Start Seeing Diversity Blog: "We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"

This week we were asked to think of a time when we witnessed or reprimanded or silenced a child after he or she pointed out someone they saw as different. Initially it took me a while to think of an instance but something a little uncomfortable came to mind. I was with my family during my oldest daughter's lacrosse game. A teenage girl with Downs Syndrome decided to sit next to my youngest daughter who was 5 at the time. My daughter covered her eyes and said, "NO! DON'T SIT HERE"!! I was so shocked her response and I wanted to crawl under the bleachers. I yelled at her and told her to be nice. The girl's mother looked at me and said, "That's okay". It wasn't okay. I felt awful about the way my daughter behaved and I knew it was because in her 5 year old mind she thought that the girl looked different. When I had a chance to reflect on what happened I found myself asking what I had to done to help or teach my daughter how accept people even if they looked different.

As a special educator I have always tried to teach about acceptance and diversity. Did I forget to talk about this with my youngest daughter? My oldest child has always been very welcoming and accepting of people with disabilities. I don't really even remember having to go out of my way to teach her about this. As a mother I felt embarrassed about the way my child behaved. When I think about Haro's cycle of liberation, I know that when you look at the cycle, the incident with my daughter caused me to enter into the "wake up" stage. According to the cycle, the wake up stage begins with a critical incident. Based on the incident it moved me into the "getting ready" stage. In the getting ready stage we have to dismantle beliefs that we may have. I realized that along the way my daughter had developed some ideas about people who she thinks look different to her. It was up to me to move her to the "building community" stage. My initial reaction to my daughter to simply be nice wasn't even to explain what she had done wrong. I did  have to try to I did talk about people with disabilities and why it's important to treat people with respect.

Reference

Harro, B. (2008). The cycle of liberation

"Start Seeing Diversity Video" Blog: Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

I found this week's topic very interesting and thought provoking. Gender is something that I have often thought about throughout my teaching career. After watching the course media this week, I realize that gender roles are instilled at a very early age. In the video one of the male students informed his classmate that she couldn't be a doctor because his Dad is a doctor and doctor's can only be men. I liked the way that the teacher handled the situation. She intervened and let both students know that that way of think is called a stereotype. Addressing that way of think at an early age is what can remedy some of the gender stereotypes that exist.

Another thing I've given some thought to is the way that fairy tales have been written. As a child I really did enjoy reading them. At the end of the story everyone always, "lived happily ever after". Well, that just isn't real true. I am completely convinced that this way of thinking  has been psychologically damaging to young women from numerous generations. In the stories there was always some weak woman who needed to be saved by a man! This way of think just isn't realistic. Everyone doesn't always live happily ever after.. That was proven by two failed marriage in the British royal family. I make that point because I believe that what we read to our children really does make a difference. The women in fairly tales were always weak and needed to be saved by a man. Some magical kiss would always make everything right and that just isn't what little girls need to hear.

One thing that does make me comfortable is the way that women are presented to children in comic books. Wonder Woman and Cat Woman are two characters that took care of herself and didn't need to rely the help of a man to save them. My only issues with her character was the way that she was dressed. Why did she need to be dressed in a provocative manner to fight crime?

I think that books, the media and society help to build how children perceive gender roles. I can remember having a student who enjoyed playing in our house corner and liked wearing a purse. One day his father came in to visit and had a fit! He said, "Mrs. Lewis, I can't believe you let my son wear a pocket book! He's gonna be a sissy"! The kids were taking turns being the mother and the father and this dad wasn't happy. He walked over to his son and made him take off the purse. He even told him that boys don't play with purses only girls do. I really think if he hadn't made sure a big deal about it his son might have not have shown an interest in the purse. From that point on, the boy did everything he could to play with the purse when his father wasn't there.

Reference
Week 3 Course Media: "Start Seeing Diversity: Sexual Orientation" (Approx. length: 6 minutes)

Professional Thank You's EDUC 6165 Communication and Collaboration in Early Childhood

Thank You!!

As we complete our coursework in EDUC-6165 (Communication and Collaboration in Early Childhood) I would like to thank my classmates for the interesting and engaging discussions. I have
made contacts with people that I hope I'll be able to keep in contact with on both a personal and professional level. If you're ever in Baltimore, Maryland please feel free to contact me. Good luck to everyone as we begin our specializations. Have a great school year! 

Thesha's Contact information
thesha817@yahoo.com
 

Meeting Adjourned!

 

This week we were asked to think of a meeting that we have been a part of that has been hard to leave. I can think of a time when I was on a committee in my sorority. The purpose of the committee was to salute outstanding young women in the community. Most of the young ladies were high school and college aged students. The committee was in charge of finding young women and then hosting a luncheon where the young ladies would respond to a question that was posed by the chapter. At the end of the luncheon the young ladies were given a gift by our chapter. It sounds like just a girls day out for lunch but much more went into the event.

I have to say that this was one of the most efficient groups of women that I have ever worked with. Soror Jan Carter did a fantastic job and the chairperson of our group. From the beginning to the end of the planning went very well. It was almost as if she knew about group development. She had us introduce ourselves, she told us the purpose of the group, she formed sub-committees within the group so that everyone had a role. Most importantly, she made sure that each group understood their roles. The group functioned very well and I was sad when our chapter decided to end this luncheon. This group in my opinion was like a well-oiled machine. The Adjournment was hard for me because It really felt good to be in a productive group where people felt safe to give their opinions and where a group of women worked without the bickering that can sometimes occur with women. After the last luncheon the committee met and the chairperson provided lunch for us and thanked us for the work that we had done. We also looked at the goals that we had established at the beginning of our planning and talked about how we were able to meet those goals. Those goals were met by good leadership and effective teamwork.  I  participated in three of the luncheons that my chapter gave but there were women who had been on the committee for several years. It felt good to be appreciated and that last meeting was a little sad.

