Competent Communicators

The person that comes to mind when I think of a competent communicator is my Aunt Wanda.  When she communicates she always gives eye contact and talks in an even tone. Even when she is upset you can never tell because her voice tone stays the same.  She doesn't holler to get her point across and she listens to what others have to say before she begins speaking.  I am just the opposite, when I don't agree it shows in my body posture and facial expressions.  My voice tends to elevate when I get excited/upset and I do a lot of talking with my hands.  I do everything I can to get my point across which isn't always a good thing.  It's hard for me not to do these things because I have been doing them for so long, however I am working on it.

Because of this I believe that I am not always being effective when communicating with others and this is why I have paid close attention to my Aunt because she can speak and make a point without all of the "extra" and that is what I attempt to do.

I am a work in progress and as I've gotten older and wiser I tend to do better and this is one of my personal goals that I want to accomplish because I do feel that sometimes my demeanor can be intimidating to individuals who may not know me and that is never my intention.

Professional Hopes and Goals

Throughout this course I have learned a great deal of information.  While I knew that all of the -ism's existed learning more about them increased my knowledge of diversity.  My hope for working working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that each person will feel more apart of the group, that they won't be singled out because of their traditions or beliefs and that each professional working with individuals from diverse backgrounds are more aware of microaggressions and are able to identify their own biases. 

One goal that I have for the early childhood field related to diversity, equity and social justice is that people will began to treat individuals more of equals and that they will be able to appreciate the differences that people may have because the diverse world that we live in will continue to be diverse and they should be able to accept it and if they can't accept it they should at least respect it.

Throughout this course I have learned so much from each of you through our blogs and discussions.  This has been a difficult quarter for me because I have been going through a lot of medical issues and thought many times that I should just drop the class cause I didn't feel like I was producing my best work, but I continued to press my way and have made it to week 8.  I appreciate each of you who took the time to read my discussions and blogs and for those who commented on them.  Good Luck in your educational and professional journey.

Latarsha

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The county of origin for the family that I have chosen is Jamaica.  

5 ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family:

·         I would first try to learn about Jamaica and their culture by researching the culture as much as possible.

·         Some Jamaicans speak English and some don’t I would try to learn the basics of the Jamaican language such as good morning, good afternoon, to try to incorporate their native language.

·         I would get background information on the parents from previous educational settings to become more familiar with them so that when I come in contact with them I would know who plays the dominant one in the family; basically learning the family dynamics.

·         Because various countries would be represented in the setting I would make sure that Jamaica was also represented and incorporated as much as possible.

·         I would have a family survey that the family could complete to help in getting to know the family better to prevent assumptions.

     Trying to learn about various cultures is what you make it.  If you go into a situation with biases and assumptions it will only make it harder to get to know the family.  I believe that by learning these things it will help in getting to know the child.  I know from experience that these things will work and I also know that these things won’t tell you everything that you need to know about the family this is why it is important to keep an open line of communication with the families, ensuring that they feel welcomed and not judged.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I read a lot of articles on the internet, especially yahoo new and I tend to comment on a lot of the articles that I read.  Last year I commented on an article about a man being found not guilty in a particular case.  I added a comment to the article because it was my way of venting.  I didn't put anything about my race or race at all in the article but received several replies and one that stuck out in my head was the fact that someone said that I was an ignorant black woman and that they could tell that I was black...because of the stupid name that I had.  I was offended and stereotyped because of my name and the person who commented was racist and prejudice in my opinion.

This prejudice diminished equity because of the fact that stereotypes and racial biases were used in commenting on the post that I did concerning the article.  Not one individual commented on what I said about the situation but rather I was bashed because they felt I had a black name.  I was pissed at the comments but realized that those commenting were the one's that were being ignorant.  I gave them names of white women who they could look up to see that this name wasn't just a "black name" and although they gave me no response afterwards I figured I had proven the point of not stereotyping people based on their names and making prejudice comments.

