Demonstrating Competent Communication

The person that I find that displays and demonstrates competent communication  is the Bishop of my church. He is very effective in his delivery and brings every message down to laymen’s terms. I think trying to understand the BIBLE is kind of difficult but having a teacher that can break down the sections to make you understand and really feel the power of the word or scripture is very important. My Bishop has a slight accent because he is from South Africa but he articulates so well that you would never know it. My Bishop is passionate about the word and dedicated to making sure his members understand it and can apply it with every encounter in our life. He can magnify the word and make you feel joy even when you are undergoing the worst possible triumph. He speaks with power, courage and confidence and these traits are important when you are seeking people to worship with you.

My Bishop is very effective based on his knowledge and confidence in his delivery of the word. He is very educated and wants to be sure that we understand what he is teaching so we can go out there and teach the message with the same flow of confidence that he delivers with. He is very interactive and he wants his congregation to participate and exhibit their knowledge to the subject area. He wants to make everyone feel comfortable and willing to answer a question even if they are not on the right flow. My bishop never makes anyone feel as if they are missing the mark or not understanding what he is preaching. He has a way to get everyone involved and excited about the lessons that they are learning about the LORD. There are many interpretations in the BIBLE and he can deliver his message making you agree with him even if you are having a different interpretation.

I would love to exhibit the knowledge and confidence that my bishop displays when he is in front of a very large crowd. I just instantly freeze up and lose my train of thought and feel like I cannot complete my mission I set out to complete. I would love to exhibit some of the same communications behaviors that my Bishop conducts because being a powerful public speaker is a powerful gift to have and can take you a long way in almost any field.

 

           

Professional Hopes and Goals

I decided to work with children based on the many goals I had of trying to help this world become a better place. Now as I am studying in this field and working with children I have come to realize that changing the world is going to be a true challenge and is going to take a lot of work but I am going to try to give it all I’ve got. I want to make sure that the children that I serve are able to freely express themselves without feeling shy or embarrassed. I want them to feel equal and not feel ashamed of their culture even if it is different. I want them to feel secure in whom they are and help them not to indulge in micro aggressions or any form of hurtful biased behavior. I hope that I teach children to appreciate and learn from one another’s cultural difference and not judge or talk down on another persons differences.

I would also like to set a similar goal for the field of early childhood education. I would like to change our way of thinking when we think of differences. I would like for the world to accept the differences within one another and learn from them. I would like for there to be no more separation in terms of classism, racism or gender differences. I want us to see each other and accept each other for what we are worth and not be judged based on these attributes.

I would like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart to each of my colleagues and a wonderful professor! You have all shared some deep, personal moments and expressed feelings that have been great learning experiences. I have learned so much from this class and really enjoyed the fact that I have been able to release some true feelings that have allowed me to learn a deeper side of myself, and for this I am truly grateful. I can’t believe we are so close to the end of our program! This has been a great experience and thanks to all of you I am walking away from this class with a better understanding of myself and this helps me to be a better educator at the end of the day.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

I am working in a child care center that has children within its program that of similar cultural background. We have a few children that practice varying religious beliefs but for the most part none of our children within my classroom are from another country outside of the United States and most children within my classroom are of the Christian faith. I just received word that we will not be receiving another child from a foreign country that does not practice our religion nor do they even speak our language. As a matter of fact this new child is coming from a country that I do not know anything about, they do not even speak our language. The country this child is coming from is called Nauru and it is a former German Empire colony and another name for this country is Pleasant Island of the South Pacific. Many people of Nauru will need to collect rain water when they have those monsoon rains (which are most popular between November and February) because they do not much natural fresh water. Here are five ways I would prepare myself for this new child into my classroom:

1.)    I would first attempt to research the name of this child’s current residence and his country and find out all I could about culture and get any ideas that can be found on helping this small child to continue and keep in close range with his culture.