As we come closer to completing the program here at Walden I think that I will think about some of the ideas that my colleagues have shared. I think I have a wider perspective of early childhood education based on the discussions that I've had.

Nonviolent Communication

 Confrontation...

This week we were asked to think of a disagreement or conflict that we have experienced at work. This made me think of a disagreement that I had with a co-worker. After a meeting, she approached me and asked why I was able to freely express my concerns at the meetings we had but when she expressed her ideas she felt that she was chastised for the sharing her ideas and thoughts. I was really taken back when she approached me because until that point, I thought we really had a good working relationship. I think the way she approached me and what she said caught me off-guard. I felt like she was confronting me and it caused me to become verbally aggressive. Simply put, we got into an argument!

After reading the course resources this week, I learned some new techniques that I can use if something like this occurs again. After reading information from The Third Side I learned that "the Third Side has the power to transform violent conflicts into opportunities for collaboration” (The Third Side. (n.d.). I think that instead of continuing the conversation with my coworker I could have listened to what she was saying with a more empathetic ear but because I felt attacked, I was unable to do that. I welcome any suggestions anyone has on what I have shared. Thanks!

Reference
The Third Side. (n.d.). The third side. Retrieved from http://www.thirdside.org/
  

Who Am I As A Communicator

This week we were asked to evaluate ourselves on how we communicate with others. The assignment also asked us to have other people evaluate us as well.  Below I have created a chart to show the results of the communication results. I found it very interesting that my husband rated me as significant in the verbal aggressiveness category. My co-worker and I had the same rating which was in the moderate range. I believe the results show that our communication style differs based on the intended audience. I think there is a certain level of control that you have to have in professional situations which is why my co-worker rated me in the moderate range. The other difference that I noticed in the results was in the communication anxiety category. My husband rated me in the mild range in in the anxiety category. I think that it's easier to communicate with those that we know and so we wouldn't appear to be anxious around those who know us well. On more than one occasion I have shared with my co-woker that I don't enjoy public speaking. When I'm in front of my co-workers, I know that I get nervous and this shows in my body language as well.

 

Communication Assessments Results

How I see myself	B. Lewis (Husband)	D. Greene (Co-Worker)
Communication Anxiety Score: 53 Moderate You score indicates that you feel somewhat concerned about a number of communication contexts , but probably not all. This mid-point level of communication anxiety is what we call, “situational”.	Communication Anxiety Score: 43 Mild You report that you feel a bit uneasy in some communication situations and somewhat more confident in other contexts. Communication does not seem to be something you worry a great deal about.	Communication Anxiety Score: 55 Moderate You score indicates that you feel somewhat concerned about a number of communication contexts , but probably not all. This mid-point level of communication anxiety is what we call, “situational”.
Verbal Aggressiveness Score: 67 Moderate You maintain a good balance between respect and consideration for others’ viewpoints and the ability to argue fairly by attacking the facts of a position rather than the person holding the position.	Verbal Aggressiveness Score: 69 Significant With little provocation, you might cross the line from ”arguementativeness”, which attacks a person’s position or statements, and verbal aggression, which involves personal attacks and can be hurtful to the listener.	Verbal Aggressiveness Score: 55 Moderate You maintain a good balance between respect and consideration for others’ viewpoints and the ability to argue fairly by attacking the facts of a position rather than the person holding the position.
Listening Style Group: 1 People Oriented You are empathetic and concerned with the emotions of others. This listening style helps  you build relationships, but it can interfere with proper judgement because you tend to be very trusting to others.	Listening Style Group: 1 People Oriented You are empathetic and concerned with the emotions of others. This listening style helps  you build relationships, but it can interfere with proper judgement because you tend to be very trusting to others.	Listening Style Group: 1 People Oriented You are empathetic and concerned with the emotions of others. This listening style helps  you build relationships, but it can interfere with proper judgement because you tend to be very trusting to others.

Reference

Rubin, R. B., Rubin, A. M., Graham, E. E., Perse, E. M., & Seibold, D. R. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures II: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge

Communication and Culture

This week we were asked if we communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures. After giving it some thought, I think that I am very comfortable talking with people in my own race and others outside of my race. I particularly feel comfortable speaking with other women. There is a comfortable sense of sisterhood that I share with my friends that makes it easy for me to communicate with them.

As I was doing this assignment I can remember my husband sharing with me that he noticed when I am with my family from Bermuda, we all tend to have the same type of accent when we speak. I don’t notice it at all but he says that when we talk in a group I also have the same accent as my family. When I was growing up I spent many summers there and as soon as I would open my mouth, people would say, “You’re from the states, aren’t you”. I didn’t think I sounded any different than anyone else but they could tell by my southern accent that I wasn’t from the island. By the time I went home, I felt like I blended in with everyone else and it felt comfortable. I think when I’m around my family it feels comfortable to use some of the same words that they use when speaking and there is a sense of camaraderie that we share. As a child being told that I sounded different made me feel uncomfortable when I was there so I did what I could to “fit in” and sound like my cousins and their friends. They don’t speak in another language but there are many British phrases that they use that we don’t use as Americans.