I can't say what or who would have to change in order to turn incidents such as this one around for an opportunity for greater equity.  However, I do feel that it is important that people grow and get over racism, stereotypes and their biases when dealing with people from other ethnicity's or cultures.  It's important that people are educated on what prejudices and racism is because people will say quickly that I'm not racist, I'm not prejudice but won't realize that they have microaggressions that they may not be aware of that will portray them as a racist or someone who is prejudice. 

Practicing Awareness of Microagressions

When I think about microaggressions it makes me think back to a couple of weeks ago I was out doing some grocery shopping.  My basket was full of food and the cashier asked me “Is this going to be food stamps or what”, I was offended by the statement.  That was a stereotype at its best.  Just because I had a cart full of groceries, am black and my grocery bill was well over $100.00 she assumed that I had food stamps.  The customer who was in front of me was a white woman who had just as many groceries and the cashier asked that customer is this going to be debit or credit.  What made it even more offensive was that the cashier was a black woman as well.  This just goes to show that even those who belong to the same group as you (ethnicity) you are still stereotyped.  Many times people will say it’s those who belong to other groups but I have experienced  stereotypes more often from those who I have more in common with than those I don’t.

In this particular situation I am not sure if it was intentional or unintentional but I do know that it contained an insulting message (Laureate, 2013) and I was very offended by it.  This goes to show that microaggressions can  can come from anyone; people in the same groups or people who are from different groups.  As Crissy stated in her blog, people should thing before they speak or at least be educated on microaggressions so that they can be prevented.

References

Course Media: Laureate (2013). "Microaggressions in Everyday Life" .

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

The three individuals that I spoke with this week concerning culture included three different ethnic groups:  White, Arabic and Black.  This group included a co-worker, a parent in the programs that I work for and a friend.  When I questioned them of their definitions of culture their definitions were pretty similar.  They referred to culture as the values, beliefs and traditions that they have.  They all believed that their culture is important to them and that every person’s culture should be respected.  When speaking to them about diversity and their definition of the word they thought that it meant the differences between individuals and groups no matter their ethnicity or culture. 

The definitions that I received from all three of these individuals are similar to those the definitions that have been studies thus far in this course.   The beliefs, values and traditions all represent culture and diversity meaning each person is uniquely different and should be respected. 

I believe that when listening to others definition of culture and diversity as opposed to my own and what I have learned thus far is that each person’s culture is important to them.  They want to be valued and respected no matter their cultural background.  A person’s culture can help you to understand a person and shouldn’t be looked down upon, instead you should try to understand why others may react differently than most, why their traditions and beliefs may differ from your own and you should respect them for those differences and appreciate that without this diverse world there would be no uniqueness.    

My Family Culture

If there was ever a catastrophe in my country and I had to live in a country where the culture was different from my own and I was only allowed to take three small items I would take my Bible, a photo album with family pictures and my wedding bands.  These are three of the thinks that are most important to me.

My Bible is important to me because it represents my religion and they are the Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.  This is and would be my comfort while trying to get accustomed to another culture and for my daily living and survival.  I would take my photo album because pictures are worth a thousand words and they hold fond memories of me and my family together showing unconditional love.  I would take my wedding bands because my marriage and my husband are one of the most important parts of my life, I wear them daily and would be lost without having them on.

If I was told once I arrived that I couldn't have but one of those items and would have to give the others up I would be devastated.  I wouldn't want to part with any of those items because those would be the only things left that I would own.  The choice would be easy but it would still be hard to handle.  I would have to give up my family album and my wedding bands.  I would have to keep my Bible because this would be the only thing that would allow me to cope and live from day to day in a country where everything around me is unfamiliar and new.  Memories last a lifetime and I could never forget my family, my marriage or my husband because they would be right there with me and we could begin to make new memories together, however, my Bible would be needed so that I can continue to learn the word of God and to continuously keep my faith, as well as my sanity. 

I have always knew that my religion and my family are the most important parts of my life.  I love them dearly and would probably be lost without them.  When starting this assignment when asked the three things that I would take with me I think I thought about it all of five minutes because I know what is important in my life, my religion and my family.  When having to narrow it down to only one item it was easy because God will always be first in my life.  Don't get me wrong I'm not where I need to be in Christ but I am a work in progress and I know that if I continue to pray and I read the word of God, He will direct my paths.