Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Teacher, Student

https://www.atlassian.com/blog/inside-atlassian/how-to-navigate-diverse-communication-styles-at-work When I think about communication, I realize that I do communicate differently with different groups of people.  I communicate differently with my friends than I do with my co-workers.  I speak differently with parents, in the program I work for, than I do with my family.  I in turn speak differently with people from different cultures.  I do this because I adapt to the situation and group of people I am communicating with.  It does not mean that I am disrespecting anyone, or applying a bias.  I use different communication styles and techniques with the different people I speak with because they all have different cultures and are different individually within those cultures.  Depending upon the group, person, or situation, I use different body language, facial expressions, words, and phrases.  For example, the conversations I have with staff at wor...

 This week I watched Season I Episode I of Imposters.  This was a show about a trio of con artists, one of which becomes the wife of an unsuspecting man only to be conned and lose all of his money.  I watched the episode with the volume muted and took notice of nonverbal communication.  Then I watched the episode with the volume on and took notice of more information. Without volume I noticed that the characters seemed to know and understand each other well.  They seemed to be close.  It was easy to discern emotions such as happiness, sadness, seriousness, desperation.  It was difficult to determine the context of the emotions.  It was also difficult to discern exactly what was going on in some of the scenes.   With volume I was able to understand what was happening in each scene and who the characters were.  The main characters were related by marriage, the unsuspecting man and the con artist wife.  The other characters were e...

 My roommate is a competent communicator.  During professional conversations, she is clear and concise.  She controls her emotions during complex conversations.  She articulates her thoughts very well.  She displays confidence in her presentation when she communicates with others.  She also controls her body language when in a professional setting.  In her personal conversations, she communicates a little differently.  She will giggle when she makes a mistake, blush if she is embarrassed, and uses more body language.   https://www.start2bu.be/en/personal-communication-style/ I would like to communicate the way she does in a professional setting in all of my communications.  I would like to be able to control my emotions better, articulate my thoughts better, and control my body language so that it is fitting for the type of communication I have.  I know this will take practice and refocusing my thoughts.  But, I do think i...

 One hope I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I support their educational needs and provide them with an anti-biased learning environment and experience.  I strive to accomplish this by ensuring the classroom reflects the children and families enrolled; ensuring learning experiences are valuable and teach developmentally appropriate skills that also support the lives of the children and families.                                                     One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to the issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to educate the teachers.  Educate them in how diversity, equity, and social justice impacts children and families, not just in the elementary and middle years of education, but also in preschool.  Show ...

 Scenario: A child will be entering the class from a different country.  How can you prepare? I am selecting the country of Laos.  To prepare for this student entering my classroom, I would research the country to gain background information.  Laos is a country in Southeast Asia, with a population of 6.5 million people.  The languages spoken are Laotian and Thai.  Most people are farmers, and the most popular crop is rice.  Laos is considered to be the least developed country in Asia, and the population lives in rural areas.  According to the United Nations World Food Programme, 23 percent of the population is food insecure.  According to UNICEF, “40 percent of the population has no sanitation facilities.  Approximately 70 percent of five-year-old children do not have early childhood education opportunities”.   I would want to incorporate Laotian words into our classroom.  To do this, I would ask the family to help me writ...

 The memory I have of an incident when I experience bias happened about 20 years.   I went on a ride-along with my husband at the time.  He was a police officer and an African American.  I am white.  We stopped at a Popeyes for dinner and went to the counter to place our order.  He placed his order first.  I then attempted to place my order.  The counter person, a female, told my husband his total.  I said that we were together, and I needed to place my order.  The counter person refused to look at me.  I explained I was his wife and needed to place my order.  At this point, my husband began to laugh.  After standing there for several minutes, he told the counter person to take my order.  I had never been treated that way, nor had I ever treated anyone that way.  I was embarrassed.  When we sat down to eat, I tried to discuss the situation with my husband.  He did not want to talk about it.  M...

        Microaggressions occur throughout many interactions.  I observed several when my oldest daughter visited.  They were directed toward my younger, teenage daughter and were not meant to harm her, but they did none the less.  The microinsults and microinvalidations were said in jest, but you could see the impact on my youngest daughter’s face.  She was hurt by them and quickly tried to hide that she was hurt.  When I observed this, I began to hurt for her.  I did not realize what the impact was on my daughter.  I did not know how to respond before now.  I have a better understanding of what to watch for now.  So, it is more prevalent in the observations and experiences I have.  Experiencing them myself this week, I have become more vocal in identifying them towards the person who has made the microagression.  I am pointing them out and holding the person responsible for what they have said.  It is uncom...