Who Am I as a Communicator?

During this week I was surprised that one of my friends rated my listening skills better than how I rated myself. I know at times I have other things on my mind and should listen more. Apparently I listen well enough to give the appropriate feedback and give the level of attention needed. As well, I was surprised with my own survey. Through this survey I realized I can be aggressive when I feel a person is not communicating the way I feel they should. This is something I know I really have to work on because as individuals we all are different, meaning we handle situations and communicate differently.  Being too aggressive can cause the conversation to abruptly end sour. Combined this awareness can help me to try to improve my listening skills even more and work on being less aggressive.  If I can work on these two communication skills it will better my personal and professional life. Lastly, I was reminded how certain situations can change how you communicate, such as lack of time.

Communication and Culture

I think as much as we hate to admit it many people find themselves communicating with people of the same age, race or religion. Reason being, there are more commonalities; you are more likely to have things in common. I do find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures. For instance, having a conversation at lunch may go completely different depending on what group of people you are talking to. I have experienced situations where I was talking to a colleague, who is a different race, religion and much older. The conversation appeared smooth but my feelings inside did not match. Actually, I was on edge with every word coming out of my mouth, not sure her perspective on issues or how she would interpret what I was saying.  I found myself wanting to agree with her just so the conversation would not go south. I also found myself talking about things I had no interest in or really wanted to talk about. Now, when I am talking to someone who I feel we share plenty in common close in age, race, religion etc. the conversation is differently. It may appear similar but I am more relaxed the conversation flows natural; we share commonalities without looking for something in common. If there is dead silence, I do not feel awkward. I can look at a person directly in the eye because I am not leery of what I am saying. It may be laziness not trying to put forward the effort to communicate with people who are different from us or fear at times but it is easier during certain situations to communicate with someone with similar likings. 

Communication Skills: Language, Nonverbal, Listening

I decided to watch a television show called “10 Things I Hate About You”. The title should have given things away but I wanted to watch the show and not incorporate the title. The show is based around teenagers in a High School setting. At the beginning of the episode I gathered that the relationships were two sisters and their father living in a house. Based on their behavior I sensed plenty of sarcasm. The sisters were giving each other side eye looks, batting their eyes, rolling their eyes at each other and long sighs. Sarcasm continued at school, it was obvious there was a popular girl who was full of herself from the way she walked as if she were bouncing on a trampoline with every step she took, throwing her hair constantly and making everyone move out of her way as she pranced around the school.  It was hard watching the show without hearing what they were saying. However, when I turned the sound on I was exactly right; the show was based on sarcasm and rude remarks toward each other. The conversation I gathered in my head was actually very similar to the actual conversation. If I had of watched a show I know well, I would not have second guessed my thoughts about what I was observing. After this assignment I feel more confident about my opinion about people from their expressions. We all at times we judge people by their actions and the last thing I want to do is misjudge anyone. 

What Is Communication?

Out of all the people I have ever met, my aunt is the person who demonstrates competent communication better than anyone I know. I have always felt comfortable talking with her because of her behavior and mannerism, she embraces my thoughts with a gently nod of the head. She looks at me straight in the eye, so I know I have her attention. She possesses wonderful listening skills and always listens completely before interjecting. I can clearly be wrong about a topic but she will never degrade me. Instead she will try to get me to think about a situation from a different perspective. Even as a child I would run to her before my mom because I knew she had the best communication skills. Whatever I had done, I knew when she told the story to my mom it would go more smoothly than if I had of told my mom. I definitely try to model my communication skills after my aunt. I try to listen to a person’s thoughts completely before expressing my opinion. As well, I try to ensure people that whatever we talk about stays confidential and I never try to put anyone down for feeling a certain way. My goal is to incorporate what I have learned from my aunt and what I will learn in this class to better my communication skills.

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope I have, is for people to become more understanding of other cultures. This goes way beyond educators; it would be wonderful for everyone to be willing to embrace other cultures instead of holding bias feelings.  As well, I hope more people educate themselves on different cultures. I realize ignorance is the key reason why biases take place.

One goal I am very passionate about reaching is becoming an advocate for young children and their families. I realize my background is so crucial to having a relationship with these children and their families. In order for everyone to feel comfortable it’s important to find similarities between cultures.

I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their continued support. It is very helpful to see positive feedback and to know that other people can identify with your experiences. I have enjoyed reading everyone’s blog and have learned much from you all. Thank you again for everything! I wish you all well in the courses to come!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

At the child care center where I work I have a family who recently emigrated from Morocco. First I will research the location of Morocco. Morocco is located in North Africa, to understand the origin. Secondly, I will search the type of government they have which is a constitutional monarchy; this helps me understand the level of power in their country. They have a King in Morocco who holds a lot of power.  Thirdly, I would like to be familiar with the language they speak which is either Berber or Moroccan Arabic. Fourthly, I will research the dominant religion which Islamic. Lastly, I will look to see what offends them. For instance, during the month of Ramadan, I never knew it is considered rude to eat and drink in front of them while they are fasting.

My goal in preparing for this family is to make the transition as smooth as possible. I want the family to feel comfortable. I understand many things will be different.  The last thing I want to do is offend them. I am aware the smallest thing such as a hand shake can be disrespectful. Hopefully all of my research will make the family feel more relaxed. 

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107800.html

http://www.traveltaboo.com/morocco-travel-tips-dos-and-donts/

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

During the 2010-2011 school year, I spent majority of my time working with special education children. Some of the children do not have physical or mental problems but are just extremely slow learners. For instance a few of the seventh graders were reading at a third or fourth grade level. Many people choose not to work with special education children (SPED) because they fear it will take too much patience and it is difficult. Indeed, SPED children do require a different kind of attention but they learn just like everyone else nevertheless. I have overheard other teachers in the building expressing negative remarks about SPED children “saying there is no way I could deal with those children”. I confronted one of the teachers and asked why she would say that. She told me she could not deal with children like that climbing all up and down the walls. Already there is a bias basically saying SPED children are just unbearable to teach; anytime someone categorizes a group, biases are produced. Saying that they are climbing up and down the wall makes it seem as if they are not even human. I remember talking with another SPED teacher who was furious with another teacher because of his remarks about SPED children. The SPED teacher told me a teacher asked what on earth made her want to teach SPED children, it just seems like you are babysitting all day. I was enraged with the comment as well because this teacher was acting as if SPED teachers are ranked lower and less important. SPED teachers are just as important as any other teacher. Dealing with the situation I experienced multiple biases; teachers holding biases against SPED children as well as SPED teachers. I guess I was shocked with the actions of some teachers. I feel teacher should have bond and be looked as one unit and should never put another educator down. For incidence such as this one to decrease people have to put their biases aside and not speculate. It is easy to guess about a situation but if you have not personal experienced a situation you should not be so willing to pass your opinion.