2.)    I would find many multicultural materials that are pertaining to this new country that I and my class must soon be use to and getting accustomed. I would find books, picture, and collectibles about the country of Nauru to get my class prepared for this new child’s arrival.

3.)    I would give the children a small lesson on biased behavior and make sure that they do not have any already conjured up reactions or prejudices about the new children soon to enter our program from another country. I would learn a few words of the new country and have the children practice so when the new child arrives the new child can feel welcomed. I would make changes to my current lesson plan so the new child can have some lessons that would help to restore the other children within the classroom.

4.)    I would learn some songs and maybe even a lesson that is familiar with traditions practiced within the other country that my new child would be coming from. I would have the class learn something about the country that the new child came from.

5.)    I would set up a conference for the families of the children within this program so that we can get information first hand on what to expect from these children and their families. I would also give them some background and familiarities about our country so they can begin to adjust and become a little less uncomfortable.

 

I would hope that all of my research and preparation would help the new children and family to get a better understanding of our country and how we learn and teach in America. I would hope that these families would understand that we are a team and we are here to help them to receive the best possible education possible within our borders.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I have a memory of oppressive behavior that happened to a family member and this sticks out very vividly in my mind. She was looking for a job after graduating from college and had a few interviews set up to go on. One morning she received a call from a company that had seemed very interested in her credentials and experience. They stated they had several positions available that they were trying to fill. They stated she had passed the phone interview stage and is now moving on to the face to face interview. They had practically assured her the job based on her qualifications and he recent degree. They scheduled her for an interview and when she arrived they had her waiting for over an hour. No one else was in the office and no other interviews were scheduled for that day so she should not have been there for over an hour. Once she finally got to the back to proceed with her second interview they had explained how the positions have been filled. She went back and forth with the lady for awhile before she finally left. She called later to speak to the person in charge and they were unaware of such behavior and they wanted to interview my family member on the spot. She was not interested in working for such a company but she felt very defeated she told me after the entire incident occurred.

This situation diminished equity because it was apparent that she had the qualifications that were needed for this job. The company was interested in her credentials at first but once they found out that she was a minority they were no longer interested in her skills nor her expertise of the job any longer. The treated her unfairly and unjustly which is not at all acceptable in our modern world.

When my cousin had explained this situation to me it really made me angry as well for a few reasons. First reason this situation made me so angry was because it was just wrong and unfair.  No one should be denied a job when they fit the description and experience needed to have the job except the skin color needed. I was also outraged by this situation because it made her so angry and discouraged. This was her first real experience with job hunting after college and this made her feel defeated. I felt this was unfair and I really felt sad for her by going through this. I explained to her that this is a very unusual occurrence and to not feel discouraged by this situation. She needs to get back on her horse and keep riding it.

In order for this story to end with a higher level of equity the young biased, racist lady that was the office coordinator needs to be stopped in her track before this company has an interaction with the wrong person that is not going to put up with what they are doing and will get them shut down and in big legal trouble. I think the racist attitudes need to be changed.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

This week was a fabulous learning week because I learned something so fascinating about microaggressions and how prominent they are in my everyday life. I recently moved to a new neighborhood in February after the birth of my second child. After being raised in the city for most of my life, and even starting my family in a less than safe neighborhood I always wanted to move to the suburbs in a single family home community like you always see on TV. Being the pisces that I am (the big dreamer) I would drive through newly built communities and just think of what it would be like if I could just live there. Well my dream finally has come true and my husband and I decided to go for the gusto and get the house that I always wanted. We moved to a beautiful community with tot lots, a beautiful community center, walking trails, and an over sized community pool all within our development. My son is starting kindergarten in September so I am always walking through the community and taking him to the playgrounds as well as the pool to get acquainted with the neighbors and get him meeting some friends. Well the other day my husband and I took the boys to the pool. We meant some great neighbors and had a few interesting conversations. (I will be honest there are only a few black families within this community and we are one of them so I guess our presence sometimes can be surprising to the neighbors.) One of the ladies in the pool asked us how long we lived there and were we moved from. She wanted to know where we worked. How long have we been at our jobs? How did we hear about the community? And even asked us if we ever think about moving back to the city. I answered her questions and I really do not think she meant any harm by her micro insults, she did not even realize her questions were slightly offensive, but she was really curious to know how can we afford this living. I also talked to a family that asked so many questions about the city and wanted to know what it is like to live near so much action in the inner city. I participated in the small talk and did not take offense to the many comments or assumptions that my husband and I cannot afford the community and it almost seems as if some of those neighbors may be expecting us to move out sooner than later.

