Week 5

Think about any disagreements, or conflicts, you have recently experienced or are currently experiencing at work with a supervisor or colleague, or someone in your personal life. Share at least two strategies you have learned about that might help you manage or resolve the conflict more productively, and why these strategies might be effective. For example, could you suggest a compromise? Could you look for a broader range of solutions to your disagreement? Could you use some of the principles of nonviolent communication or the 3 R's to better help you resolve this conflict?

I am a pretty outgoing person and one who does not really have any disagreements or conflicts. I have not recently or are currently experiencing any conflicts or disagreements at work with anybody. I remember having a conflict before at work and when I did it was because one of the employees was not doing work and I felt like I was doing all the work. My colleague did not want to do any work because she felt like she was new on the job so she didn’t have to do anything. I started to get frustrated because she only had one task to do was put up clothes. She had already been there for a few days and I think that she knew what to do by then. Although I knew nothing about the 3 R’s at the time I did stop and think to make sure I respect her because I wanted the same in reciprocal. I already had a relationship with her because she was my colleague.

Also, if appropriate, ask your colleagues for their input and advice regarding, if not specific problems, how they have learned to be more effective communicators as it relates to conflict resolution skills.

            How would you have handled this situation using the nonviolent communication?

My CommunicationSkills

After taking the assessments that were given for this week the two people that I got to evaluate me was my twin sister Myisha and my best friend Natasha. During the assessment I was not so surprised  how both of them perceived me because the way I perceived myself was the way they did as well. I know that for a fact I am not as great of a communicator as I would like to be. One reason that I am not as great of a communicator that I would like to be is because I take a very long time to get my point across sometimes. I always make a short story long and I lack in self confidence in some areas of communication. One being job interviews and another is talking in big groups. Natasha and Myisha tells me this all the time and I think that it is because they want me to gain those things and believe that I can make a long story short, do great in groups, and go into an interview being confident but not overly confident. As far as my verbal aggressiveness goes I tend to not say much to others around me when I need to.

One thing that I have learned during this week is that I need to make sure I get my point across when talking to others and be confident when doing so. Another thing that I have learned is that no matter what I need to  make sure I understand that practices makes perfect and I just need to effectively communicate with others and in certain situations. I think that when it comes to being verbally aggressive I always think about others before I say anything even if I am right and they are wrong in whatever situation it may be. I think it’s just because I don’t like confrontation.

Assgn 3 Week 3

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

            No, I do not communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures. It does not matter about the different groups and cultures as long as we have a connection we are communicating on the same level. For example, I have a friend who is from Ethiopia and although her beliefs and religion is different from mine we communicate with each other just fine. I learn things about her background and she learns things from mine without either one of us passing judgment. We may disagree here and there but we are still friends who are learning. This goes for all people that I interact with whether it’s those of a different sexual orientation or varying abilities.

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.

            One strategy I could use to help me effectively communicate with people or groups I have identified is to use the Platinum Rule. Another strategy is for me to recognize that I am a cultural being and understand that I see cultures as being different. By doing this I would realize that it is okay to see other cultures as different as long as I am not putting anyone else culture down because of the way I feel about it. The last strategy that I could use to help me communicate more effectively with people or groups I have identified is to relate to others when I communicate with them.

Assgn 2 Week 2

Mob Wives

What do you think the characters' relationships are based on the ways in which they are communicating?

            I think that the characters relationships are not so good. Some of the characters seem to have a good relationship while the others seem to have a horrible relationship based on the way they are communicating. They seem to be yelling at one another based on how some of the women are using hand gestures and based on their facial expressions.

What are they feeling and expressing based on the nonverbal behavior you are observing?

            Based on the women nonverbal behavior they are upset and expressing anger towards each other.

What assumptions did you make about the characters and plot based on the ways in which you interpreted the communication you observed?

            Based on the assumptions that I have made I am correct about the character and plot. My assumptions were that they were upset with each other and that some got along with each other.

Would your assumptions have been more correct if you had been watching a show you know well?

            No because after watching this show I seem to have to gotten this show correct.

Write about your experience in your blog, including what you learned about communication from this experience and insights or "aha" moments you believe would be helpful to your colleague

            What I have learned about communication from this experience and insights is that you can tell a lot about how people communicate and feel based on their body language.

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 hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds are that I would like them to learn about diversity all over the world and what it means to be diverse. I hope that I can teach them what it means to be diverse and that they will understand that diversity is something to be proud of.  I also hope that when working with these families and children I hope that we keep an open communication and that they are willing to learn open up with me and tell me all there is to know about their diverse background.

 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)

           
           One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity is to meet more people around the world and learn about their diverse background. The goal I have for equity is that everyone I come in contact with treats me fairly and I will do the same in return. The goal I have for social justice is that whenever I teach children I would like to let them know that social justice is something we should all have more knowledge about and let children know that we all have rights and should be treated according to them.

 A brief note of thanks to your colleagues

            I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their post. I enjoyed reading them all. I also like the comments you guys post to my blog it shows that you took the time out to read my blog. I enjoyed reading your post and I wish all you guys the best in your future courses. Good luck!!!

Welcoming Families Around the World

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

            France

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

            1. One way I will prepare myself for this family is for me to know how the weather is in France. In France their winter is really cool and their summer is mild.

            2. Another way to prepare myself for this family is to make sure I know about the different foods that are popular in France.

            3. The third way I would prepare myself is to know more about the languages spoken in France and which ones are more dominant.

            4. The forth way to prepare myself is to learn more about the school systems.

            5. The last way to prepare myself for this family is to let them know about the driving in France and the justice system.

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

I hope that these preparations will benefit both me and the family is through letting them know that they will be safe because I have knowledge about the different systems in their country. Another way that I hope these preparations will benefit me and the family is by showing them that I know everything there is to know about their country so if they have any questions they could come to me with them.

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 that I have of an incident when I experienced prejudice is when I was watching a movie at home. I could remember feeling so disgusted at the movie because of how the people way before my time were treated. The movie is called Rosewood and there was a mother who was trying to protect her son from getting killed by some Caucasian men who were apart of the KKK and when she went outside she was shot dead in front of him for trying to protect him from them. This was not the part I was disgusted by it was when they took her, put her in a box, and burned it. As a child I just couldn’t fathom why people were so cruel back in those times toward African Americans and sometimes I can’t understand it today. I have a better understanding so it doesn’t bother me as much but I still dislike it.

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

            The prejudice in that incident diminishes equity because African Americans back then were not treated fair. In this movie they were not only killed but beaten if they talked back to a Caucasian person. We are supposed to live in a world that states justice for all but there was no justice for those people in that movie. Once they were dead and gone they were still disrespected.  

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

            The feelings that this incident bring up for me is confusion and sadness.

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

            Those people who has hatred towards African Americans into an opportunity for greater equity. I think that this would be a great change in those who are unfair not just to the African American race but to all those races people have hatred for.