WK 4 Who Am I As A Communicator?

What is the one thing that surprised you the most? I think the one thing that surprised me the most is that the scores for the Verbal Aggressiveness Scale were so different from my husband and co teacher. However, I am going to work on that and that is 1 important goal for me now that I see I need help with it.  What other insights about communication did you gain this week? That I am very concerned with others, however sometimes I tend to be very trusting and it can cause problems for me and the ones involved.
I loved this assignment, I learned alot about myself and what I need to work on to help me to be a better communicator to the young children, families, colleagues and others that I may communicate with throughout my career. This is a resource that I can use to grow and develop and maybe help others along the way.

WK 3 Communication and Culture

   Yes, I do find myself communicating with people from different groups and cultures differently after this wee.
The three strategies I could use to help communicate more effectively with the people or groups I have identified:
    First, I think it is important to have whatever paperwork that is being sent home to parents easyfor them to read, so I try to have copies in their language so that they know what is going on and so they do not miss out on important information concerning their child and school.
    Second, my school system has parent liasions that are available to help teachers and other early childhood professionals, to communicate or collect resources for parents of children, as well as the child itself.
   Third, I feel that it might be helpful to help parents by introducing them to parents that may be having the same issues or just may be new to the area and would like to become familiar with their community.
   As an early childhood professionals, I have to be available to help all children and their parents, if I can not help them, then it is my place to connect them with the proper resources to help them, regardless of the situation.

WK 2 Communication

      I decided to watch a show on ESPN called the CENTER.  I have never watched anything that talks about athletes and what is going on. However, I do like sports, so this was very interesteing to me.
     WITHOUT SOUND:
    I think the reporters have respect for each other, however they have their own opinions and they see the same things just in different perspectives. I feel that they are expressing how they feel through their hand gestures and facial expressions, there is alot of smiling and it seems that there is alot of conversations being interrupted and everybody trying to talk over each other.
     WITH SOUND: I still feel that they respect each other, but just have so many different opinions and everybody wants to be right and in the real world we know that, that is impossible. Yes, because there is only certain shows that I watch on a regular basis. I know the people that are on the show and I feel a connection with them, due to watching the show regularly.
      I learned that communication is very detailed and deserves the speaker as well as the listener to be focused in on what is being said and what is being heard.
    The aha moment for me, was watching these grown men, interrupt each other and then laugh at their colleagues the whole time they were speaking. I know that when I am in a conversation, I hate to be interrupted and cut-off in the middle of a sentence, show I can only imagine how I would be on live television in front of millions of people.   
    In closing, I think we MUST be considerate of each other, as well as children and their families and not only LISTEN to what is being said, but HEAR what is being said.

6165-2 Wk 1 Communication

   For this week's blog assignment, I chose to use my God-son as my example. Zaire is only 15 months old, however when he grandmother comes home from work, Zaire meets her with his hands in the air and he is babbling and making sounds, the grandmother swears that Zaire is telling on his mother that he has been with all day with. Even if the grandmother goes into a different part of the house, Zaire follows her and continues these gestures and sounds for a good bit of an hour or longer, everyday. I didn't believe her until I met her at her house last Friday evening to go and have dinner together. When we walked into the house, he began to babble, wave his hands and look back at his mother.
    I believe that Zaire has effective communcation, I told his mother, she better watch out, because when he really starts talking he is going to tell on her for everything and he will be sincere when he begans to speak.
    I am not sure if I would model this behavior, but I find it amazing that a 15 month old toddler, using his hands and babbling all while looking at this mother. We do not know what he is trying to say, however he surely knows, due to the actions and gestures he shows while trying to relay his messages to those who will listen.

WK 8 Professional Hopes and Goals

    One hope of mine when I think about working with young children and families is that all families be treated the same and be respected, appreciated and serviced to the fullest. When we as early childhood professionals come in contact with families of diversity,we should make sure they are taken care of , their voices are heard and their needs are met.
    One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity and social justice is that when I am put in the place to serve that young child and/or their family, I do it with their needs at hand, as well as communicate with other early childhood professionals, if other resources are needed.
     I would like to say "Thank You", to all of the dedicated early childhood professionals that I have grown to respect, appreciate and trust throughout this course as well as others courses that we have taken together. I would like to wish you all the best of luck and if there is anything that I can do to help one of you, please feel free to contact me.  Thanks and Good Luck!

WK 7 Welcoming Families from Around the World

The country I would choose would be Africa, I would love to learn more about their culture, education and ways of life. First, I would research the country through books or the internet. Second, I would see if there are any parents from Africa throughout my school that I could contact. Third, I would  get with the parent liasion at my school and see is she could help. Fourth, I would contact our resource department through the county. Fifth, I would contact family and see if there was a way to set up a face to face conference.

I would hope that these ways help me and the family, so that we are comfortable with each other. I would like to make their transition form Africa to America as smooth as possible. This family will have so many issues and things to do and learn, so if I can make it a little easier on them that will help. I can also have some type of idea of waht to expect from this family. The more I know about the family the better off I will be. The most important thing is to start and maintain a strong line of communication with all members.

WK 6 The personal side of bias, prejudice and oppression

The memory of an incident that I experienced with bias, prejudice and/or oppression is:
 When my 18 year old son was in the 8th grade, he played football, basketball, ran track and played baseball at the park. While playing football, he was injured by another player from the other team and his collar bone was broken, so he was under a doctors care for 4 weeks. At the beginning of the 4th week, basketball tryouts were held, so we got a note from the doctor releasing him and stating that hwe was able to tryout and play basketball.
  All of the young men that tried out were given one full week to participate with tryouts, however my son was only given two days, per the coach and then was denied a position on the team, although he had played the year before and was named, "The student athlete of the year in 7th grade."
   So, I requested a meeting with the athletic director and the coach, to find out what happened and why was he treated unfairly compared to the other boys. The athletic director and coach were only expecting me and my son to attend the meeting, however my husband at the last minute arrived at the school to sit in on the meeting and as the meeting began, the comment was made to me, "Mrs. Gardner,  we were not expecting Mr. Gardner. We thought that we could solve the problem without him." My husband then spoke and said, "I just want to make sure that the situation is treated fair and everything is resolved."
  To make the long story short, my son was able to play ball, the coach was reprimanded by the athletic director, because my son should have been given the same time as the others. Also, the coach made the comment to my son, "I want another student to be elected, "The student athlete of the year and not you two years in a row."
   I feel that not only my son, but myself as well were treated unfairly and in my judgment, I feel that the coach was jealous of my son and his talents on the field as well as the classroom. If I were the coach, I would have used my son as a role model for other young men, who made be having a hard time in the classroom or on the field. The coach needs to learn how to support all students and not feel the way he felt. I would have paired students together that needed  help, so that everyone could have an extra hand in the learning, so that he could remain eligible to play sports in middle school.