Communicating Differently

 

I do communicate differently with colleagues at work than my family.  When I communicate with my colleagues, I do not speak about personal concerns in my life.  I keep the conversation about assisting the families we work with and meeting their needs.  I discuss the bare minimum about my personal life and usually only if it is an issue which will cause me not to be in the office.  I avoid having a personal conversation with my colleagues at work.

 

I am more comfortable being myself with my sister.  I do not feel the need to watch how I say things due to the fact she understands who I am.  We have a similar point of view politically where we can celebrate when certain people are elected into office.  We also value the principles of Christianity and support each other accordingly.  I have know my sister since I was two and half years old and we have a history which can not be forgotten.  My sister is a part of who I am and love.

 

Unlike my colleagues at work, my sister appreciates me for who I am.  I can trust that she will not lie to me and will communicate ideas to help me instead of hurt me.  Since this is the case, I feel more comfortable communicating with my sister than my colleagues at work.  I am also confident that she will not use what I say against me and truly consider my point of view.  My sister communicates her love for me and concern for my overall well-being.  In knowing my sister genuinely cares for me, I am more inclined to communicate with her about my personal and professional life.

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Communication with Archer

Archer is the main character in the show.  In the episode I watched, a solider in uniform shocked Archer with jumper cables.  A distinguished lady with a suit seems to be Archer's boss.  She tells others to do things to him.  The lady with the tall boots and brown hair is his partner.  They became intimate.  After that, their relationship became more childish in nature, by knocking items out of Archer's hands.  Many of the women Archer comes in contact with have intimate relationships with him.  The relationships turn into relationships without trust and/or disgust.  Archer seems to manipulate his relationships and in turn, people find it difficult to trust or understand why he does certain things.

 

I feel the characters in the show do not like Archer.  The body language expressed that people do not believe what Archer tells them after they learn he will manipulate the situation.  The characters expressed nonverbally their dislike for the way Archer presents himself both professionally and personally.  Archer seemed to ignore their non-verbal cures.

 

The assumptions I made was the woman in the suit was Archer's boss and the woman with the tall boots and brown hair was his partner.  I assumed the man in the uniform was trying to harm Archer by getting him to tell secrets.  The assumptions I did make were correct about the relationships.  The assumptions about the details about how the relationships came to be was inaccurate.

 

The lady I thought was Archer's boss is his mother.  The lady with the tall boots and brown hair was Archer girlfriend for several months.  The man in the uniform worked with Archer and his mother told the man in uniform to simulate a very uncomfortable situation to test if he would revel the secrets.  The man in the uniform was found later in the episode that he was a spy.

 

I feel I would have been more accurate with a show I have seen before.  I would understand the details of the characters.  I would have a better understanding about why they make certain decision and how they feel about different ideas.  I would also have a better idea of the inner working of the show.  I feel I have developed a relationship with the characters in the show I enjoyed watching.



"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Communication

 

My best friend is a wonderful communicator.  Our conversation are honest and I know she will tell me the truth even if I do not want to hear it.  I trust her with my feelings and I know she will respect my point of view even if she does not agree.  We are free to communicate how we feel about diversity and equity.  We help each other maintain healthy mental health to better serve our families.  I know she cares about me and I care about her.  We have a mutual understanding of our unique needs for our families.  We constantly are collaborating about how society needs to strive for equity.  We can talk about what we need to do to serve our families better with breaching the confidence of our families.

 

We do model communication styles after one another.  The main attribute is honesty.  Families need to be able to trust me and being honest is a main characteristic which leads to trust.  In my relationship, I know that since she will not lie to me that the suggestions or advice she may give is because she genuinely cares for me without having an alternative motive.  Families are giving us their most precious gifts, their children.  In order to be able to serve the families and work together to form a team, trust is a must.  If we do not have trust, we will be unable to work as a team in order for their child to reach their full potential.

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Professional Hopes and Goals

 My hope is that the children and families I work with feel comfortable with who they are where they can share different aspects of their background no matter their culture.  Children need to feel that it is okay to be themselves without being ridiculed.  Families need to feel their children are able to express the culture in a safe environment.  By having a diverse classroom presents the opportunity for the children to learn about different ideas around the world.  In turn, our children would be more of a well-rounded thinker in order to contribute additional ideas to an evolving society.