I sometimes get stares and evil looks and even some people just don’t speak. I feel saddened by some of the reactions and even worry about my son in school but if I had it to do all over I would not change one single thing because I want my children to grow up in a safe environment and will face micro aggressions all day if I have to, to give them a better life than I had growing up. I think racism is so ridiculous because people should just accept people for who they are and not what they are. We all come from different cultures and backgrounds but we should appreciate our differences and desire to learn from them rather than hate and resent them.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

My Husband:

 Culture is what we are made up of, our heritage, our beliefs and traditions that we may have been accustomed to. Diversity is to be different and to be accepted for your differences.

My Mother:

Culture is something that defines you. It is your foundation and it starts with your religion in many instances. Culture is your way of life.  Diversity is being accepted for your differences, Understanding someone’s uniqueness.

Parent in my child care setting: (Different nationality)

Culture is values and behaviors that represent your depth. It is something that is shared with your family and may be your common ground. It can be something that is not respected by others. Diversity is being respected.  It can also be the acceptance of cultures.

There were a few terms mentioned that were similar to terms that were used in our class to define culture. Terms such beliefs, traditions, your religion and even things that define you . My mother said that culture” is your foundation and it starts with your religion”. I think was a very good way to explain how culture is the basis of who we are and our religion can speak volumes of that. Diversity was explained as accepting ones differences and this is so true in explaining the depth of diversity. It allows us to be individuals without being judged.

I think that one very important part of culture and diversity that was not touched on was the ingredient of race and gender and the fact that there is a dominant culture and how we are expected to follow an expectation. But to be completely honest before taking this class I did not ever think about the theory of the dominant culture and how important it is in our society of classes and fitting in.

I have now grown a better understanding of culture and diversity on a whole by taking this class but now I am gaining an even better understanding of the two elements and how they affect who we are as professionals in the world of early learning. We are responsible for teaching the children and we must be sure to allow them and teach them how to represent their culture and display its importance. It defines us and if that is not taught at an early age then it may be lost throughout adulthood.

My Family Culture

My Family Culture

 

This assignment was extremely difficult and it made me think about what is important to me. I have many things that I would initially want to take to start my new journey in a new place. But if I could only choose three items I would have to say the first things and most important thing would be family photos of my children, my parents, my husband and most important my brother since he passed away 10 years ago.

It is really unbelievable how I would feel so lost without my computer, iPod, phone and other items of convenience, these items would be a major lost if I could not have them, I would feel so incomplete. So of course I would want to bring one electronic item which would be my iPad because I have many family videos, photos, personal books, letters that I have written, my journal, and many other important things are on that device. But in thinking of things that would be significant to my family’s culture I would take the American flag (that we hang outside of our house) with me since our country was destroyed. I have many family members that are in the military and they fight for our country every day. If our country no longer existed that would be a hard pill to swallow for myself and many people of my family.

If I had to leave behind two items and only take one I would be devastated but I would have to say I would take my family portraits because one picture speaks a million words. We all know that technology does not last forever and what about if the iPad decided not to work then I would lose everything. But I can always have the family picture and they can last forever.

This assignment was a great reflection exercise because it made me realize I do not really have any family air looms and many people that I spoke to feel the same way. I feel that if this was an assignment about 50 years ago I think more people would have significant family items to talk about.