be just walking laps.  I sat down on a bench that had 3 others with it in a square around a huge potted tree.  A couple of girls sat on the bench adjacent to me and I had fun listening to their teenage conversation!  :)  Four girls came walking towards us doing some shopping and I heard this comment from one of the teenage girls sitting near me: "Now those girls probably know how to play some good basketball!".  I had to chuckle because I knew at that instant that I could use the comment somehow this week for our course.  The girls that walked by and "probably know how to play some good basketball" were all tall (at least 5'11'' - 6'-something), African-American, and dressed in athletic clothing.  Two of them wore sandals while the other two wore what did look like basketball sneakers.  I have no idea if they play - we are in a college town and they very well could play for the team. 

I found myself wondering if I would have thought the same about the tall girls that walked by had the teenagers not made any comments.  I guess I'll never know!