 

My goal is to become a socially diverse individual.  I need to experience more activities of different cultures and inquire about the reason the people participate in the activity.  I would like to get a deeper understanding of why different cultures eat the types of food they do.  I believe that will give me a better understanding of how those families lived and what they needed to do to survive.  I would also like to understand why the culture wears the type of garb I see.  It will give me a better understanding of the type of climate they are accustomed.  I plan on taking the information to become less judgemental.  When I see a child that does not have an appropriate coat for the "cold snap" does not necessarily mean they do not have the financial resources.  It may mean they are not familiar with the climate in our community.  It will help me see each family uniquely instead of being judgemental.

 

Thank you colleagues and Professor Tammy for all of your encouraging words and support.  I look forward to the continued opportunity to grow together professionally.  Thank you for sharing your personal experiences.  It helped me realize I am not the only one finding my way in a society which is not always supportive of our cause.

 

 

Thank you again & Good fortune in all you do!



 

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Welcoming Families From Around the World

 

We are welcoming our new family to our child care facility from the Cote d'Ivoire.

I have learned that the background of the Cote d'Ivoire is French and Portuguese.  They are referred to as Ivorians.  Ivorians wash their hands in basins before their meals.  The climate is very warm all year long.  Many of the families participate in agriculture where the children tend not to complete school to work on the farm.  They are experiencing war and conflict which makes it tough to enjoy the beauty of the country.

 

www.our-africa.org/ivory-coast

 

 

These preparations will help me understand my new family for who they are on the inside and the outside.  The Cote d'Ivoire is know for tropical fruit, coffee beans and cocoa.  I could find decorations of tropical fruit and ask them to bring in items which would represent their family.  The information I gathered will help me establish a common educational goal with the family.  I would be able to use French to communicate with he family or providing some words in their country's language.  I would also put words in Portuguese around the classroom.

 

I believe this will help develop a positive relationship with the family.  I would hope that the family would be able to identity with the items in the classroom.  The main goal is to reach a common ground in what is best for their child educationally.  Parents need to feel their child's identity will not be compromised.  I am hoping when the family identifies their culture being represented in the classroom that they will feel more comfortable sharing the part of their culture which cannot be seen.



"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

 

When affirmative action was created for African Americans to have an equal chance to gain employment as their European American counterparts.  It applied to college entrance also.  Many European Americans were upset and felt African Americans were given a free ride where they did not have to work hard in order to earn the slot or position.  Affirmative action intentions were to make a level playing field.  Bias were formed when standards were lowered for African Americans to meet the mark in order to get into institutions of higher learning and for employment.

 

Affirmative action diminished equity by adjusting the standards for African Americans.  African Americans did not have the same opportunities in education as their European American counterparts.  Historically, African American families were denied the right to education for many years.  African American families were already at a disadvantage.  Even though affirmative action was suppose to empower African American families, it created a bias in making African Americans seem to have less intelligence than their European American counterparts.

 

The feelings which were brought out of me was disappointment.  African Americans were already at a disadvantage.  Historically, education was a privilege that European American males were privy to.  Since African Americans did not have the same resources or opportunities as the European Americans have had in education, it will take longer for African Americans to discover the necessary resources to help their children ultimately succeed in education.

 

Affirmative action can be an equity experience.  Now, affirmative action has been expanded to women and minority cultures.  Employers need to state general requirements for jobs and make sure the applicant is qualified despite their culture background or ethnicity.  The focus needs to be on the personality and willingness to work as a team player of the applicant.  I believe it provides a more level playing field for all applicants no matter their privileges.

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

 

I was in the nail salon and my son, who is within the autism spectrum, dropped a piece of paper on the floor from his lollipop.  An European American woman looked at me and said in a condescending way that there was paper on the floor.  I asked my oldest child for help to pick up the paper.  While the woman was leaving, she made another comment about the paper on the floor.

 

When my four African American children entered the nail salon, the European American woman did not have a pleasing expression on her face.  She behaved as though my children were automatically going to disrespect the nail salon by leaving trash everywhere.  Her tone and words were very condescending.  Since my son, which is within the autism spectrum does not look like he has unique needs, it is easy to misunderstand what he says and how he behaves.  At times, he will behave like he is a younger child.

 

The European American woman made me very angry.  Her demeanor was as if African American children do not understand how to behave in public places and do not clean up after themselves.  My children were viewed as if they were going to disrespect the nail salon property due to the size of the family and ethnic background.  The European American was so concerned that my children would disrespect the property, that she disrespected my family with her degrading comment.

 

 

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-