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

·         Your response to those who believe that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families

    It is my belief that society as a whole loves to be in the dark, but yet loves to dictate what individuals can and cannot do, for example the right to marry for all. Policy makers, educators, and those high up in politics try so hard to cover up the various types of families and fail to realize that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender families, children and individuals have been around for forever. The LGBT community has spent so many years in the closet and with an increase of people coming out; society still tries not to acknowledge those individuals. As a lesbian, I believe it is important for all families and individuals to be depicted inside the classroom and educators should be willing to educate all children on the various types of people, whether gay, straight, lesbian or other. Bullying is and has been at an all-time high and believe that once teachers, professionals, and parents educated their children on all persons of the world, than we will be able to cut down on bullying and increase acceptance for all.

·         How you would respond to a parent/family member who informed you they did not want anyone who is perceived (or self-reported) homosexual or transgender to be caring for, educating, and/or interacting with their child

When I first read this question, I was flooded with a lot of emotions and feelings.  I am a lesbian and I was hesitant to come into the field of education, because I felt that I would have to live a double life and not be whom I am truly.  I was fortunate enough to have a supervisor and coworkers who were open and accepting and did not judge me on the life choice I chose to make.  In my mind, my parents were my hardest hurdle because I did not want them to think anything perverted or think that my sexual orientation hindered how I taught and interacted with my students.  I have been a teacher for the past year and as of now; I have yet to experience hatred or ignorance at that level. However, if I was in that position then I will let the parents and those individuals know that I mean no harm and that I am capable of providing quality care to their child and that my sexual orientation is not flaunted, and that I respect each family and child represented inside my classroom regardless of the family’s belief.  

Blog Assignment: Stage of Development

There has only been one group in my life, which was hardest for me to leave. That group consisted of me, my best friend/twin Lakeshia, and my best friend Tomeka. We first met each other when we were in middle school and instantaneously we were joined at the hip. People and teachers always assumed Lakeshia and I were twins, so we went along with it and surprisingly people did not find out the truth until the day of 8^th grade graduation. Every other week we would stay after school, go to the candy store, and sit out front the school and talk about life. We each had a unique story, which made us very close because we all knew what pain felt like. On the day of graduation we cried until our eyes swelled and vowed to always keep in touch, which we did for a little while, but eventually over the years we were hear from each other every blue moon. Tomeka and I were the exception; I was there for her when her grandparents passed away and she would come to my church every youth choir anniversary and hear me sing.

            Tomeka and Lakeshia were the greatest best friends a girl could ask for but about two years ago, Tomeka became ill and was hospitalized. Classmates would keep me informed and abreast of her situation due to me being off at school but on February 15, 2011 at the age of 23, I lost one of my closest friends in the world. I look back and wish we had more memories together and I wish I could go back to the good old days in middle school when we would sit on the brick wall outside of school and chill and talk for hours. Leaving and adjourning from any group can be painful, but the experience that I went through with losing my friend, I do not take for granted the people in my life. It is my hope that my colleagues and I see the true importance of connecting over these several weeks and build lasting friendships. I wish us all the best and remember to keep your eye on the prize and I cannot wait to possibly meet you all on graduation day. 

Conflict Resoultion

In my classroom, I work with two other teachers both of whom are Teacher Assistants, where I serve as Lead. Recently I was afforded the opportunity to add another teacher into my classroom and since doing so I have noticed that there have been conflict and verbal exchanges between the two teachers. One day as a team we needed to come up with a fundraiser idea for the school and all I noticed was that sparks began to fly. The two teachers could not agree and so I decided I would make the final decision as to what fundraiser we would complete. I have made it known to both teachers that I am not picking sides and that their behavior has influenced the classroom dynamics. I decided that it would be best if I tried to resolve the conflict before taking it to my supervisor. I found that the strategies I learned in classroom management such as become the delegating and neutralizer could benefit me in trying to have both teachers see the importance of working as a team. I have seen some improvement since the initial talk and will continue to be neutral in their disagreements, enforce that respect for each other and the classrooms is given and use communication skills by authors O'Hair and Wiemann to effectively communicate with my entire team

Blog Assignment: Evaluations and Surprises

What surprised me the most after looking over the evaluations is that I am considered a people person, which is the contrary to those who really know me. I have always disliked being in the spotlight and being around people I do not know, and so when the evaluations concluded that I was people-oriented that took me off guard and got me curious about how I am people oriented. I also learned from the evaluations that communication affects my relationship and allowed my girlfriend and I to see that I shut down quite frequently and at times do it out of habit. I also learned that nonverbal behaviors also influence how others perceived me and influence how effective I am in communicating with those around me. I hope this course will continue to allow me to grow in insight on how to become a better communicator. I hope that the newfound knowledge that I have will allow me to be better equipped to communicate with the different family dynamics and families of the new generations

Blog Assignment: Communication and Cultural Diversity

As a human being I can admit that at times I find confusing things and people I don’t understand. Through my continued education in the education field I have been using those lessons and strategies taught to better understand those around me, children, families, and even colleagues. Before learning different strategies I would only have basic communication exchange, your name, profession, and small talk.  When communicating with people of different cultures, I would myself getting shy and putting up a block because I did not know how to effectively communicate which made those around me look at me as if I was a mean person. I also found it very difficult to effectively communicate because at times even families would have up this wall and I had no clue how to knock that barrier down.

            The three strategies I learned this week that I feel will better help me in communicating with persons of different cultures are as follows:

·         Recognize my own patterns of nonverbal behavior (2010).

·         Learn as I interact and be willing to adjust my behavior as I learn and resist thinking my culture has all the answers (2011).

·         When something about a family’s practices bothers me, try to look at that practice or behavior through their viewpoint rather than my own (2010).

References

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.  Chapter 4, "Interpersonal Communication and Diversity: Adapting to Others" (pp. 85–114)

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). 50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

 "Understanding and Appreciating Cultural Differences" (pp. 36–38)

"Looking at Nonverbal Communication Across Cultures" (pp. 80–81)

Television & Communication

Sound Off: For this blog assignment I chose to watch the “House of Payne” show by Tyler Perry, an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, producer, author, and songwriter. On this particular episode there is an older woman who seems to like at the home with her husband and other possible family members. The individuals seem to love each other and from watching the show I can tell that this particular family is the matriarch of this family. I noticed by watching the program that the family loves to laugh but could be serious when need be.

Sound On: Once the sound was turned on I was able to finally put names to the characters and prove that the family was indeed close and care a lot about each other. The patriarch of the family was very silly and most of the family members tried their best to keep him calm and in line most of the show. I believe that if I would have watched a show I was more familiar with then I would have been more spot on with observations and behaviors.

Communication Blog Assignment

As a child and even today there has always been one person that I could always go to in time of need and whenever I needed advice and that person is my great-grandmother Mary Evans. My great-grandmother embodies strength and love. She taught me at an early age to always treat people with respect and to always fight for what I believe in. My great-grandma used her years growing up during segregation as stepping tools in the running and foundation of our family. I have never once heard her use one bad word or raise her voice, and just by being around her calms me.  My family and I know that although my great- grandmother’s voice is always calm and soft the why she speaks; it just commands us all to listen. I find that my great-grandmother’s overall presence allowed her to be effective when communicating with not only the family but others as well. My great-grandmother was and still is an advocate for respect and has always been honest even when times got rough. Although I am still learning and growing as an individual and professional I hope to one day have all the tools to be an effective communicator. As I continue through life and my education I try to embody some glimpse of my great-grandmother’s calming and caring spirit.